13 Assassins is a great samurai film about a group of assassins who get together to take out the brutal and homicidal son of the former shogun. The film is directed by Takashi Miike who brought us the two horror masterpieces Ichi the Killer and Audition. It also stars Koji Yakusho (Babel, Memoirs of a Geisha) and the ultra-cool Takayuki Yamada (Gantz).
A samurai film might on the surface appear to be outside of Miike’s area of expertise, however, he proves himself to be very adept at pulling off something of this magnitude. While the samurai genre differs from horror in the way that the ultimate goal is not to frighten or terrorize the viewer, the two actually have quite a bit in common: violence, killings, gore, blood… So in this respect, Miike is right at home.
Here is a synopsis from the film’s official website: ” ... a group of elite samurai … are secretly enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord in order to prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war torn future.”
From the acting, to the cinematography, to the writing and even the score, everything about this film is exceptional. 13 Assassins is truly one of the best samurai films ever made. You can find it on DVD, Blu-Ray, or streaming on Netflix. Here are some stills.
Rating: A (Highly Recommended) Here is the trailer….
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