College student Fumika Matsuoka (Akari Takaishi, Baby Assassins franchise) is walking home from a late night/early morning at a bar when she mindlessly picks up a bullet casing from the ground. What she soon discovers is that this action has bound her to the ghost of a dead hitman, who always remains within 15 meters of her. Only Fumika can see or hear Hideo Kudo (Masanori Mimoto, Baby Assassins, Hydra, Enter the Fat Dragon), a skilled hitman who was on the outs with the crime organization he belonged to. The head of that organization had sent a team of assassins to take him out. The bullet that killed him was filled with his grudge, and so in order for Fumika to exorcise him and sever their connection, she must carry out his grudge, helping him get his revenge by killing the person who killed him.

Fumika has never fired a gun, or even come close to killing someone, and has no fighting skills whatsoever. However, Kudo has the ability to posses her—when they touch hands, he can take over her body, utilizing his own well-honed martial arts skills. Fumika isn’t sold on the idea, until she sees her best friend Maho (Ayaka Higashino) being harassed by her abusive boyfriend Ryu (Ryu Ichinose), and Kudo offers to step in to help. Fumika gets such an adrenaline rush from the experience, that she agrees to help Fumika hunt down those responsible for his death and exact his revenge. But as their quest goes on, the line between the two begins to blur. Assisting Fumika in her efforts is professional cleaner Riku Kagegara (Mario Kuroba, Hard Days), a former colleague of Kudo’s who also worked for the organization.

Ghost Killer is the third directorial effort from Kensuke Sonomura (Bad City, Hydra), who also serves as the film’s stunt coordinator. I had enjoyed the prior to films he directed, as well as his previous stunt work (Baby Assassins franchise, Resident Evil franchise), and have loved the humor and action that star Akari Takaishi has brought to the Baby Assassins franchise, so I was excited to check this movie out. I was not disappointed—Ghost Killer has this great blend of action and comedy with a supernatural slant.

Ghost Killer blends several genres. The film opens with an action-packed fight sequence as Kudo is outnumbered but seemingly successfully facing off against a small army of attackers, only to have things go south afterwards. We get a lot of humor as Fumika discovers the ghost in her house, and wonders why best friend Maho can’t see or hear him, Then the film ultimately becomes an action/comedy as Fumika and Kudo team up to try to take down the bad guys, often making mistakes as they try to learn the rules and limitations of their situation. Riku also adds some humor, serving as a bit of an annoyed mentor to Fumika—though there’s also this fun spark and connection between the two. The action sequences are well-choreographed, and Akari Takaishi does an excellent job of playing these two versions of her character—both as the meek college student, and when possessed by the skilled hitman. After seeing her fighting skills in three Baby Assassins movies, you know she can fight, but it was fun to see this other version of Fumika where she is just a normal girl, just experiencing this world for the first time.

Well Go has released Ghost Killer on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital. We were sent a copy of the Blu-ray release for review. The Blu-ray presentation looks great, with a clean and clear picture and a solid level of detail, no matter how fast the action, or whether things are taking place in a dark garage, or on a brightly lit street. The Blu-ray doesn’t offer any English dub option, but does offer Japanese tracks in both Dolby Atmos and DTS-HDMA, which sound excellent. Dialogue is clear, and the tracks make excellent use of all channels to provide a really immersive experience. You can hear the whoosh of each kick and punch and the cracking of ribs, and there are often multiple things happening at the same time in both the foreground and surround.

In addition to the film’s trailer and some previews for three other Well Go releases, the disc also includes a 30-minute Making Of featurette, containing lots of behind-the-scenes footage from various action scenes as well as some interviews with the cast. The disc comes packed in a locking HD keepcase, and doesn’t include a digital copy. Our review copy also did not include any slipcover.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:44:40)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: Japanese Dolby Atmos in Dolby TrueHD, Japanese 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Japanese Stereo
• Subtitles: English, French

Extras:

• Bonus
  • Making-Of (30:01)
    Collection of behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot, from the first day to the last, with director/action director Kensuke Sonomura instructing, rehearsing with and filming stars Akari Takaishi (“Fumika Matsuoka”), Masanori Mimoto (“Hideo Kudo”), Ayaka Higashino (“Maho Iida”), Naoto Kuratomi (“Narumi”), Hidenobu Abera (“Masaki Katayama”), Mario Kuroba (“Riku Kagehara”), Yasukaze Motomiya (“Watase”), Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi (“Inomata”), Sora Inoue (“Shungo Honda”), Ryu Ichinose (“Ryusuke”) & Naohiro Kawamoto (“Masaharu Katsura”). Occasionally the participants will talk to the camera about the scenes/experience. This closes with actors Mario Kuroba, Masanori Mimoto & Akari Takaishi addressing/thanking the crew as filming wraps on the final day. And finally, a special chat with stars Akari Takaishi & Mario Kuroba, who sit down together halfway though filming, to answer questions and discuss the shoot. Presented in Japanese with English subtitles.
  • Trailer (1:41)
• Previews
  • Dark Nuns (1:17)
  • Nine-Ring Golden Dagger (1:40)
  • 11 Rebels (2:17)