Samurai Zombie

Film: Samurai Zombie

Release date: 19th July 2010

Certificate: 18

Running time: 86 mins

Director: Tak Sakaguchi

Starring: Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Issei Ishida, Tak Sakaguchi, Airi Nakajima, Shintarô Matsubara

Genre: Horror/Action/Comedy/Martial Arts/Fantasy

Studio: MVM

Format: DVD

Country: Japan

From screenwriter Ryuhei Kitamura (director of The Midnight Meat Train and writer-director of Versus) and director Tak Sakaguchi (the star of Versus and fight choreographer for Tokyo Gore Police and Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl) comes Samurai Zombie, “a splatter-filled, genre blending, horror-comedy that delivers precisely what its title promises.”

A vacationing family’s drive through the tranquil woods surrounding Eight Spears Village takes an unfortunate turn when their car hits a gun-toting man standing in the middle of the road. Suddenly, a young man and woman emerge from the woods and, after shooting the accident victim, proceed to car-jack the family, taking them hostage in the process. 

The situation immediately goes from bad to worse when the car suffers a blowout and dad is sent off in search of a spare tyre or an alternative means of transport while his wife and two kids remain in the hands to the two apparent psychopaths.

Unfortunately, any sign of deliverance for dad, his family or their captors is a long way off. Before he can find help, a mysterious encounter with a rather large blade leaves the head of the family headless, precipitating a bloody rainfall and the resurrection of a long-dead samurai warrior with a mean streak and a score to settle. 

Meanwhile, back at the car, a derelict old hag appears before the stranded group with a dire but frighteningly convincing warning: “You’re all going to die!” Confirmation of this stark proclamation soon comes in the form of the undead warrior looking to add to his newly-begun collection of severed heads.

“A highly recommended addition to the recent wave of Japanese extreme splatter movies, Samurai Zombie sees director Sakaguchi and writer Kitamura playing for laughs and shocks in equal measure with a joyously demented zombie flick that includes scenes of explosive geyser-spouting decapitations, hilariously graphic dismemberment, wince-inducing oral castration and the introduction of a pair of bumbling cops with an amusing case of serious gun envy. Size, it appears, is everything.”