‘Ghost Killer’ Review: Kensuke Sonomura Returns With A Fun Action Film That Never Takes Itself Too Seriously [Fantastic Fest]

When you’re a director hoping to make an action film that hits hard and carries a lot of emotion, you don’t want the word “silly” to come up when describing it. However, in the case of Kensuke Sonomura’s new film, “Ghost Killer,” there are definitely some silly moments, but luckily, they don’t detract from what is ultimately a well-made action film with a ton of heart. But holy cow, there are some really silly moments. 

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“Ghost Killer,” as the title not-so-subtly implies, is about a murdered hit man, Kudo (Masanori Mimoto) who turns into a ghost. The zaniest part is that the ghost hit man is now, through a bit of silliness, bound to a young college student, Fumika (Akari Takaishi). Stuck together, figuratively and quite literally (Kudo can’t be more than 15 feet away from his living pal), the duo have to decide how to cooperate together, as they figure out how to break free from each other. As you might expect from this sort of film, the key to setting the ghost free is to find out who killed him and set things right. But how do you do that as a ghost attached to a young girl? That’s where the second bit of silliness comes into play.

You see, much like we’ve seen before in films such as “Upgrade” and even the ‘Venom’ franchise, Kudo and Fumika can touch their hands together and all the ghost to “possess” her body. This makes for some wonderful scenes where you see the nebbish young woman turn into a martial arts badass. Early in the film, this gimmick is used to deliver some laughs as you see the frightened young woman beating the hell out of horrible men. But by the third act, you’re so used to the idea, you are dialed in to watch Fumika just go wild on these bad guys.

Now, don’t be confused, just because there are silly, laugh-out-loud moments peppered throughout the film, there is no doubt Sonomura is well aware of what is going on. You can tell this is the case when you get further into the film and the actors are able to ditch the silliness for moments of undeniable soul. There is real chemistry between Mimoto and Takaishi. At first, you might not care what happens to Kudo’s ghost, and it actually could be seen as a bit creepy for a middle-aged man to inhabit the body of a young woman. But that’s not the case at all. You see how the sheer good that is seen in Fumika carries over and actually changes Kudo. It may even come across as a bit saccharine how sweet some moments in this film are. But it works. It really does. 

We can’t talk about “Ghost Killer” without talking about action because holy shit, Sonomura knows how to direct action scenes. From the first scene, action film fans will know they are in good hands. There are so many films nowadays that seem to mimic the vibe of “John Wick,” and while there is some gunplay in “Ghost Killer,” it’s great to see Sonomura deliver something that is more akin to “The Raid.” This is a film that focuses more on hand-to-hand combat than just constant bullets flying around. (Though, it must be said, the final act does feature more guns than you are expecting, but even then, there’s something really beautiful about how the action is choreographed.)

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Enough can’t be said about the action in this film. It’s visceral. It’s amazingly choreographed. And it just works. While there are definitely some stunt performers involved in the film, there seems to be quite a bit of the work that rests on the shoulders of Mimoto and Takaishi. And in terms of the latter actor, she has the added difficulty of acting with her face throughout a fight. Let’s not forget that when she is possessed by the ghost of Kudo, she’s allowed to speak as herself while she demolishes the bad guys. So, you have these wonderful moments where Takaishi is doing difficult action scenes but also having to act like a young woman terrified of what she is capable of doing. 

Is “Ghost Killer” a perfect film that will stand next to action giants like the aforementioned “John Wick” and “The Raid?” No. There are moments, especially early in the film, that just don’t work. There are exposition dumps that fall flat and stop the momentum. But that’s perfectly okay. “Ghost Killer” is still a hell of a ride, and a good time for anyone who is looking for a unique and capital-f-Fun time. [B]