Overview
- Yoshihiro Nishimura died in Tokyo after a recent hospital stay for liver disease, and he was 59 years old.
- Sources report he had been treated for cirrhosis of the liver in the weeks before his death.
- Nishimura had just finished or was in late post‑production on the American–Japanese co‑production Geisha War, and producer Robert Rhine says he will finalize the film and seek distribution.
- Nishimura built his reputation as a director and special‑effects artist known for extreme gore in films such as Tokyo Gore Police, Helldriver and Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl and he founded the effects company Nishimura Eizo Co., Ltd.
- He was a fixture on the international genre festival circuit and a teacher and mentor in Tokyo, and his death removes a leading influence on Japan’s ultraviolent horror scene while raising questions about how Geisha War will be released and presented to global audiences.