Like quite a few old samurai movies, Shogun Assassin has found itself back in the limelight. This is a result of Kill Bill, and Quentin Tarantino is almost certainly a fan of this movie; which will most likely account for quite a few of it's fans. I'm not a big fan of this sort of movie; while I enjoy the merciless and bloodthirsty violence, the plot's are too thin and I find myself bored before the end. This definitely happened with this movie, and although it's only eighty minutes long; it really does seem like a lot longer. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad film; but if it injected as much enthusiasm into the storyline as it does with the violence, it would be a hell of a lot better. The overly simply plot follows a master-less samurai (or 'Ronin', for those of us in the know) whose wife is murdered by the local Shogun, and to which our hero swears vengeance upon. This leads him to take his son (whose eyes the film is told through) on a quest to kill anyone and everyone that gets in his way. An odyssey which he calls 'revenge'.
The phrases 'impossible to keep a body count' and 'previously banned' appear on the packaging of this movie as if they were great medals of honour, but for someone who has seen quite a few 'previously banned' films, I really cant see what the big deal about this film is. Yes, there are many slaughters in the movie; but much of the violence happens off screen, and the really gory stuff (like someone having their head sliced in half) is simply too comical to be taken seriously. As mentioned, the action is seen through the eyes of the young child, who also tells the story. This gives the film a rather odd edge, and it's also the closest it ever comes to disturbing. Knowing that all the senseless violence is being seen through the eyes of a child gives it a little extra bite in it's 'video nasty' bid. Most of the baddies in this film are typically rubbish, with the vast majority of them succumbing to our hero's way of thinking and having their heads lopped off. The only unique villains are the three brothers, calling themselves 'The Masters of Death'; but their crowning glory is one of the biggest disappointments of the film. On the whole; I say watch this if you like seeing people get sliced and diced. Otherwise, there's far better video nasty's out there for you to catch.
The phrases 'impossible to keep a body count' and 'previously banned' appear on the packaging of this movie as if they were great medals of honour, but for someone who has seen quite a few 'previously banned' films, I really cant see what the big deal about this film is. Yes, there are many slaughters in the movie; but much of the violence happens off screen, and the really gory stuff (like someone having their head sliced in half) is simply too comical to be taken seriously. As mentioned, the action is seen through the eyes of the young child, who also tells the story. This gives the film a rather odd edge, and it's also the closest it ever comes to disturbing. Knowing that all the senseless violence is being seen through the eyes of a child gives it a little extra bite in it's 'video nasty' bid. Most of the baddies in this film are typically rubbish, with the vast majority of them succumbing to our hero's way of thinking and having their heads lopped off. The only unique villains are the three brothers, calling themselves 'The Masters of Death'; but their crowning glory is one of the biggest disappointments of the film. On the whole; I say watch this if you like seeing people get sliced and diced. Otherwise, there's far better video nasty's out there for you to catch.