The Warrior series started off with a bang. When I saw the opportunity to review the sequels, I jumped at the chance. Mondo Macabro released them both in a Blu-ray double feature. The first of these sequels is “The Warrior and the Blind Swordsman”. The character of Jaka Sembung is back but the movie focuses much more on the titular swordsman, Si Buta. Like in the first film, the Dutch Colonial government is searching for someone to defeat Jaka Sembung. After a tournament where Si Buta is the victor, he takes the assignment. Only fifteen minutes into the movie, the warrior and the blind swordsman are fighting. The movie introduces an evil sorceress who wants to turn the swordsman into her lover, but he refuses, knowing it will cost him his soul. Later, it is revealed that she has a small army of lady worshippers and runs some sort of cult. It is not clear who the hero of the story is (except for Jaka Sembung), as the swordsman displays a gray morality. His true allegiances are revealed as the movie progresses, but the moral ambiguity makes the plot hard to predict. The story goes in directions that I did not expect, and I had a least one legitimately jaw dropping moment. In the end, there is a huge battle with a coven of witches, a monkey-tailed magician, and the Dutch colonial army all fighting the heroes.

In the “Warrior and the Ninja”, Jaka Sembung teams up with a female ninja named “The Black Squirrel”, a woman who robs the rich and gives to the poor. The movie opens with a volcanic explosion that unleashes a superhuman villain bent on revenge against the magician that imprisoned him. The villain is eventually found and convinced to be an enforcer for the Dutch Colonials. Once again, the seemingly invincible bad guy is tasked with defeating Jaka Sembung. The volcano and earthquake effects were well done. The village was clearly a model, but it was an ambitious effect that sets the tone for a much bigger film than the previous movies. There is a torture scene like in the first film, but this one is much less gory. The hand-to-hand combat is longer and more polished. One of the villains is a filthy looking man whose weakness is water, which made me laugh. Another low budget but well-done effect is a man gets punched, cracks open, and crumbles into pieces. When the killing blow strikes him, the film is frozen and hand-drawn cracks appear. Then the film cuts to a pile of meat chunks that used to be the character. In the end, the male hero and villain face off at the same time as the female heroine and villain. Both fights are inter-cut into a nice double climax. Once the battle is over, there is little falling action and the movie abruptly ends.

There are not any special features outside of subtitles and chapter selection, which left me a little sad. The original film came with a treasure trove of extras. I watched both films with the English dub and English subtitles. They did not match for most of the movie, apparently using very different translations. At times, they differed so much that it would completely change the interpretation of a character. Regardless, the films were full of ridiculous action and over-the-top heroics. In the case of The Warrior franchise, the sequels go bigger while keeping the tone of the original. Definitely a recommend.