Fantastic Fest 2024: ‘Ghost Killer’
by Tito W. James
“Fumika (Akari Takaishi) is a young woman with the problems of many young millennials: a crappy job market, unaffordable housing, friends with bad boyfriends, and an occasional possession by a professional assassin. OK, so maybe that last one is a little unique. As Fumika struggles to handle her own problems, she gets to know Hideo (Masanori Mimoto), the ghost of the assassin following her around. The young woman decides to take revenge on the gangsters who killed her spectral friend and deal out some justice of her own along the way.”
Ghost Killer in another micro-budget action flick from screenwriter Yugo Sakamoto and action director Kensuke Sonomura. The duo worked together previously on the Baby Assassins trilogy and Sakamoto worked as the action director for One Percent Warrior and Bad City. I’m impressed at how these filmmakers are able to work within razor-thin budgetary constraints and still deliver engaging action films.
Akari Takaishi shines in her new role as the spirit-possessed college student, by playing up the humor of the dual personalities inhabiting one body. Her comedic sensibilities carry the supernatural premise where special effects are absent. Masanori Mimoto also proves to be a slick action star with an incredible hand-to-hand fight sequence at the climax of the film. Ghost Killer may not be as visually polished or crowd-pleasing as Baby Assassins, but it’s a film that should be reviewed by film students. What Sakamoto and Sonomura are able to accomplish with limited resources is a true triumph!
