The Anatomy Of Samurai Cop

A cult film is described as, “strange, quirky, offbeat, eccentric, oddball, or surreal, with outrageous, weird, unique and cartoony characters or plots, and garish sets” (Dirks, 1). Furthermore, they are usually awry or different in style and are considered controversial because in a sense, they are breaking the rules of the narrative and production of film. There are certain elements that make a cult film to be considered one, anatomy, consumption, political economy, and cultural status. In Mathijs and Mendik’s article they define the four major elements: The anatomy is the overall film, this includes the style, content, format, and the genre. The consumption is defined as how the audience receives and reacts to the film. The political economy
consists of the finance and physicality of the film, such as promotions and ownerships. Lastly, the cultural status is defined as its relation to the time and era of the film, “how it comments on its surroundings, by complying, exploiting, critiquing or offending” (Mathijs & Mendik, 3). These elements explained by Mathijs & Mendik, can be applied to the film Samurai Cop, and can categorize and label it as a cult film. In this response I will be applying and discussing the major four elements of cult film and show why Samurai Cop is considered to be a cult film.
The first major element that I will be discussing is the anatomy of Samurai Cop.
The anatomy of a film refers to its style and the film’s format. The style of Samurai Cop can be described as cheap and fast filming, and according to critique George Pacheco from 10k Bullets it contains a plethora of “mini- masterpieces of unintentional comedic gold.” There are many moments in the film where there is comic relief with unintentional humor, such as close-ups of facial reactions and straight faced dialogue that give the film a comedic style even though it was unintentional. For example, when Joe, a.k.a. Samurai Cop, is giving a monologue about drug cartels and calling them “fuckers” it comes off as a comedic scene even though it is a serious moment when confronting the antagonists. Sub-features that are part of the element of anatomy include its genre, innovation, badness, and transgression. The genre of the film is described as a crime thriller but not comedy, the badness and innovation of the film has it stray away from the label as a crime thriller to, what Matt Hannon describes in an interview as a “knock off Lethal Weapon.” Due to the anatomy of the film it goes on to present a large consumption, including an active celebration, sense of community, liveness, and commitment of the fan
base.
The consumption of a film is the way in which it stands out to the audience and how it is received as well. Critics have called Samurai Cop “the best worst movie” and perceived, so bad that it’s good. There is an active celebration of the fan base that attend screenings and it brings a community of viewers together that are in the same niche audience, and are all actively involved during the screening. Quoting and imitation of scenes and sequences bring a liveness to the film which developed into events of people coming together. During the interview with Matt Hannon he emphasizes that the following of Samurai Cop began around the year 2010, nearly a decade after the film was released. Due to the active celebration, sense of community, and liveness fans have become committed to the film which then eventually leads to a sequel of the film. “In a landscape that is characterized by niche consumption, the cultures that enable and regulate cult receptions are of prime importance” (Mathijs & Mendik, 9). The niche consumption brings forth a reception of the film’s political economy. The political economy of a cult film includes aspects of production, promotion, and receptions to allow an opportunity to produce adaptations and sequels. The political economy of Samurai Cop has grown since the movie was released. Promotional posters show Hannon and the horny nurse posing half naked together showing a sexual context in the film. There was little promotion of the film, and the word spread through a small niche audience to other viewers, which expanded the community of people who enjoy and partake in the film events. Events started to emerge as the year’s pass and a great deal of reception rises as well, celebrating the film and the community that has come together. The reception became a huge part of the film’s history that a sequel has been promoted and produced due to the cultural context that exists. The cultural status of a cult film is labeled so, due to the strangeness, allegory, cultural sensitivities, and politics.