Program Note
Ghost Killer is the third feature film by director Sonomura Kensuke, a veteran martial arts choreographer turned filmmaker. The movie uniquely blends action, horror, and comedy within the tradition of Japanese genre cinema. It follows the spirit of Kudo, a killer who was wrongfully betrayed and killed, whose soul possesses a bullet casing and wanders until he encounters a female college student, Fumika. The story explores ontological hybridity by crossing the boundaries of body and subjectivity. Notably, Fumika is not a passive vessel for possession but an active protagonist who drives the narrative as the agent of vengeance. The film also skillfully uses action as a narrative device to externalize the characters' emotions and inner states, demonstrating the director's mastery in reinterpreting the tradition of Japanese action cinema by balancing realism and stylization. (KIM Youngwoo)