‘The Shadow Strays’ Review – A Legacy Of Brutality Leaves Its Mark

Violence has a price. It leaves a mark. This is something that is lost in most action movies, especially those from mainstream filmmakers. That mark is shown physically, if at all. But that may be the process which has the least amount of depth. We, as viewers, sometimes get so wrapped up in the cool and the badass of it all that we forget, or ignore, what it does to humans to both enact and suffer violence, blood, and gore. Timo Tjahjanto, director of The Shadow Strays not only remembers this himself, but he never allows us to forget it either. He manages to straddle the line between filming deeply impressive action sequences and nearly forcing the audience to look away from the brutality on screen.

The Shadow Strays is the story of a young assassin named 13 (Aurora Ribero) who is introduced after a messy, mistake-filled assassination attempt in Japan. She is a member of The Shadows, a clan of assassins who never fail in their missions. There is never any clue as to what their motivations are or even who hires them. In the aftermath of this almost failure, she is first scolded by her instructor, Umbra (Hana Malasan), her instructor and forced to wait for her next mission. She soon comes into contact with an angry young boy, Monji (Ali Fikry), whose mother has recently died. Despite her youth, she immediately takes a caretaking role towards the boy. It is soon revealed that his mother had a connection to organized crime, and soon, Monji is kidnapped, spurring 13 to direct and bloody action. 

But if we are being completely real, every bit of the action (even before reason and motivation are brought into play) is absolutely bloody and full of bone-crunching brutality. Tjahjanto, along with cinematographer Batara Goempar creates art with perfectly shaky camera movements, bone-crunching sound (from Hiro Ishizaka), fountains of blood, and primal screams. The opening scene, which is essentially one elongated fight sequence, is nearly thirty minutes of uncut violence. And the movie only extends this action as the runtime runs on (even if a little too long). There are precious few breaks in the action, which is to the film’s mild detriment.

There are a few sweet, honest moments between 13 and Monji, and a few brief scenes between her and Umbra. Other than that, there is continued violence throughout. It is hard to get too mad at this, because damn if Tjahjanto isn’t a genius at making these sequences feel new, intense, and almost necessary. It is the mark of greatness that there is never a moment of “when is this over” during any of the fight scenes. But, I would happily sacrifice one of them for some more build between our main characters. 

But when the film really gets going, we understand well enough why she cares for Monji, as well as why she is angry about her own place. This is despite the fact that we are not given, in her introduction, any background about her besides her identifying number. Even though she wages a personal war against a seemingly endless criminal underground, the fight choreography remains inherently believable. Tjahjanto always seems to keep in mind size, the effects of previous fights, and speed advantages. Plus, the aforementioned marks 13 carries with her, not only her own trauma but the effects of every strike that she takes. And boy, are there strikes. Gone are the untouchable action heroes of the ‘80s and ‘90s. And thank goodness for that. In this day and age, there is nothing interesting about the muscle-bound action star who seems like they can take on the world. Here we have skill, determination, and yes, love saving the day. These are the only things that could possibly take on money, power, and the sheer numbers that 13 faces. 

In terms of action movies, The Shadow Strays has it all. Enough story to keep you engaged, some of the best fight sequences you will see all year, and a protagonist who you can root for, even when you know next to nothing about her. Plus, the ending, which is just right emotionally and physically, offers both insight into the characters and a terrific setup should they continue. Honestly, I will be even more excited for a sequel given the reveal. 

The Shadow Strays is currently available to stream on Netflix.