I'm currently battling a long standing and gravely serious addiction to 70's B-pictures. Blaxploitation, kung-fu, pinky violence, spaghetti westerns, monster movies, Russ Meyer flicks, Italian crime movies - the effects of such an addiction can be gargantuan. However, the crime of many artifacts from the dead era of true 'trash' cinema is that they simply tend not to quite live up to their own hype. See, all these movies had was poster art, outrageous titles, taglines and perhaps one star attraction (like Sid Haig, Franco Nero or star of The Executioner, Sonny Chiba).
However, there is on occasional a movie that comes you way which meets and exceeds your wildest fantasies - Mario Bava's Rabid Dogs, Larry Cohen's Q The Winged Serpent, Giuliano Montaldo's heist film Grand Slam, Sergio Corbucci's Death Rides a Horse - these are all movies that are actually as good as they sound. The Executioner is one such film - it will surpass your wildest grindhouse dreams.
This movie is so stacked with raw humour, outrageous action scenes and sheer entertainment factor that it almost goes beyond belief. I simply can't overstate the pleasure that awaits you with this one - get some friends together, get some beers out, maybe roll yourselves a 'camberwell carrot' or two, and bask in the absurdity and outlandishness of this - Sonny Chiba's FINEST, most hilarious film.
It'll will restore your faith in exploitation films... and maybe, just maybe it will be the best 90 minutes of your entire life.
