Overview: Leather up and get ready for the ride of your lives, in this high-octane biker movie from Toei by cult director Teruo Ishii (Horrors of Malformed Men) with a cast headed by Sonny Chiba!

Iwaki (Koichi Iwaki) is a motorbike mechanic with big dreams of racing professionally. Then temptation arrives in the shapely form of Mayumi (Junko Matsudaira), the wild and free lover of Mitsuda (Yusuke Natsu), the leader of the Red Rose Gang, a pack of speed freaks tearing up the town.

Iwaki meanwhile has his sights set on the sweet and innocent Michiko (Tomoko Ai), but any potential romance is hampered by her overprotective brother Tsugami (Sonny Chiba) and Mitsuda’s bullish plans to make Michiko his own trophy. Does Iwaki take the straight and narrow option, or opt for a more dangerous road?

Blu-ray Verdict: As the story goes, Waki (Koichi Iwaki) is a hotshot motorcycle mechanic with hopes of professional racing. When the main squeeze of the local biker-gang’s chief takes a shine to him and he reciprocates, he’s thrust into the midst of their illegal street racing, nonstop partying, and general counterculture demeanor.

However, his principal attraction is to a shy young beauty outside of the scene, Michiko (Tomoko Ai). Forced to balance his growing gang ties, his job, and his courtship of Michiko, he’s stuck in a seemingly unwinnable scenario as he struggles to keep everyone happy.

That’s the core plot and Ishii covers it well, but he’s mostly here for the vibes, stuffing the film with cool kids doing outlandish things in a totally unrestrained subculture. That includes one biker with his hair shaved into the shape of a swastika, although he disappears fairly quickly.

It may not always make sense, but Detonation! Violent Riders is most definitely, and consistently entertaining, as Ishii takes us on a lurid adventure with energetic, breakneck pacing that never lets up. Just be prepared for an abrupt bleak ending that feels like a bit of a betrayal of the rest of the film’s plot/premise!

Bonus Features:
LIMITED EDITION INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED OBI STRIP
LIMITED EDITION BOOKLET
HIGH DEFINITION BLU-RAY PRESENTATION IN 2.35:1 ASPECT RATIO
ORIGINAL MONO 2.0 AUDIO WITH NEW ENGLISH SUBTITLES
AUDIO COMMENTARY BY ASHLEY DARROW AND JONATHAN GREENAWAY OF THE HORROR VANGUARD PODCAST
BRAND NEW VIDEO ESSAY BY NATHAN STUART
TRAILER
STILLS GALLERY
ORIGINAL AND NEWLY COMMISSIONED ARTWORK BY ILAN SHEADY

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