Kung-fu hara kiri

overly endowed Samurai who doesn't take sh^# from anyone is back in the sequel to "Sword of Justice". Hanzo 'The Razor' Itami ( Shintarô Katsu, best known for the Zatôichi films) returns with his two ex-con assistants to kick more ass, rape more women, train his penis more, more corrupt government officials, and generally do away with more evil doers. This one adds demonic abortions, S&M clubs, and the best looking bald chick this side of Lt. Uhura. A bit more perverse and a lot more violent, this film as well as the whole trilogy is only recommended for the more adventurous, but if you approach it with an open mind you will NOT be disappointed. NOT for the PC crowd, and all the better because of that. But sometimes more is less. The film feels more like a retread in spot, and not as good as the original or the third one, but still watchable, even if it's the worst of the series.

My Grade: C+

DVD Extras: Merely Trailers for all 3 Hanzo the Razor films

Eye Candy: 18 breasts. 1 ass

Proud and well-endowed Edo lawman Hanzo 'The Razor' Itami (Shintarô Katsu) returns for a second adventure, this time directed by Yasuzo Masumura, who makes his movie even more depraved (and therefore even more enjoyable) than Kenji Misumi's reasonably sleazy first instalment, Sword of Justice.

This time around, Hanzo leads an investigation into the death of a young woman, who underwent an abortion procedure shortly before carking it (Hanzo arrives at this conclusion by shoving two fingers up her bloody cooch; Sherlock Holmes, he ain't!!). Suspecting the involvement of a local priestess, Nyokai, who is known to help ladies 'in trouble', Hanzo sneaks into the Kaizan temple, where he discovers the existence of an operation that caters for rich traders willing to pay handsomely to carry out acts of sexual perversion.

At his personal torture chamber, Hanzo ruthlessly interrogates the priestess, but when inflicting pain fails to make her talk, he decides to use another method to loosen her lips (phnarr, phnarr!): he unleashes the beast in his pants. This does the trick, for once a woman has felt the pleasure of Hanzo's massive schlong, it seems that she will do absolutely anything to prolong the experience. Unable to control herself, Nyokai gives Hanzo the name of the man who is profiting from her nefarious activities: Lord Treasurer Okobo.

With his hatred of corruption, and a total disregard for authority, Hanzo is determined to bring the evil official to justice, but must first apprehend Japan's most wicked thief, Shobei Hamajima, who is planning to steal the gold from the Edo mint.

Technically, Masumura's film is superb, with excellent direction, beautiful photography, well choreographed swordplay, an excellent funky soundtrack, and a plot that I found easier to follow than Sword of Justice, despite being just as convoluted. And despite the fact that The Snare recycles many of the elements from the first film, it's more outrageous sex and gore guarantees another thoroughly satisfying experience for those exploitation fans who enjoyed the original: as in Sword of Justice, Hanzo subjects himself to bizarre tests of endurance, rigorously working out his wang by beating his meat and rogering rice bails, but he also places his legs under massive weights, almost breaking his bones; once again, Hanzo offs a horde of attackers with his booby trapped house, only this time there is a lot more blood (there is also some extreme arterial spray during a nasty robbery by Shobei and his gang); and of course, there is plenty of misogyny and violent sex, and the depiction of rape—particularly as a pleasurable experience for the victim—proves to be even more unsettling than before.

