Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (Kozure Okami: Meifu Mado) (1973)

Runtime: 89 minutes

Directed by: Kenji Misumi

Starring: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Michiyo Yasuda, Akihiro Tomikawa, Shingo Yamashiro, Tomomi Sato

From: Toho

You know, it’s been way, WAY too long since I’ve dipped my toe into this universe. 2019, to be exact! Back in ’16 I purchased the Criterion set that was a new release at the time from Amazon because they made a mistake and listed it for I believe 40 bucks when it should have been 100. I jumped on that and thankfully they honored that price, which was fixed by the time the set was received. Slowly, the first four movies plus Shogun Assassin were reviewed; for no good reason, the last two films never got watched. I really enjoyed all of them, so about darn time I finish the six movie franchise before 2023 concludes. Eventually, a list will be created where all those reviews can be read by the literal hundreds who started following me since I saw the fourth film (Baby Cart in Peril).

The story is what you expect-a continuation of the saga where badass Ogami Itto wanders the countryside w/ his toddler son Daigoro and they are hired to assassinate various fools while trying to avoid assassination themselves. Like in Peril, this had a jazzy score I of course approved of. What an opening act this has: some dude hired 5 assassins to kill Itto; if they fail, they each tell him part of the request & cash for an assassination they wish for him to perform. I don’t use terms like “extra” but that is the best way to describe this scheme. The details of what Itto was tasked to do won’t be revealed here.

It is with great pleasure that I proclaim this offers more of the same from the franchise. There being a “magic peep show” was unexpected, but it was not something vulgar--instead, it was all-ages entertainment for the village that includes a pair of storytellers and various images, one including a yokai monster. There’s gory bloodshed in scenic locations, after all; holy crap, the final act… then again, it does expand upon the previous stories by not only giving little Daigoro an entire subplot, Itto’s character & beliefs are expanded upon. He’s not an unfeeling killing machine w/ no emotion.

As the series still feels fresh in the fifth installment and the claret still flowed as blood literally sprays out of bodies, this was a viewing long overdue.