SAMURAI AVENGER - THE BLIND WOLF: A GRINDHOUSE TRIBUTE THAT BOTH HITS AND MISSES

Ever since the term “grindhouse” was pasted into the lexicon of movie genres with the release of the movie by the same name in 2007 there have been a ton of homage movies released. The term was a way of describing movies that came out that were low budget with violent themes, involved martial arts, horror, drugs, pimps and more while having a grainy look to them due to their screening non-stop for years in low rent movie houses based on the old 42^nd Street location of New York. Those theaters were homes for junkies who wanted a place to crash after a fix or johns looking to find hookers willing to take care of them in the semi-private darkness of a theater. But 42^nd Street got cleaned up, small independent producers stopped making those sorts of films and things changed. Until 2007.

Following the release of GRINDHOUSE, you started to see movies that actually played back in the day find their way to DVD. Some went as far as blu-ray. Along the way the tributes started to get made by young directors who thought they could make a name for themselves attempting to recreate what they saw being released. Some were good, most were bad and many are forgotten. Occasionally one makes its way back into release as is the case with this movie, made in 2009.

The movie harkens back to that combination of samurai film and western while at the same time bringing it into the present. Just where is anyone’s clue as there seems to be no location you can connect this with nor the need of the film maker to tell us. It just happens folks, deal with it. A blind man with a samurai sword is taken to the middle of a desert and dropped off. The driver is about to kill the man who defends himself and kills him, finding out why he was brought here before he expires. He then sets out to find the man he came to seek revenge on.

Along the way he encounters a fellow sword holder who helps him in his journey. Along the way he reveals that the man he is intent on killing, Nathan Flesher, a scumbag villain who killed the man’s wife and child before blinding him, is to be released from prison that day at a particular time. His journey is to be there when he gets released to kill him for what he did.

But that won’t be as easy as it seems. The Flesher has hired seven deadly assassins to prevent the blind samurai from reaching him. Along their journey the blind man and his companion face off against each of these killers with the hope of getting to Flesher at the end of their journey. So there’s the story. Does the movie do a good job of telling it along the way?

Well yes and no. At first glance the movie is one of those terrible films that at face value leaves you scratching your head and wondering why anyone would want to see a special release of the film let alone pay the extra fees associated with owning it on blu-ray. It isn’t until you look beneath the surface to realize that there are fans of the film who will love owning it this way and look forward to its release.

The martial arts action here is some of the worst ever put to celluloid….or digital storage. The motions are slow and choreographed for actors who move that way as to avoid killing or damaging one another. Then again that was just how many of the action sequences in tons of old classic martial arts movies were. We tend to forget that the fast paced martial arts sequences we’ve come to enjoy are more recent and done as much with special effects as well as athletically prone stunt men. Once you realize this they scenes offer more laughs than thrills and more memories than stunned appreciation of the skills involved.

The acting is wooden at best but then again, reference what this film is paying homage to. If you think those films contained Oscar winning performances think again.

The movie does include the things that made a grindhouse movie a grindhouse movie though. There are plenty of exposed breasts here, some used as weapons. I’ve reached the age where these do little to draw my interest and feel pity for actresses who either feel the need to do this or have no options but to do so if they want employed. If I were 20 years old I might think differently. It has the scratchy look to the “film stock” being used. It has the sudden jump in image associated with poor film splices. Sprocket holes pop up along the side of the screen now and then. Do these things make this a good grindhouse film? Maybe not but they do make for a fun time for those who love the genre.

Click here to order.