Kensuke Sonomura’s Ghost Killer

Its a ghostly buddy comedy, sort of like All of Me, but with some seriously “anti-social” behavior. Hideo Kudo was an elite hitman with a shadowy syndicate—with the emphasis on the “was.” Now he is dead, murdered by his former associates. However, he still has his deadly skills, when he borrows Fumika Matsuoka’s body. He is an extremely angry ghost, but their partnership makes him a more decent soul in Kensuke Sonomura’s Ghost Killer, which releases today on digital.

Kudo was hard to kill, but eventually they got him. The operation is perfectly executed, but the clean-up crew misses the cartridge casing. When Matsuoka, a distressed college student, picks it up, her resentments combine with Kudo’s grudge to produce a haunting. To get rid of him, she must allow him to take over her body, to extract his vengeance. However, he first spends a good deal of time beating the snot out of her would-be abusers.

In fact, things get so messy, Kudo must call in help from his protégé Toshihisa Kagehara, to tidy up all the moaning and groaning bodies. Of course, Kagehara has only one method of cleaning, which poor Matsuoka does not want to think about. Regardless, Kagehara is way too edgy to fully trust.

You often see the me-and-my-ghost premise in comedies, but Ghost Killer is surprisingly dark. It also kicks tons of butt. Sonomura served as his own fight director and he did not pull any punches. It is one gritty but spectacularly cinematic beat-down after another.

Akari Takaishi and Masanori Mimoto are both terrific as Matsuoka and Kudo. They forge some amazingly cohesive chemistry together, despite the unconventional nature of their shared scenes. Only she can see him, but she can also invite Kudo into her body and let him take over during the fight scenes. It might have easily comes across as hooky, but they sell it.

Of course, Sonomura keeps the energy cranked to the max. A handful of scenes get a little confusing, because of the games he plays with the audience’s perception. Nevertheless, Ghost Killer elevates well above the level of his previous directorial efforts, Hydra and Bad City, which were still joyously grungy old school throw-downs. Indeed, with Ghost Killer, Sonomura deserves to be considered among the elite circle of the world’s best working action directors. Very highly recommended for martial arts fans, Ghost Killer releases today (7/22) on digital VOD.