Daniel J. Kim is Kurukan, a samurai who’s family has failed to eliminate a line of werewolves, though his father died in the effort to do so.
Now the last of the beasts has found its way onto a ship bound for America.
Kurukan follows, determined to slay it and, by doing so, restore his family’s honor.
He hires a hard-drinking, whore-loving cowboy named Langdon as his guide once reaching the American West and heading toward River City, where the beast last struck.
Turns out Langdon is haunted by his past. As a young man, he hid in a barn while outlaws slayed his fiancee and her family.
He’s determined to prove his bravery, to himself if no one else, so he decides to join in the hunt for the beast.
Kurukan is determined too, though success in his case will be accompanied by heartbreak.
When the blood moon isn’t in the sky, the werewolf he’s seeking is a lovely young female named Asami in her human form, the woman he fell in love with back in Japan.
Review:
The ill-fated love story featuring Kurukan and Asami could make for a decent movie. Though the final scene is poignant, this isn’t that movie.
Too much of the already scant 77-minute runtime is spent on sideshows that have absolutely nothing to do with the main plot.
And shouldn’t a werewolf movie be at least a tiny bit scary? This one goes for laughs too often rather than frights.
The shoestring budget is also painfully obvious, from the tiniest sheriff’s office ever featured in a Western to a lame excuse as to why the hunting party shouldn’t ride horses.
The film was later renamed Cowboys vs. Samurai vs. Werewolves for release on streaming sites.
Directed by:
Eduardo Castrillo
Cast:
Daniel J. Kim .. Kurukan
J.J. Gama … Kurukan as a child
Clayton Davis … Kurukan as a teen
Lexi Gama … Asami as a teen
Vint Carmona … Namagashi
Alex Renteria … Langdon
Johnny Gilligan … Ritche
Marcus D. Spencer … Jack
Benjamin Long … Gregory
Ashley Becciani … Mary Sue
Connie Zaiets … Darla
Noel Castrillo … Curly
David Cavallero … Fattie
David Harbor II … Buford
Wm Hunter … Willis
Joey Ruggiero … Tom
Jeffrey Sun … Ranmaru
Alan Walker … Alan Walker
Runtime: 77 min.
aka:
Cowboys vs. Samurai vs. Werewolves
Memorable lines:
Namagashi: “Our honor is set upon stopping the beast. Every death is another scar against it. You must restore the clan’s honor — your honor.”
Langdon: “How’d you find me?”
Katukan: “I asked the driver to take me to the cheapest saloon in town.”
Willis: “I’m gonna haunt you for the rest of your damned life.”
Langdon, squatting a bit: “At your height? I won’t even see you.”
Gregory, saying the beast might be hiding in the woods: “They’re just past the town, a few miles. It won’t take long on horseback.”
Santiago: “Nah, nah. No horses. You don’t take horses to hunt beasts. They’ll get scared, throw you off, fuckin’ break your neck.”
Asami to Kurkukan as the teens practice their martial arts skills: “You are supposed to let me win.”