Ghost Killer Review: Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost

Kensuke Sonomura’s Ghost Killer is a fun revenge story with a supernatural twist, which benefits from impressive action choreography.

A charismatic Akari Takaishi plays Fumika Matsuoka, a regular college student who lives by herself in a small apartment and hangs out with her best friend, Maho Iida (Ayaka Higaghino). As the movie starts, Fumika goes on a date with a supposedly famous influencer who turns out to be a jerk, making her realise that, maybe, her interest in social media personalities won’t bring her any luck. After said date, though, and as she walks drunkenly by her neighbourhood, she finds an empty bullet shell. A shell which, it turns out, belonged to the weapon that killed famed hitman Hideo Kudo (Masanori Mimoto).

Touching said object makes the ghost of Kudo appear, which obviously freaks the girl out. She’s the only one who can see him, but most importantly, she’s the only one whom he can temporarily possess, which allows the criminal to turn Fumika into quite the killing machine. This motivates the spirit to convince Fumika to take revenge on his part, getting rid of his ex-bosses so that his ghost can finally “move on”. Of course, this is easier said than done, especially considering the girl has zero experience with martial arts or violence in general.

Ghost Killer’s premise is full of potential. Having a relatively weak and vulnerable main character who can suddenly kick the crap out of criminals and assassins could have resulted in hilarious and unpredictable situations, especially as she learns the way of the mafia world and interacts with incredibly dangerous people. In reality, though, the film doesn’t take much advantage of said premise, feeling more like a regular martial arts romp than a supernaturally charged and violent adventure.

I do like the way Fumika reacts to her first encounters with violence and death, though. It’s appropriate for her character, and gives the film an edge that most of its contemporaries lack. But apart from Akari Takaishi’s committed performance, there’s little in Ghost Killer that shows the repercussions of having a small college girl fighting against wave after wave of skilled assassins and dangerous criminals. Even though she should seem vulnerable, she ends up feeling surprisingly invincible, which takes away some of the tension from the bloody bouts and intense shootouts.

Nevertheless, I cannot fault Ghost Killer for its combat sequences. They are all expertly choreographed, directed with style and clarity, and suitably intense and fast. Masanori Mimoto’s Kudo is particularly entertaining to watch (kudos to him) as he punches, kicks and stabs henchman after henchman. However, Akari Takaishi also stands out during her martial arts scenes, as she attempts to emulate Mimoto’s style, making it clear that they become the same character whenever they have to start fighting. Takaishi is particularly believable in what is essentially a dual role, changing her demeanour and body language whenever she’s supposed to be possessed by Kudo.

So, as a martial arts film, Ghost Killer definitely works. But as a supernatural story, it does leave a little to be desired, especially when it comes to the development of the duo of Fumika and Kudo. Considering the movie is about a grown man (and a criminal at that) occasionally possessing the body of a young girl, a lot could have been said about consent and the differences in genre, sex and even age, but it never tackles that. Moreover, we learn very little about Fumika’s past (and even present); we know she studies… something… in college, and that she’s interested in social media influencers, and that’s pretty much it. Between that and the lack of depth in the film’s supernatural ideas, Ghost Killer feels like a product that could have benefited from more development time.

Nevertheless, I can’t say I didn’t have fun with the movie. Yes, it could have taken better advantage of its potentially rich premise, and yes, it could have used a more interesting and three-dimensional protagonist. But thanks to its highly entertaining fight sequences and shootouts, dry humour and believable reactions from its characters, Ghost Killer ends up working as an action romp that never takes itself too seriously. This is the rare case in which I wouldn’t mind a sequel, since the premise of Ghost Killer is good enough for it to be further explored in new stories.

Ghost Killer will be released on digital platforms on July 22, 2025 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD on September 23.

Loud and Clear Reviews has an affiliate partnership with Apple, so we receive a share of the revenue from your purchase or streaming of the films when you click on some of the links on this page. This won’t affect how much you pay for them and helps us keep the site free for everyone.