YOROI SAMURAI ZOMBIE (JAPAN, 2008)
NEW YORK PREMIERE
90 minutes, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles
Directed by: Tak Sakaguchi
Starring: Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Issei Ishida, Tak Sakaguchi, Airi Nakajima, Shintaro Matsubara
Showtimes:
Fri June 19, 12:00am (midnight) at the IFC Center [Buy Tickets]
Fri June 26, 9:45pm at the IFC Center (with director/actor Tak Sakaguchi and top stuntman Isao Karasawa in attendance) [Buy Tickets];
Note: "Buy Tickets" links will take you to the IFC Center website (for shows at IFC Center) and to Japan Society website (for shows at Japan Society). Tickets for each venue must be purchased separately.
Action stud, Tak Sakaguchi (BE A MAN! SAMURAI SCHOL) unleashes horror! horror! horror! (plus action) with YOROI: SAMURAI ZOMBIE, his second directorial effort. When a family traveling through the countryside is held captive by a group of deranged criminals, they fear that things can’t get much worse. They can. Soon enough, captives and captors alike have stumbled across the stomping grounds of an undead samurai warrior whose attitude towards outsiders is, frankly, appalling. Instead of rolling out the welcome mat and offering fresh-baked cookies, limbs are severed, heads are popped off, and this ghostly warrior’s hapless victims are transformed from human beings to shish kebabs.
A rich, atmospheric horror flick, YOROI features a solid array of effective CGI and prosthetic kills that span nearly its entire running time. Rotting ghouls mercilessly stalk their prey, but while played primarily for scares, the screenplay (penned by VERSUS director Ryuhei Kitamura) knows when to lighten the doom with lashings of funky gore. Just when you think Sakaguchi has gotten too grim and gritty, someone’s head is chopped off and soars fifty feet in the air, propelled by an explosive geyser of blood.
YOROI literally rains blood as its titular samurai zombie, who has an unbelievably difficult time keeping his head on straight, carves a bloody path through all those unfortunate enough to cross his stumbling path. And when the killing proves too much for one zombie, more of the undead join in – including a very able-bodied zombie archer with a rotting mug that only a mother could love. Once again, with YOROI, actor/writer/director Tak Sakaguchi proves his talent for creating completely over-the-top cinema – and he also teaches a valuable life lesson. The only thing worse than an undead, homicidal, cursed samurai with a grudge...is FIVE undead, homicidal, cursed samurai with grudges.
YOROI SAMURAI ZOMBIE (JAPAN, 2008)
NEW YORK PREMIERE
90 minutes, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles
Directed by: Tak Sakaguchi
Starring: Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Issei Ishida, Tak Sakaguchi, Airi Nakajima, Shintaro Matsubara
Showtimes:
Fri June 19, 12:00am (midnight) at the IFC Center [Buy Tickets]
Fri June 26, 9:45pm at the IFC Center (with director/actor Tak Sakaguchi and top stuntman Isao Karasawa in attendance) [Buy Tickets];
Note: "Buy Tickets" links will take you to the IFC Center website (for shows at IFC Center) and to Japan Society website (for shows at Japan Society). Tickets for each venue must be purchased separately.
Action stud, Tak Sakaguchi (BE A MAN! SAMURAI SCHOL) unleashes horror! horror! horror! (plus action) with YOROI: SAMURAI ZOMBIE, his second directorial effort. When a family traveling through the countryside is held captive by a group of deranged criminals, they fear that things can’t get much worse. They can. Soon enough, captives and captors alike have stumbled across the stomping grounds of an undead samurai warrior whose attitude towards outsiders is, frankly, appalling. Instead of rolling out the welcome mat and offering fresh-baked cookies, limbs are severed, heads are popped off, and this ghostly warrior’s hapless victims are transformed from human beings to shish kebabs.
A rich, atmospheric horror flick, YOROI features a solid array of effective CGI and prosthetic kills that span nearly its entire running time. Rotting ghouls mercilessly stalk their prey, but while played primarily for scares, the screenplay (penned by VERSUS director Ryuhei Kitamura) knows when to lighten the doom with lashings of funky gore. Just when you think Sakaguchi has gotten too grim and gritty, someone’s head is chopped off and soars fifty feet in the air, propelled by an explosive geyser of blood.
YOROI literally rains blood as its titular samurai zombie, who has an unbelievably difficult time keeping his head on straight, carves a bloody path through all those unfortunate enough to cross his stumbling path. And when the killing proves too much for one zombie, more of the undead join in – including a very able-bodied zombie archer with a rotting mug that only a mother could love. Once again, with YOROI, actor/writer/director Tak Sakaguchi proves his talent for creating completely over-the-top cinema – and he also teaches a valuable life lesson. The only thing worse than an undead, homicidal, cursed samurai with a grudge...is FIVE undead, homicidal, cursed samurai with grudges.