When I first saw the Japanese Exploitation highlight "Gôyokiba" aka "Hanzo The Razor - Sword Of Justice" (1972) it became an instant favorite of mine. I was therefore more than excited to see the sequels, and after a long search, I finally found them recently. The first "Goyokiba" was already brilliantly crude and as politically incorrect as it gets, and I therefore was surprised that this first sequel "Goyôkiba; Kamisori Hanzo jigoku zeme" aka. "Razor 2: The Snare" is even sleazier. Hanzo 'The Razor' Itami, brilliantly played by the immortal Shintaro Katsu, is an incorruptible Samurai-constable in feudal Japan, who despises corruption and the spoiled aristocracy, and loves to insult his superiors... The 'Hanzo' films have a wonderfully crude, sexist and incorrect humor that must be the nightmare of moralists and feminists (in case they have no sense of humor). Hanzo, who, aided by his two assistants, regularly submits to self-torture in order to improve his own torture skills, interrogates female suspects by raping them. And they immediately fall for him, due to his enormous sexual powers and his huge penis, which he trains in grotesque rituals. After "Sword Of Justice", genius director Kenji Misumi, who had also directed Shintaro Katsu in some of the "Zatoichi" films, went on to direct the (even more brilliant) "Kozure Ôkami" ("Lone Wolf And Cub") films starring Katsu's equally great brother Tomisaburo Wakayama. Yasuzo Masumura therefore replaced Misumi in the director's chair for the sequel, and he sure did an outstanding job. "The Snare" is even sleazier than the first Hanzo flick, and a lot gorier. While it is maybe just not quite as comical as the first film, it features even more perversions and weird fetishes, sleazy tortures and quite a bit more gore. Shintaro Katsu, one of my personal favorite actors is once again brilliant in the role of Hanzo 'The Razor' Itami. Katsu does not play Hanzo, he IS Hanzo, one of the coolest (anti-)hero characters ever. The film is full of eccentric characters, and supporting cast is also great. The film, which has a cool, funky score (not quite as funky as in the first, but still), delivers loads of wicked sleaze, stylishly bloody carnage with crafty secret weapons, and a sort of humor that is about as crude and brilliant as it gets. "Razor 2: The Snare" is brilliant Chambara-Sleaze and pure Exploitation-Gold that no lover of Cult-cinema could possibly afford to miss!

Across the centuries in far off Japan, there's a series of films which I must admit I never gave much notice to. Here is one which caught my attention. It's called " The Razor " and are you in for a sober awakening when you see it. It's the story of an usual 'Lawman' assigned to a district in Japan. His name is Hanzo (Shintaro Katsu) or 'The Razor.' Although I learned there are several chapters in the series, this one is called "The Snare." Each segment explains he is a officer, but one has to be careful to apply it to our hero as he administers the law according to his own sense of morality. He is ill tempered with both his superiors and constituency. His boss considers him a loose cannon and is essentially correct as all classes within his jurisdictions are fearful of him. When on a case, few things prevent him from investigating all aspects. The corrupt nobility as well as low life thugs are fair game. The women of his cases have heard of his reputation and fear not only his steel, but also his personal sword as he uses both with incredible dexterity. The rich and powerful decide they cannot buy him, and employ their own reputable Samuri called "The Snake" (Magobei Onishi) to stop his investigation. Now Hanzo will face a skilled sword as dangerous as his. The film, the cast and story may have a long way to go before it measures up to American standards, but while watching it, little of that matters as we follow our hero as he assaults, kidnaps, tortures, kills and rapes his way to justice. A far cry from the usual, but a Classic non-the-less. Not recommended for the squeamish or easily offended. *****

I mean, it's better than the first, because it might have been a tiny bit less gross and there was definitely more action, which I appreciated. All those traps and weapons he revealed in his house in the first are actually utilised here, which was cool.

Unfortunately, there's still a lot of gross and unpleasant stuff, and it doesn't really seem to serve a purpose or say anything truly insightful through such confronting material. Hanzo himself is still ridiculously unlikable, even if you can tell Katsu is giving it his all, and as such it's just hard to care when he's so gross in his behaviour and actions.

It drags in places, and even if it wasn't unpleasant it still wouldn't be great, but at least some of it works as a sort of "turn your brain off and enjoy" bloody action movie. If you want that kind of sleazy samurai film done well, though, which doesn't cross the line into being too uncomfortable, I'd recommend the Lone Wolf and Cub film series made around this time.