It takes a special kind of misstep to make a hyper-violent revenge thriller feel boring, but Netflix's Demon City (2025) manages to pull it off. Billed as a brutal, blood-soaked quest for vengeance, this Japanese adaptation completely misses the gritty magic that makes films like The Raid the undisputed pinnacle of the genre.

The premise hits the ground running—perhaps a little too fast. The film gives viewers absolutely zero time to connect with the protagonist's family before violently stripping them away. His wife is shot point-blank in the face, and his young child is blasted in the back. From there, ex-hitman Shuhei Sakata (played by Toma Ikuta, who bears a highly distracting resemblance to an older Jungkook from BTS) awakens from a 12-year coma to exact his revenge.

Where masterpieces like The Raid thrive on authentic, bone-crunching choreography that feels physically taxing, Demon City abandons realism entirely. Because it is based on the ultra-violent manga Oni Goroshi, the protagonist’s resilience crosses the line from "adrenaline-fueled determination" to "literal supernatural demon."

This glaring issue culminates in a final battle that is agonizingly prolonged. The pacing during the climax is so abysmal that watching it at double speed might actually improve the viewing experience. By the end of this exhausting, dragged-out sequence, our lead has been stabbed a thousand times, riddled with bullets, pierced by an arrow, and has his arm hacked off. He finally reunites with his surviving long-lost daughter, only to immediately drop dead before the credits roll.

It is a bloated, uneven adaptation that tests your patience far more than it thrills you. If you want top-tier martial arts revenge, look elsewhere.