Wolf Guy (1975) d. Yamaguchi, Kazuhiko (Japan) (1st viewing) 86 min
In this bizarre mixture of horror, action, sexploitation, and sci-fi, international superstar Sonny Chiba (Japan’s answer to Bruce Lee) is a cop who is also the only surviving member of a clan of ancient werewolves who relies on his supernatural powers to solve crimes! (After watching Teen Wolf and Teen Wolf Too, I’m starting to think that werewolves were the original superheroes – they’re able to box, play basketball, sleuth, pretty much anything!)
On the trail of a series of bloody killings in which the victims appear to be mauled by an invisible tiger, Chiba falls for the primary suspect, a mysterious cabaret singer with a dark past of her own. B-movie legend Yamaguchi (Sister Streetfighter) stitches together a heady crazy quilt of martial arts, machine-gun fire, nudity, authentic surgical footage, car crashes, and a mind-bending musical score, culminating in an inspired patchwork of exploitation cinema. Come for the telekinetic claw action, stay for the scene in which our hero wills his intestines back inside his shredded torso. (Oh, and lots of talk about syphilis.)
Arrow Video’s new Blu-ray release serves up not only a high-definition digital transfer of this oft-neglected (both in martial arts and horror circles) effort (never before released outside of its native country), but also sweetens the deal with new video interviews with Chiba, director Yamaguchi, and producer Tatsu Yoshida. Chiba’s segment is particularly interesting, as he expounds on his approach to physical acting and screen violence, as well as his reasons for founding the Japanese Action Club.
Wolf Guy is available now on Blu-ray from Arrow Video and can be purchased from MVD Visual HERE:
https://mvdb2b.com/s/WolfGuyBlurayDVD/AV088
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Arrow did the Lord's work by bringing this out. I dug this one a lot.
ReplyDeleteLike most Americans, I'd never even heard of it until it showed up on the doorstep. Great fun.
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