Quick Review: ‘Lone Samurai’ Needs More Blood
by Tito W. James
Summary
Lone Samurai delivers in its emotional pathos and atmosphere but disappoints by the lack of blood in its action.
Overall
7.5/10
Starring Shogen Ito and directed by Josh Waller, Lone Samurai centers on a 13th century samurai who finds himself shipwrecked on an island of murderous cannibals. As a fan of samurai stories and martial arts films like The Raid, Lone Samurai caught my eye.
The film’s strength is in shooting on a real and mesmerizingly beautiful island. The first act just follows the samurai trying to survive and acclimate to his new environment after he’s shipwrecked. These sequences are rich in atmosphere and add emotional pathos to a typically stoic warrior archetype.
Once the cannibals arrive, the story shifts tone to the survival horror genre. The film climaxes with a sword fight in which the lone samurai battles a small army of cannibals. I love slow burns that build up to non-stop action. At the same time, Lone Samurai’s action scenes are lacking in blood and underwhelm in impact. The fight scenes, which should have been bloody and brutal, feel more like pre-vis stunt choreography. This is a shame because the premise is wicked and might be worth revisiting with a larger dismemberment budget.
While I found Lone Samurai to be disappointing, the creative team behind the project is worth keeping an eye on. When creative ideas match the right production values, amazing things can happen.
Lone Samurai is available on VOD.