Customer Reviews

Blood of the Samurai

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I was fortunate enough to catch this great film in the theatres when it opened at the Hawaii International Film Festival. Blood of the Samurai has all the action and fun that you wouldn't expect from an indie film! A must-buy!

I am a big supporter of Independent cinema, especially genre, horror and martial arts, but this movie as much as I tried to enjoy it, was painful to get through. I wanted to like it, I want to support it - but I can't. The directing is awful (the shaky camera work gave me motion sickness), the dialogue tries way too hard to be funny and clever and the acting is unmentionably horrible. I put a lot of money into indie horror to show support and to keep the films coming, but in no way would I invest in this and I feel bad saying that because it seems the filmmakers tried to make a movie that fans of this kind of cinema would enjoy. I would of liked to see how it came out if they played it straight... well, no, I am just trying to be nice now. For what this movie retails for, it ain't worth it at all. In fact I am disappointed that I wasted my money on it because the trailer for the film looked so fun and up my alley. If you really need to see this movie, rent it, borrow it or find another way then to buy it. The reviews that say it is charming and like a Belt Theatre Classic and action packed and blah, blah... I can't disagree more with the reviews on the box. I love camp, I even love some bad b-horror movies and films like Troll 2 that are so bad they are awesome, but this is so bad that it is unwatchable and unfunny.

I thought it was a lot of fun. If you think you might like Wayne's World meets Kurosawa on a (very?) low budget than this is a film for you. A good flick to have in the background on poker night. Caution: If you are looking for a high brow, high budget, sweeping cinematic epic then consider something else.

Reminds me of the good ol' days of Black Belt Theater without the voice overs. Enjoyed it immensely . . . highly recommend watching this flick!

You can feel the love, the energy coming from the director. And it makes this film enjoyable to watch. It also shows promise: see BOTS The Series, and Ninja EX.

(^_^)

Support your local indie filmmaker!

There was a warninig sign as soon as I looked at the box, Hawaian film festival winner. This movie is terrible for even a first film. The only thing that makes me mad is that the movie cost so much and it was advertised as being descent I was under the impression that the film was one of those old fung-fu samuri movies.What a waste of film. And also the acting was just awful.

Anyone who thinks KILL BILL is the first and last word in chambara/grindhouse kung fu films really need to see this earlier film.

BLOOD OF THE SAMURAI may not have a hip soundtrack, name actors, or much of a budget, but it does have a lot of love for the genre. It borrows from HOUSE WHERE EVIL DWELLS, NINJA III: THE DOMINATION, and every show ever on KIKU-TV, but it deosn't have a rip-off feel to it the way KILL BILL does. Oh yeah, it also beats KB's over the top blood spurting with some interesting(and surprising) effects by Screaming Mad George.

If you wanna see an honest tribute instead of someone's egofest, watch this!

I was fairly excited when I saw the trailer for this movie on the internet. It looked well made, and since it made use of locations on Oahu, where I live at, I thought that maybe I'd get a good feel of what locations were available when I myself decided to shoot a film.
What I got, however, was pretty devastating. The acting, costumes and camera work are simply depressing. The actors keep trying jokes that simply lack in substance and timing.
I never would have thought that a villain clad in black, wearing a trenchcoat could look so... lame. That's the word that describes him the best, Lame. The feeling I get while watching him was that either he was too short, or all the clothes he was wearing weighed heavily on him, giving him great difficulty moving. Unfortunately, I still have his poses burned into my memory.
If this were a comic book, it could actually work. The idea, while cliché, is not entirely bad. Two guys find cursed swords that give them " incredible" sword fighting ability. The villain wants the swords for himself (I wouldn't know why, since the weapons he favors are crossbows) and kidnaps the guys' girlfriends to get them to the warehouse climax fight scene.
The back of the DVD box lists the awards this film has won. Upon careful inspection, I might have been alerted to the quality of this film, but I was suckered into trusting that people have good taste, seeing only the "Winner" label, and consequently wanting to have my eyes gouged out.
In conclusion, the only way I was able to finish this movie was fast forwarding it. I wish that was a joke, but I literally had to keep fast forwarding it.
If you want proof of how horrible a movie can be, or if you want to punish someone by tying them to a chair in front of the sceen, then buy this movie. Otherwise, don't even go near it.
If Dr. Forrester had used this film on Mike or Joel, he might have succeeded.

Trash...This movie won the Hawaiian International Film Festival award for best film soley because supposedly it was the only film at that time in the category...This movie is painful to watch...Dont support rubbish. Pass this movie up for any akira kurasawa movie, a real director and a samurai story that will not give you reason to put your own eyes out. Living in Honolulu, I have talked to people many people, none like this movie...The high-rated reviews that are attached to this movie probably get money from sells when you buy a dvd, so beware... The Blood of the Samurai will make you vomit blood.

Blood of the Samurai is not a good flick; not even for a b-movie. A half-baked story, really bad dialogue, and poor acting (except for Micheal Ng) combine to make it impossible to enjoy. Don't believe the hype, especially those that give this a 5-star rating.

It even has a disclaimer in the beginning, explaining to the viewer that it's "camp" and should be made fun of. If it were any good, you'd think they could leave that up to the viewer to decide?

As much as I'd like to support local (Hawaii) filmmakers, i can't recommend it, especially not for $26.