Pray for Death

During the 1980s vogue for ninja movies, Shô Kosugi, who had been living in the U.S. for more than a decade, showed off his martial arts skills in a series that included this 1985 starring vehicle directed by Gordon Hessler. Kosugi plays Akira, a man who was once a member of a secret army of “black ninjas” but then abandoned a life of violence for one of domesticity. Akira moves to Los Angeles with his wife and two young sons in hopes of opening a restaurant, but the family meets with immediate hostility from locals, including mobsters looking to retrieve a valuable necklace that they believe Akira is hiding. When Akira's loved ones are threatened, it's inevitable that he will give up his passivity and deal with the gangsters using the fighting techniques he mastered long ago. While this is hardly an imaginative plot, Hessler paints an impressively grim picture of the unwelcoming California community, and Kosugi demonstrates some remarkable moves in prolonged action sequences that are adroitly choreographed and filmed. This Blu-ray debut includes both an excellent remaster of the original R-rated theatrical release, as well as a bonus unrated version (with a few minutes of additional gore, although the extra scenes are not restored). Other extras include interviews (one archival, the other new) with Kosugi. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)