Ryo Narushima is a student who has served prison time for killing his parents. Once he is released, he trains to become a professional kick-boxer.
Stunts
Raw, unsanitized fight choreography that actually hurts to watch
Direction
Soi Cheang's grimy visual poetry in every blood-splattered frame
Acting
Shawn Yue's dead-eyed intensity, zero warmth, all damage
Director
Soi Cheang
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on Izō Hashimoto's notoriously bleak manga; the film adapts only the first arc and changes Ryo's age from 14 to adult to dodge even more controversy.
Soi Cheang later directed Limbo and Mad Fate—Shamo's nihilism was just him warming up. The film flopped commercially but became a cult artifact of Hong Kong's darker action wave.
JP
HK
