Review of Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally (1989) by Steve W — 13 Mar 2015

A whopping 16 years after Zatoichi`s Conspiracy, Zatoichi is made, a final send off and Shintaro Katsu's final blind swordsman film. The plot is a bit aimless and the running time is long, but the action climax is one of the best I've seen in samurai cinema.

Since this was made in 1989, the blood spurts are dark red and realistic, not that bright fake red used in previous movies. The gore and action is realistic, with Zatoichi jockeying for advantageous positions, such as using houses to bottleneck his enemies so he doesn't get overrun.

Despite the pedestrian plot, the gory action elevates this final Zatoichi film, even though its not a good send off story wise, its roughly entertaining on its own right behalf.