Ghost Killer (2024) Film Review – Revenge with a Twist [Fantastic Fest]

Posted on by Jim Cox
Ghost Killer (2024) cover photo

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Ghost Killer is a 2024 Japanese action crime film written by Yugo Sakamoto and directed by Kensuke Sonomura. Sonomura is mostly known for his work as a stuntman, stunt coordinator, and stunt director in movies, TV series, and video games. This film is Sonomura’s third directorial work, having previously directed Hydra (2019) and Bad City (2022). Whereas Sakamoto is widely known as the writer/director of Baby Assassins 1,2, and the latest sequel, Nice Days.

“Fumika is a young woman with the problems of many young millennials: a crappy job market, unaffordable housing, friends with bad boyfriends, and an occasional possession by a professional assassin. OK, so maybe that last one is a little unique. As Fumika struggles to handle her own problems, she gets to know Hideo, the ghost of the assassin following her around. The young woman decides to take revenge on the gangsters who killed her spectral friend and deal out some justice of her own along the way.“

Takaish Akari in Ghost Killer

An atypical tale of supernatural haunting and possession, Ghost Killer avoids implementing any real horror elements into its story–solely portraying itself as a narrative-driven revenge thriller. As such, this paranormal element is introduced early in the first act, establishing a handful of simple concepts around this phantasmal connection between our protagonists; such as the origins of this bond with Hideo and how to break it. This intuitively enables the narrative to fully explore its elements of violent retribution without being bogged down with constant exposition surrounding its other-worldly framing device.

Portrayed by Baby Assassins star Akari Takaishi, Ghost Killer’s main protagonist Fumika Matsuoka is certainly a relatable rendition of a down-on-her-luck millennial who transcends international boundaries. With problems with her love life, trouble with work, and life seemingly going nowhere, who couldn’t project themselves upon the 20-something-year-old college student? However, what isn’t relatable (at least I would hope), is her transcendental connection to her ghost pal–to which, Takaishi personates with a credible mix of fear and curiosity. Additionally, her portrayal of the split roles of her spiritual possession (when portrayed from another character’s perspective) is an impressive duality of a frightened young girl and the emotionless professional killer.

Mario Kuroba in Ghost Killer (2024)

Meanwhile, her spiritual companion, Hideo Kudo, played by Masanori Mimoto, thirsty for vengeance against those who killed him, is enveloped by Mimoto wholeheartedly. His stony indifference to both being dead and attached metaphysically to a young college student feels entirely natural to his character.

With a number of the cast and crew working on action-packed films such as the Baby Assassins series, Ghost Killer’s fight choreography is an outstanding display of meticulously crafted stunt work. However, unlike these films, Ghost Killer employs a restrained usage of these action sequences through its first two acts. That isn’t to say that the film could be considered phlegmatic in comparison, still delivering a frantic flurry of hand-to-hand, melee, and “gun-fu” conflict where applicable. However, the film understands the natural introduction of these elements to the story is just as important as their thriller nature.

Masanori Mimoto and Akari Takaishi in Ghost Killer (2024)

In addition to the highly polished choreography, Ghost Killer features an equally impressive range of visual cinematography from the get-go. Beginning with a stylishly edited compilation of hyperactive tracking shots of fight scenes, the film undoubtedly starts as it means to go on–providing a whole host of modishly energetic visuals throughout scenes of violence. Furthermore, during the film’s narrative-driven moments, the cinematography flawlessly sets a scene’s intended tone with its dull palette tone, washed-out colours, and use of darkness.

A thrilling mix of ethereal entanglement and gripping revenge thriller, Ghost Killer is certainly unorthodox yet magnificent in its fast-paced delivery. With impeccable performances from the entire cast, exhilarating action sequences, and sleek visuals, the film is an adventitious conglomeration of highly skilled individuals with a clear passion for the genre and a distinct artistic vision with a unique twist on the genre.

We watched Ghost Killer (2024) as part of this year’s Fantastic Festival 2024.

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