Evil Unbound (Chinese: 731) is a 2025 Chinese historical drama film co-written and directed by Zhao Linshan, and starring Jiang Wu, Wang Zhiwen, and Li Naiwen. The film follows the story of atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army's Unit 731 during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. The film premiered in Harbin on 17 September 2025 with wide-release in China on 18 September 2025, coinciding with the 94th anniversary of the September 18 Incident, which marked the start of Empire of Japan's invasion of China.
The film received negative reviews and experienced review bombing online, leading to review site Douban not displaying its average rating.
Contents
Plot
In Northeast China, dark and mysterious truths unravel about the horrific experimentation on prison inmates conducted at Unit 731.
Cast
Jiang Wu as Wang Yongzhang, a local vendor
Wang Zhiwen as Du Cunshan
Li Naiwen as Gu Boxuan
Sun Qian as Lin Suxian
Feng Wenjuan as Kayo Imamura
Lin Ziye as Sun Minglian
Irene Wan as Shinzo
Li Shanyu as Liang Aiying
Li Zilin
Ulantoya Duo
Zhang Qi as Liang Xingguo
Li Yu as Shanghai Native
Xu Guangyu as Jin Changfu
Liu Zhankui
Yasuyuki Hirata as Shiro Ishii
Production
Director Zhao Linshan spent over a decade researching the film, consulting extensive historical archives, including 8,000 pages of declassified U.S. reports on Unit 731 and 423 hours of testimonies from former unit members.
This film was shot in northeast China's Heilongjiang province and Dongfang Yingdu Film and Television Industrial Park in Qingdao, east China's Shandong province.
Release
Evil Unbound was released on 18 September 2025 in China, Australia and New Zealand and on September 19 in the United States and Canada.
The film's English title Evil Unbound, emphasizes the unrestrained nature of the crimes committed.
Box office
Evil Unbound broke records in China, with pre-sales exceeding 108 million yuan and over 269,000 screening on its first day, making it the highest single-day screening film in the film history of China.
However, due to poor critical reception, the film experienced a nearly 90% box office drop between its first and second weekend.