Review of Vengeance Is Mine (1979) by Alex S — 01 Sep 2008

Imagine if "Catch Me if You Can" was about a man terrorizing 1970s Japan for 78-days by murdering random people and taking false identities and you have this film. It is scary to think this actually works and scarier to think it actually happened.

Ken Ogata plays our subject, Iwao Enokizu, an angry personification of Waldo from "Where's Waldo?"-fame who escalates his life of crime through murder. Why? We are never really sure though his father shacking up with his wife while he was in jail probably helps (Enokizu never had respect for his father after an earlier unrelated incident, as well).

The movie jumps around a lot but is swift and brutal (the first two kills are oddly effective and messy) in its depiction of a man against his country. It's also disturbingly funny at times (a key moment being when one victim's body has to be hidden behind tape and nails since the closet door it is behind keeps opening).

Save for a haphazard construction and an absolutely stupid final scene, this is a forgotten classic well worth your time.