Rating: **
Alternate Title: Makai Tensho
Review Date: 7/21/24
Director: Kinji Fukasaku
Cast: Sonny Chiba, Kenji Sawada, Akiko Kana, Ken Ogata, Hiroyuki Sanada,
Tomisaburo Wakayama
When 37000 Christians are slaughtered during the Shimabara Rebellion, Shiro Amakusa (Kenji Sawada) renounces god and calls upon the forces of evil to give him the power to raise the dead in order to exact revenge. While the shogun is seduced by one of Shiro's devils (lovely Akiko Kana), master swordsman Yagyu Jubei (Sonny Chiba) sets out to destroy the devils with a cursed Muramasa blade. One of those devils ends up being Jubei's father, played by Tomisaburo Wakayama of "Lone Wolf And Cub" fame. Jubei succeeds in defeating Shiro, but his evil will remain as long as humans walk the Earth.
It's a top-notch production with an excellent cast and a lot of familiar faces. The film looks fantastic and is beautifully shot, but it's overly long and exceedingly dull. It's amazing to me how a "samurai vs. the undead" movie could be so boring, and not even Sonny Chiba's enthusiastic intensity can save it from drudgery. That said, the action scenes are well-crafted and Sonny Chiba, Ken Ogata, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Tomisaburo Wakayama all fight well. The impressive climax takes place in a burning castle, and I have no idea how they accomplished that. The entire set is on fire and the actors are right in the middle of it. It's astonishing to watch, especially knowing that no post-production tricks were employed.
It seems like I've seen at least a dozen Yagyu Jubei films, but maybe that's because the formula is so popular and familiar. That said, this one is probably the best of the bunch in terms of production values and star power, but it can still be very tedious to watch.