Review – Yakuza Apocalypse

5th November 2015

A barmy army of Japanese mobsters face off against the vampires trying to take their turf in Takashi Miike’s latest. Yakuza minion Kageyama finds himself caught in the middle after his boss bestows upon him a secret and a curse with his dying breath.

Cue bonkers action sequences and a menagerie of bizarre characters, including a vampire slayer in full Vincent Price Witchfinder General regalia, barely strung together by the slightest of plot threads.

As deliriously entertaining as that sounds, Yakuza Apocalypse plays a little safe; it lacks the intense surrealism of Gozu, the demented splatter of Tokyo Gore Police and the fighting flair of The Raid. Sure, it’s silly fun, but as amusing as it is to see a magical martial arts warrior destroy the world while dressed as a froggy football mascot, I’d expect more from Miike.

Seen at the Abertoir Horror Festival Halloween warm-up at Chapter Arts Centre – check out the main event at www.abertoir.co.uk

Yakuza Apocalypse (極道大戦争 Gokudō Daisensō) is a 2015 Japanese action fantasy–yakuza vampire film directed by Takashi Miike and written by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2015, before being released theatrically on June 20 throughout Japan.

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