Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 11, 2015

“Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf” emerges from the mind of co-scripter/actor/director Kurando Mitsutake, and he probably wouldn’t like any comparison to the 2007’s two-feature time machine, “Grindhouse.” However, it’s hard to believe the 2009 release wasn’t informed in some way by the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez extravaganza, as it details classic exploitation elements, sold with faux film scratches and assorted visual limitations. Unlike “Grindhouse,” “Samurai Avenger” isn’t inspired by excess, oddly weighed down by the demands of an Eastern take on the spaghetti western, with Mitsutake too caught up in his design minutiae to really have fun with the premise.

After losing his wife and child to the wrath of madman Flesher (Domiziano Arcangeli), swordsman Blind Wolf (Kurando Mitsutake) is left on his own in the wasteland, spending the next eight years building his samurai skills without the benefit of sight. While Flesher is stuck in a small town jail, testing plans to break out, Blind Wolf returns to power, marching in the darkness to seek vengeance. Joined by another warrior, Drifter (Jeffery James Lippold), Blind Wolf in confronted with the fury of seven assassins during his journey, each armed with a special skill that’s not easily conquered. With Drifter offering his help, also on a path of violence with a secretive endgame, Blind Wolf must utilize is strength and command of the senses to slice through enemies, working his way to Flesher one villain at a time.

“Samurai Avenger” pays homage to a handful of B-movies and Asian cinema, with a plan to merge aesthetics to generate a cineaste fantasy of exploitation delights. The film even indulges in trickery, with opening narration explaining how the picture was censored over the years, leaving the “restoration team” to apologize for the poor quality of the print, which has been stitched together to provide the most complete version of the movie to date. There’s a fatal flaw in this bit of cheekiness (the effort was shot on HD and looks it, making celluloid worship ridiculous and distracting), but “Samurai Avenger” requires a viewer who’s willing to overlook obvious technical limitations and budgetary constraints and just go with the flow. However, this flow isn’t always on the go, at least fast enough to whip up a proper subgenre beatdown.

As a revenge picture, “Samurai Avenger” is surprisingly throttled, unable to snowball into a delirious celebration of widescreen carnage. The screenplay is prone to weird breaks for exposition (with a narrator explaining weaponry, backstory, and the rules of combat), and it’s addicted to flashbacks, finding every confrontation stopped to explore the history behind Blind Wolf and his enemies. The rogues gallery has potential, offering a topless woman who uses the mystical power of her chest tattoo to hypnotize her enemies, and there’s a pregnant enchantress who uses her powers to revive dead warriors, ordering the zombies to kill Blind Wolf and Drifter. Make-up effects are interesting and costuming is superb, but overall energy is missing, finding Mitsutake trying to work out an unnecessarily complex puzzle of motivations and graphic novel reverence. Imagination and aggression are winded by these forays into secret lives and shame, finding the cat’s cradle Mitsutake is weaving harmful to the overall thrust of “Samurai Avenger,” which could use less characters and more adventure.

For those hoping for grandiose violence, “Samurai Avenger” strives to generate as much visceral content as it can. Limbs are sliced off, blood sprays are common, Blind Wolf is forced to poke out his own eyes with a stick, and a baby is delivered via sword-swinging C-section. Samurai cinema traditions are respected, watching stoic warriors facing off against each other, and exploitation demands are met with a gyrating main title sequence featuring scantily clad dancers. “Samurai Avenger” should be more amusing than it actually is, especially when so much of the movie is trying to register as a bloodbath. The production’s sense of humor just doesn’t come through, even with the feature’s grindhouse look and slightly madcap encounters. Forget mystical, powerful assassins, Blind Wolf’s true enemy is persistent fatigue, which the film can’t shake.

Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Since "Samurai Avenger" presents itself as a restoration joke, it's not always easy to spot when the AVC encoded image (2.33:1 aspect ratio) presentation loses potency due to technical limitation. Banding is detected, along with bursts of noise, but scratches, missing frames, and judder are part of the show, with digital noise added to give the clean image some texture for flashbacks. Sharpness is uneven, with some soft close-ups and clean shots of gore zone particulars, and costuming carries pleasing touchability. Colors are carried out with intention, favoring a western palette of golden hues and deep red blood. Skintones are natural. Delineation isn't challenged significantly, but denser hairstyles and fabrics retain depth and shape.

Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix provides some reach into Mitsutake's vision for "Samurai Avenger." Surrounds aren't particularly active, but the rears are engaged at times, pushing out atmospherics and violent battles, creating an interesting circular sense of this world. Dialogue exchanges are clean and eager, handling performance speeds and the elements without losing integrity. Scoring is defined, helping the feature achieve mood and a sense of heroism, never impeding on the performances.

Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features Kurando Mitsutake, editor John Migdal, and producer Chiaki Yanagimoto.

• "Making Of" (89:22, SD) is a significant overview of the "Samurai Avenger" production process, with cameras following the picture's journey from its earliest stages of planning to post-production efforts such as scoring and editing. Mitsutake takes to his directorial position comfortably, guiding the professionals through management of his storyboards (which he draws himself), the punishingly hot conditions of the locations, and intensive implementation of fight choreography. For a movie this small, it's a comprehensive look at the creative process, grasping day-to-day life and the director's larger ambition for the project, which was born in his short films.

• Swordfight Choreography (12:21, SD) is a video highlighting martial artist Peter Steenes and his instructions on building action sequences for the movie.

• Production Stills (4:30) is a collection of on-set photos, showing off cast camaraderie and make-up effects.

• Character Designs and Storyboards (3:39) show off examples of artistic imagination and planning.

• Scene Comparison (4:49, SD) displays the original drawings and their accuracy to the finished product.

• Blooper Reel (10:18, SD) is an extended collection of flubbed lines, on-set tomfoolery, and low-flying airplanes.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:41, HD) is included.

Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Samurai Avenger" limps to a close, under the delusion that its thin story is in need of an epic payoff. Since Flesher is such a one-note villain with a limited presence in the feature, Mitsutake doesn't create a suitable climatic vibe, missing a real opportunity to take the assassin showdowns and make them jump off the screen. Alas, the ending of the movie is just one of many disappointments to endure as the helmer arranges his tributes and perfects his eyeless stare. "Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf" has the ingredients and the motivation to make a proper big screen racket with influences pulled from all corners of film history, but something is lost in the translation. It's difficult to believe that a spaghetti western with martial art influences could be this dull.