Shogun Assassin
The legendary midnight movie sensation that firmly embedded samurai mythology within American pop culture consciousness, SHOGUN ASSASSIN is the English-dubbed reedit of the first two films in the classic Japanese chanbaraseries LONE WOLF AND CUB – a giddily entertaining, mesmerizingly gory classic of East-meets-West grindhouse mayhem.
Following the murder of his wife at the hands of an evil shogun, an avenging ronin (Tomisaburo Wakayama) roams the countryside with his young son—and the boy’s sword-shooting baby carriage—in tow, dispatching ninja assassins with steely resolve in operatically stylized flurries of hallucinatory violence. With its pulsing synth soundtrack (co-written by Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & the Raiders) and delirious action set pieces—kinetically edited whirlwinds of flashing blades, spurting blood, and severed limbs—SHOGUN ASSASSIN proved an instant cult favorite that has bubbled its way up from the underground to the mainstream thanks to its influence on artists ranging from the Wu-Tang Clan to Quentin Tarantino.
Thursday, August 12 Encore Screening!
Doors 9:00 pm | Movie 9:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Advance tickets $15 HERE | $15 at the door
Due to reduced capacity, advance tickets are recommended for all shows to ensure seating. Online sales for every screening automatically end 1 hour before any given showtime.
*Minors permitted in the balcony. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service and main floor seating.
*Rio Theatre Groupons and passes OK for any single film screening only. Please redeem at the box office.
*If you are looking to redeem your tickets to either a canceled Rio Theatre screening or a Rio Theatre gift certificate, please email <riomanagers@gmail.com> with info including your name, canceled receipt number, gift certificate info, what you are wanting to see and when, and we can make the switch for you in advance. Alternately, you can bring this information with you to the venue, and we will do our best to help you at the box office.
SHOGUN ASSASSIN (Kenji Misumi and Robert Houston, 1980 / 90 mins / 18A) A Shogun who grew paranoid as he became senile sent his ninjas to kill his samurai. They failed but did kill the samurai’s wife. The samurai swore to avenge the death of his wife and roams the countryside with his toddler son in search of vengeance.
