ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joseph Perry writes for the film websites Gruesome Magazine, The Scariest Things, Horror Fuel, The Good, the Bad and the Verdict and Diabolique Magazine; for the film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope and Drive-In Asylum; and for the pop culture websites When It Was Cool and Uphill Both Ways. He is also one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast and can occasionally be heard as a cohost on Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast.

Official synopsis: In Kazuya Shiraishi’s action-packed epic, ten convicts are promised freedom in exchange for defending a small town in feudal Japan. Tasked with holding a fortress against encroaching government forces, they fight with the desperation of men with nothing to lose. But when the officials who recruited them renege on their promise, the warriors realize they’ve been used as pawns in a larger scheme. Betrayed and outnumbered, they must forge their own fate or die trying.

Director Kazuya Shiraishi finds an excellent balance of gripping period drama and violent action in his samurai vs. criminals epic 11 Rebels (11 no zokugun). The result is a superb feature that is sheer captivating entertainment.

The amount of characters is practically Shakespearean, and the cast members all acquit themselves strongly. Standouts among the leads include Takayuki Yamada as Masa, a man sentenced to death for killing the samurai who raped his wife; Taiga Nakano as local army member Washio Heishiro; and Sadao Abe as Mizoguchi Takumi, a heel army leader.

Jun’ya Ikegami’s screenplay has an interesting backstory, as it is based on a screenplay written by Kazuo Kasahara (Battles Without Honor and Humanity; Yakuza Graveyard) in the 1960s. Ikegami’s version and Shiraishi’s realization of the source material are absolutely current cinematic takes, including the severed limbs that fly throughout the film. The historical set designs are marvelous, and cinematographer Naoya Ikeda captures everything beautifully.

Carnage, court intrigue, allegiances and betrayals: 11 Rebels has all this and more. Highly recommended for aficionados of samurai films, period dramas, and Japanese cinema in general.

11 Rebels debuted on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 10 from Well Go USA Entertainment.