Tetsuo: The Bullet Man is a 2009 English-language Japanese cyberpunk body horror thriller film directed by Shinya Tsukamoto. The film is a standalone sequel to Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992), and follows a man who transforms into a rageful metallic being after his son is killed in a car crash. It stars Eric Bossick, Akiko Monō, Yuko Nakamura, Stephen Sarrazin, and Tsukamoto. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 5 September 2009, and released in Japan on 22 May 2010, by Asmik Ace Entertainment.

Anthony is a man with an American father and a deceased Japanese mother living and working in Tokyo. One day, his son is killed in a car accident and shortly afterward, Anthony begins to transform into metal after arguing with his wife who wants revenge for the death of their son. He is shot dead by a hitman accompanied by a mysterious individual who taunts Anthony's dead body. The mysterious man, named Yatsu, is then confronted by a revived and enraged Anthony, and it is revealed that the car accident was in fact Yatsu's deliberate act of murder. Anthony attempts to kill Yatsu using bullets fired from his torso, but fails as Yatsu is able to narrowly escape.

Yatsu hacks Anthony's computer to display a cryptic series of scientific documents and tells Anthony to go to his father's house, where he finds a secret room filled with files detailing a mysterious Tetsuo Project. This was a top secret joint Japanese - American project which sought to develop a race of biomechanical super soldiers during the Cold War. He also learns that his father met his mother while they both researched the project. Anthony's wife Yuriko arrives but before she sees her transformed husband, a team of heavily armed mercenaries from a private military company hired to cover up the existence of the Tetsuo Project arrive and she is taken hostage. Anthony's transformation finishes its hold and he defeats the PMC team with bullets fired from his body, but refrains from killing them. The severely injured team is extracted, but then killed by Yatsu, this film's version of "The Metal Fetishist".

Now believing that he has been possessed by a demon, Anthony attempts to kill himself using a gun growing from his hand but this fails. Anthony and Yuriko then meet up with Anthony's gravely wounded father who explains everything: Anthony's mother was disgusted with the militaristic outcome of the Tetsuo Project, having joined it as a way to help give crippled and sick people new bodies. When Anthony's mother realized that she would soon die from cancer, she insisted that her husband recreate her as a Tetsuo android so that he may still have a child with his recreated wife. That child became Anthony, which means that Anthony and his late son were always part Tetsuo. It is also revealed that anger is the catalyst that causes Anthony to transform into metal, and that Yatsu murdered Anthony's son and wounded his father in order to provoke this transformation. Yatsu, in this version without metal powers, has come to the conclusion that the only way he would prefer to die is by a bullet from Anthony's body as committing murder would push Anthony to consume and destroy the world in Yatsu's stead. Anthony's father bleeds out due to his injuries.

Yatsu kidnaps Yuriko and threatens to detonate a bomb he has fashioned into her necklace if Anthony does not shoot him. During an ensuing chase, Anthony's rage becomes out of control and he transforms into a gigantic metal beast with a cannon in its center. Yatsu provokes and threatens Anthony to shoot him. Receiving a vision of the city exploding in a giant ball of light if he does kill Yatsu, Anthony denies this wish and instead consumes Yatsu whole into his metal body, then returns to his human form.

Five years later, Anthony and Yuriko have had a new child and have returned to a normal, contented life. As he stands before a mirror, Anthony hears Yatsu's final words: "You don't want me inside you. You don't know what I'll do". However, when a group of young thugs attempt to intimidate Anthony while walking down the street, rather than allow his anger to overtake him, he walks calmly and confidently past them.

Following the release of the Japanese film Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992), which saw international attention, director Shinya Tsukamoto was approached by an American producer to do a third Tetsuo film set in the United States, but the initial project fell apart due to issues with budget, communication, and creative differences with producers. Quentin Tarantino was initially attached as producer, but Tsukamoto's "process was too slow", so Tarantino dropped from the project.

Tsukamoto also served as a cast member, writer with Hisakatsu Kuroki, editor with Yuji Ambe, and director of photography alongside cinematographers Takayuki Shida and Satoshi Hayashi. Shinichi Kawahara and Masayuki Taneshima served as producers. The film is a presentation of Tetsuo The Bullet Man Group and produced by Kaijyu Theater and Asmik Ace Entertainment.