Bullets fly and blood flows in “Outrage,” a return to form by Japanese writer-director Takeshi Kitano (“Sonatine”).

The thriller features the taciturn Kitano himself (a k a Beat Takeshi) as Otomo, a yakuza underboss who finds himself mixed up in a brutal cycle of turf wars also involving a corrupt cop and an African ambassador.

The body count, double-crosses and finger-cuttings grow with each frame. By the end, nearly all the mobsters and their women are dead or minus a pinkie (or both), including the big boss, known as “Mr. Chairman.” A scene in a dentist’s chair recalls “Marathon Man.”

Kitano employs a tip-top cast of veteran actors. Best known to Americans is Eihi Shiina, the psycho in white in Takashi Miike’s “Audition,” as a high-class call girl.

The editing (by Kitano) and lensing are stylish and guaranteed to keep viewers hooked through the final rubout.