The Threat: A Suspenseful Tale of Desperate Criminals (Limited Edition Blu-ray)

The Film:

Prolific filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku is arguably most known around the world for his outstanding adaptation of Koushun Takami's novel "Battle Royale," a thrilling dystopian tale that pits middle school students against each other in a battle to the death. However, over three decades earlier, he made an entirely different type of thriller simply called "The Threat," that used a much smaller scale to deliver those thrills as it unfolds its tense story of a family under siege by desperate escaped convicts. The film had never been released outside of Japan, but thanks to Arrow Films' new Blu-ray edition, fans of the director will now finally have the chance to see this little-known work, giving them a glimpse of his talent from well-before the madness of his most popular project.

As the film opens, Misawa (Rentarô Mikuni), his wife Hiroko (Masumi Harukawa), and their young son Masao (Pepe Hozumi) are attending a wedding that they soon return home from. They settle in for the night, only to be interrupted by two escaped convicts, Kawanishi (Kô Nishimura) and Sabu (Hideo Murota), who hold them hostage as they attempt to obtain a ransom for a baby that they've kidnapped from the family of a doctor (Ken Mitsuda). They soon drag Misawa into their plot, using him as a go-between in their desperate bid to obtain the money, placing him in danger while the crooks continue to threaten his wife & son at home, leaving him little choice but to comply.

"The Threat" is one of those films where it's fair to say that the concept at its core is a rather simple one. We have a pair of crooks who've broken out of jail, kidnapped a baby, taken a family hostage, and forced one of them to help get ransom money for the child. However, even films with uncomplicated plots like this can be a source of great tension if used correctly, and in this case, it's also fair to say that Fukasaku and his co-screenwriter Ichirô Miyagawa do just that rather effectively.

For purposes of complete transparency, it does need to be mentioned that the film does start off a little slow on the onset. That is to say that it takes it a little while to find its footing before the pieces of the plot fall into place, allowing the aforementioned tension to really take hold. Not that there isn't a fair amount contained just in the initial scenes between the crooks & the family, but it's not until Misawa becomes their middle-man that things truly start to take off. From there, it becomes a rather delicate matter of executing their demands without getting caught by the constantly-hovering police.

The true meat of the film is watching Misawa try to solve these complicated, puzzle-like scenarios that also include trying to rescue his family from the constant threat of the two thugs. This strategic element is one of the key components that help turn "The Threat" into an engaging, suspenseful thriller, giving the simple premise all the extra oomph it needs to deliver a captivating tale. By the time it comes to an end after its brief 84 minutes, you'll have no problem seeing why Fukasaku was easily able to deliver thrills on a much larger scale decades later, and why he was able to become such a prolific/in-demand filmmaker from practically the very start of his career.

Video/Audio:

"The Threat" comes to Blu-ray in a 2.35:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of excellent quality. The film may be nearly 60 years old & a little obscure, but the new transfer has it looking perfectly sharp & clear throughout its brief 84-minute runtime. Likewise, the original uncompressed mono audio is marvelous, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in outstanding quality. Overall, Arrow Films has done a wonderful job on the film's first physical release outside of Japan.

Special Features:

Audio Commentary by Tom Mes: An informative commentary track featuring a Japanese film expert.

Warning Warning Danger Danger (19 Minutes): An intriguing appreciation of the film by critic and Japanese film specialist Mark Schilling.

Conclusion:

Kinji Fukasaku's "The Threat" may have a somewhat simplistic kidnap & ransom premise at its core, but thanks to a skillful use of said premise that incorporates an intriguing protagonist trying to deduce his way out of a difficult situation, it's able to capitalize on it to deliver an engaging, suspenseful thriller that demonstrates the director's early talent for the genre.

Score: 3.5/5

Available on Limited Edition Blu-ray starting tomorrow.

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