KARATE KILL/カラテ・キル • Karate Kill
by Kurando Mitsutake
2016 • 89 min • OmdU • 8 Films
with Hayate, Asami, Mana Sakura, Kirk Geiger, David Sakurai

The taciturn Kenji struggles through life in Japan with part time jobs in order to to support his sister, Mayumi, who is studying in Los Angeles. When the contact with her suddenly stops, he heads to Los Angeles, where he initially faces resistance. Thanks to his excellent karate skills, the hands and feet communication works out and he learns that his sister has been abducted and taken to Texas by a sadistic sect financed by perfectly staged internet live streams of torture, murder and rape. Together with Keiko, the only one who managed to escape the sect, Kenji forges a plan to free Mayumi.

What happens when Old-School Martial Arts meets the Generation YouTube? With ‘Karate Kill’, director Kurando Mitsutake (guest at last year’s JFFH with ‘Gun Woman’) offers an uncomplicated, yet entertaining action plate with an extra portion of splatter. Particularly the oblique character design of sect leader Vendenski knows how to please. The film was largely shot in Los Angeles, Mitsutake’s adopted home.

Text: Sven Shiohira

► Studio-Kino • Sonntag, 4.6.2017 • 20:15 Uhr