Here the immediacy makes this period of Japanese history come to life in a way I honestly have not seen before.

"Killing" presents an impressive combination of meaningfulness and aesthetics that results in one of the best films of the year, and a truly worthy entry to the samurai genre, through its extreme, but quite realistic approach to the whole concept.

In stripping the samurai film back to its main components and placing it into a realistic setting, Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto crafts a potent and thrilling critique of violence and the traditions that justify it.

...a decidedly minor key film in [Tsukamoto's] oeuvre that's nevertheless equally as nihilistic and nasty as anything he's ever directed.