Set in the Edo period, the film is a tale of love and blood, revenge and liberation. Remade from a 1963 original, the story follows Shimada who leads a team of assassins trying to kill the ruthless Lord Matsudaira, who is wreaking havoc against his own people. Hired secretly by a government official hoping to end this reign of terror, Shimada recruits the best samurai to exterminate the lord’s 200 bodyguards. Another bloodshed epic by Takashi Miike, in classic Japanese sword-battle mode with a splash of cult taste.