“Demon City”
Japan. Film. Netflix. 2025
3-16-25
Does the revenge movie still matter? There has been so many over the years, they come out as often as candy from a Pez Dispenser that it’s a legitimate question. Another one might be, how many innocent women and children have to die for movie goers to get release by watching their hero rail through as many bad guys as they can until to aspire to some kind of peace? That is if they can stay alive long enough to get the job done.
“Demon City,” based on the Manga “Oni Goroshi” follows a notorious hitman Shuhei Sakata in the city of Shinzo. Sakata has made substantial progress at thinning the number of criminals in Shinzo over the years and in a spectacular opening sequence we see Sakata at work with the efficiency of “John Wick,” a Liam Neeson character or pretty much any Jason Stratham movie. Sakata has a family, however and he decides it’s time to put down the guns and start focusing on his family.
He doesn’t get that chance. A cadre of masked assassins from the Kimberly Gumi crime syndicate pay him and his family a visit, leaving them all for dead. Sakata,played by a mesmerizing and focused Toma Ikuta, somehow survives and all but in a coma. Twelve years pass and he is released from jail. When he is paid a visit by the same syndicate who mysteriously wanted to keep him alive, he again sees those familiar ghostly masks and snaps out of his fugue state.
Taking it’s cues from Chad Stahelski, one of the masterminds of “John Wick” and Gareth Evans who made the beautifully violent “Raid” films, “Demon City” stands out not for its plot but its execution and delivery.
Director Seiji Tanaka does a great job choreographing mayhem and inventively brutal and visceral deaths. He makes the most of each environment. There was a scene with a bull dozer and another in stairwell the did a fantastic job of working within the assigned space. If you remember some wisdom from Roger Ebert, one of his rules was the audience must be able to clearly follow the action on the screen. He would have appreciated the director’s craft.
In full revenge movie tradition, Sakata faces a double cross and in short order gets back on mission. Toma Ikuta helps us stay invested in the character and the action. From a hospital to an apartment building to a huge warehouse, he does a great job of selling his vulnerability. It’s that vulnerability that helps us overlook some of the obvious flaws and enjoy a few of the not so surprising surprises.
If you’re in the mood for well executed action with ample boodshed and solid performances, you’re going to enjoy your stay in “Demon City.” If you need something more inventive or plot heavy, this one probably isn’t for you.
For what it is, gritty satisfying carnage, it gets the job done and done right. For that reason, we recommend this one and give it 🔪🔪🔪/🔪🔪🔪🔪.
Happy hunting, slasher fans!