Well, would you look at this. That there is the new poster for Tak Sakaguchi's upcoming Samurai Zombie. We're fans of Tak, that much should be obvious to regular readers. He is a regular presence amongst lo-budget productions in Japan which doesn't mean that he isn't damn impressive or entertaining. He is both. In spades. And so it came as no surprise that this regular on the Japanese action film circuit would start to helm his own films. With Be A Man! Samurai School! already under his belt we are eager to see what he can come up with in Samurai Zombie. It stars comedian Yakkun Sakurazuka, Nana Natsume [Sasori], Keiko Oginome, Issei Ishida, Mitsuru Fukikoshi [Samurai Fiction, Stereo Future and The Twilight Samurai], and Kyôsuke Yabe [Crows Zero and Crows Zero II].

This Japanese low-budget action drama follows a family on a trip that encounters a man threatening them with a gun on a desolate mountain trail. At a moment of maximum tension, a couple shows up out of nowhere, kills the man and disappears again, and shortly after a lunatic old lady comes and warns them of death. The frightened family is headed for a showdown for no reason with samurai zombies resurrected from their graves.

Samurai Zombie is a so-called fusion-style film that has established itself as a trend. What starts out as an action movie turns into a gory horror film and then goes back to action all over again. Each genre is decorated with utter tackiness. Zombies resort to traditional action using swords and bows rather than biting off the alive and actors demonstrate what overacting really is as they take comic motions at the most serious moments. Attraction of this film brimming with exaggeration throughout should be found in its freewheeling style. The unexpected, hidden drama is quite interesting as well.PiFan