15 Most Underrated Samurai Films Of All Time
9. Killing (Zan) (2018)
One of the more recent entries into the samurai cinema canon,
Killing (aka Zan) comes to us from iconic Japanese filmmaker Shin’ya Tsukamoto
(Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Tokyo Fist). Set in Japan’s Edo period on the eve of massive conflict, the film sees skilled ronin Mokunoshin Tsuzuki (The Last Samurai’s Sosuke
Ikematsu) recruited to join the impending battle by aged samurai Sawamura
(Tsukamoto).
Though this sounds like the basic plot of countless other samurai films, Tsukamoto mixes things up a little by having the swordsman hero start to question his murderous ways when unexpected tragedy strikes.
With a blistering score from Tsukamoto’s frequent collaborator, the late Chu Ishikawa, and tranquil cinematography reminiscent of Kurosawa, Killing may lack the visceral violence of the auteur’s more notable works, but it’s certainly just as phenomenal as everything else he's helmed.
A film that’s both familiar and refreshingly new, Killing updates the classic samurai genre for modern audiences in line with a daring and bold style.