Timo Tjahjanto lives by a simple creed: go big or go home. He’s the maximalist filmmaker behind some of the boldest and bloodiest action flicks to ever grace the screen. His latest, The Shadow Strays, is no exception, bursting out the gate with style, swagger, and an unholy body count.
Tjahjanto’s violent action epic should satisfy his longtime fans. But I recommend the faint of heart dive into some red band trailers first because The Shadow Strays is one of the most violent and gruesome action flicks of the year.
The film takes place in a rotten world run by corrupt politicians and crooked cops. They commit crimes with impunity, taking what they want and killing without remorse. The only thing keeping the criminal scum in check is The Shadows, a mysterious order of the world’s deadliest assassins.
The movie begins with teenage assassin 13 (Aurora Ribero) on a mission in Japan, infiltrating a heavily guarded Yakuza hideout. 13 takes out the lair’s crime boss and most of his stooges without breaking a sweat, but a moment of compassion for an innocent victim costs her a clean getaway. With 13’s life in jeopardy, her mentor Umbra (Hana Malasan) swoops in for the save.
Enraged by 13’s “weakness”, Umbra banishes her pupil to civilian life in Indonesia until she receives her next instructions. While in assassin purgatory, 13 befriends a young boy with a grudge against the local crime syndicate. When the boy goes missing, she rampages through Jakarta, hellbent on finding him. Her killing spree catches The Shadows’ attention and they’re not pleased about their young assassin attracting so much heat. In a race against the clock, 13 must complete her vendetta before she becomes the Shadows’ next target.
Tjahjanto comes from the go-for-broke school of filmmaking. He pours his heart and soul into staging a show like no other. You feel that passion in every scene, every shot, and every composition as he stages action sequences with the explosive precision of a heat-seeking missile.
You would be hard-pressed to find another 2024 action film that goes toe to toe with The Shadow Strays. The film barrels from set piece to set piece with the momentum of a runaway freight train. Tjahjanto jam-packs the 144-minute runtime with sword fights, shootouts, and chases with nary a moment to catch your breath.
His camera whips from beat to beat at warp speed, the screen pulsing and rattling as its subjects fight to the death. Speaking of death, this collection of assassins and goons meet the most punishing ends imaginable. The moment you think the violence can’t get any more extreme, Tjahjanto kicks the absurd brutality up a notch or three.
The violent murders in this film aren’t executions, they’re mutilations. Bodies get bludgeoned, shot, stabbed, skewered, blown up, crushed, emulsified and even deep-fried. Yes, you read that correctly, 13 deep-fries a MF’er to death.
If you’re not on this film’s twisted wavelength just go ahead and tap out early. Tjahjanto made one for the sickos, the sort of people who watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre rooting for the cannibals.
As much as I enjoyed watching Tjahjanto find new ways to outdo himself, the nonstop action grows tedious at times. I love this film’s ambition, but it’s almost too much to process. The adrenaline-filled action caused me to suffer adrenal fatigue as the many, many fight sequences began bleeding into one another.
The plot is serviceable for a violent revenge story. It doesn’t break any new ground, clinging to crime flick cliches like a drowning man clutching a life preserver. There’s just enough meat on the narrative bone to string together action sequences while giving viewers a rooting interest in the story’s vengeful protagonist.
Tjahjanto continues to level up as an action filmmaker, taking elements of John Wick, Kill Bill, and Man on Fire and blending them with his own stylish visuals and black sense of humour.
The Shadow Strays delivers a blood-soaked parade of violence aimed squarely at the hardcore. If you’re squeamish about watching 13 pummel henchmen’s faces into ground beef, consider skipping this film. But if hyper-violent action flicks like The Raid are your jam, prepare for one hell of a ride.
