A Janitor (2021)

Fukumi sees his father gunned down when he is just a boy. His father's Yakuza buddy takes him in and trains him as an assassin, then sends him to work as a janitor at his daughter's school to watch over her. After her father eats a bullet she becomes a target too, and waves of assassins converge on the school.

The first hour is mostly spent on low-key character development, making not much look good thanks to strong visuals, and saving most of its energy for the final 30 minutes - a series of showdowns in the confines of the mostly deserted school. Assassins show up in ones and twos, each with a distinctive style, there are a few minutes of Kensuke Sonomura-choreographed action, then we move on to the next.

It's a smart use of limited resources - know what you have to deliver on and commit to it, don't waste time where it isn't as valuable.

This is the film that spawned BABY ASSASSINS as a spin-off, though we perhaps have to assume it takes place in a parallel universe. Everybody's favourite teenage assassins are part of the attack on the school, with just a few moments to establish their characters before they have their turn in the ring (as it were). It's enough to see their potential, particularly Saori Izawa's skills, and you can see why Yugo Sakamoto decided to devote an entire film to them (actually three, as of last count).

A JANITOR doesn't have as much character as its more famous spin-off - the story is quite generic, the leads are less charismatic and the action is not as fresh, but it's a solid piece of low budget cinema.