The Executioner

The Executioner (Chougeki! Jigoku Ken) (1974)

Runtime: 84 minutes

Directed by: Teruo Ishii

Starring: Sonny Chiba, Makoto Sato, Eiji Go, Masahiko Tsugawa, Shozo Saijo

From: Toei

I was happy to see more Sonny Chiba & help whittle down the queue I have on Arrow’s streaming site. Honestly, it’s the task of Sisyphus to whittle down all the queues I have on streaming sites, my physical media or the movies I have in “files” but I’m glad to have seen a movie I’ve seen praised elsewhere, and according to one person on a messageboard, this is notably better than its much goofier sequel.

The plot is deceptively simple: Chiba is a badass ninja (but of course; actually, his grandfather is much more powerful than him); he is recruited alongside a former police detective turned assassin and an immoral former Aikido instructor-no, not Steven Seagal!-turned criminal to take out a drug dealer. There’s plenty of karate, sleaze (director Teruo Ishii made more than a few films involving women being tied up), goofy comedy-not just from the Aikido instructor-and nudity from several different women, including from a diplomat’s daughter from a Latin American country I’ll describe as Not Mia Goth.

I do have to give a shoutout to the vibrant score from Hajime Kaburagi. The movie is a mixed bag and uneven; one consistent was a score that had everything from electric guitar, organ, & timpani to a slide whistle, a vibraphone, and a jaw harp. Not to sound like a “get off my lawn!” guy but scores these days just aren’t as imagintative and bold like the one for even a random silly movie from Toei that has a plot all over the map.

For a script that’s a little perplexing at times, the action did deliver and at times was rather creative. At one point, paint is used in a martial arts ass-beating; the colors happened to be those of the Ukrainian flag. As this movie featured a scene where the goofball character had a massive erection obvious in his blue jeans, don’t expect me to check out a sequel that presumably is full of such ribald humor. The original-on the other hand-was fun and delivered what I wanted, which was “Sonna Chiba as a badass.”