Red Hunter: Prelude to Kill is the first film directed by Takashi Miike but only the second to be released. This action film tells the story of a young boy whose mother mysteriously disappears and doesn't show up at the daycare centre. The two educators decide to keep the child for the night but suddenly get attacked by a group of thugs. Thankfully, one of the educators is a former soldier and manages to save the boy while his colleague gets injured but manages to flee. The former soldier shows up at his former girlfriend's place. She had been an elite soldier working for the Americans in Nicaragua and has been suffering from nightmares and paranoia since coming back home. Her numerous weapons and precautions come in handy when thugs start attacking her isolated house to kidnap the boy. The female protagonist soon realizes that the attacks seem to be coordinated by the boy's father who is a member of a royal family with powerful connections. She realizes that she cannot trust authorities and decides to protect the boy and bring his father down with a small team of close allies.
This movie is a short and entertaining action film with sympathetic characters and a generic story line that could have been released anywhere else in the world. However, Takashi Miike still manages to leave his unique traces in several scenes throughout the movie. First of all, one of the protagonist's former partners whose life she saved in Nicaragua gets sexually aroused by killing people in violent ways and explicitly tells two prostitutes about this. One of the thugs gets caught in four bear traps before getting his male sexual organ shot by the protagonist. There is also a recurring disturbing scene of a screaming naked woman tied to a hospital bed. The film's ending is also unconventional but you will have to discover this by yourself.
Overall, Red Hunter: Prelude to Kill convinces with a better budget than Eyecatch Junction, includes very good action scenes, features interesting characters and is entertaining from start to finish in seventy-eight concise minutes. While the movie itself isn't particularly memorable, it features some of Takashi Miike's trademarks that make it stand out among other conventional direct-to-video action films. Fans of the director should give this film a try without any hesitation. On a closing side note, the movie poster doesn't represent the film very well as excellent lead actress Yoshie Kashiwabara convinces as tough and intelligent woman without ever impressing with stylish looks or unnecessary nudity. It's a pity that her acting career never really took off as it would have been great to see her in other movies later on.
