"The troubles of the Kyogoku house begin with the lord's death. He has left an heir and two illegitimate sons, one of whom is plotting to eliminate the heir. The other illegitimate son, now a masterless samurai, attends the funeral but is turned away when his evil half-brother senses a threat. The newcomer is a marked man. When the loyal family adviser is murdered, the way is wide open for the evil faction to bring down the heir and assume the prerogatives of the house. The evil brother almost succeeds but is no match for his moral brother. Their confrontation is the highlight of the film. The one is the personification of evil and is taking part in a hellish rite in a cave near a waterfall. The good brother comes to dissuade him from going further with his plan. ‘I've come to save you,' he says. ‘Too late! I'm already in Hell....!' cries the malevolent brother.
"In this film Osone took up one of the favorite plot lines of samurai films-the attempt at the usurpation of the title to a baronial house. (Kurosawa used it in Sanjuro, in which a wandering samurai assists an ineffectual group of youths opposing the machinations of an evil faction.) Kokichi Takada plays the good brother, but it is Jushiro Konoe, a versatile actor, who steals the film with his portrayal of the evil usurper." -- Frank T. Motofuji