Kiba (Isao Natsuyagi) is a ronin, a wandering, masterless samurai. The sounds of a woman in distress interrupt his midday nap in a local rice mill. After taking in the situation fully, Kiba jumps to the woman’s aid and fights off her attackers. In her state of panic, the young woman attacks her savior and flees, but she leaves a golden hairpin behind that Kiba keeps, hoping he can return it one day.
As he continues his aimless journey, he stumbles upon a group of state officials transporting prisoners. One reminds Kiba of his father, so he agrees to help protect the caravan when they take on another prisoner. Meanwhile, the sensei of a nearby dojo receives word that his underlings have been thrashed and swears revenge on Kiba. The plot thickens when mysterious assassins attack the caravan, trying to kill one of the fugitives.
Samurai Wolf II is probably the best grindhouse samurai flick I’ve seen in the last decade. While the plot is a bit thin, it hits all the notes fans of classic Japanese action films will want: A confident yet kind hero, betrayal, a treasure hunt, and a tragic ending.
While certainly not of the same quality as Kurosawa, Samurai Wolf II follows a similar style of plotline as The Hidden Fortress and heavily resembles many popular spaghetti westerns. The cinematography is always interesting, and several sequences will have classic film nerds applauding as they visualize complex camera movements or rigs used to capture interesting angles or motion.
Often cheesy in some ways, Samurai Wolf II is surprisingly artful in others. If your patrons love samurai movies or Japanese action films, Samurai Wolf II: Hell Cut would be a perfect selection for public library shelves. Gritty, fun, and well-shot, fans of foreign films will appreciate this title as well. Highly Recommended.
Where does this title belong on public library shelves?
Samurai Wolf II: Wolf Cut belongs on Samurai movie shelves but would also fit on foreign language action and thriller shelves.
What kind of film series could use this film?
Any series of samurai flicks or classic Japanese films would be a perfect fit for Samurai Wolf II: Hell Cut.