Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair

justacinephile - Alexander Wiley

Written from 11 to 21 December 2025

Ecstatic. Euphoric. Energized. These are some of the feelings experienced when I learned Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece, co-written by Uma Thurman, “Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair” (KBTWBA) was being released in theaters on December 5, 2025 around the USA. I saw it in theaters with my wife on December 6th at The Alamo Drafthouse in Springfield, MO (thank you, my love, for the Christmas gift).  The singular film is Tarantino’s and Thurman’s original vision for the film. The studio insisted on it to be divided into two parts, Volumes I & II, respectively released in theaters in 2003 and 2004. 

I adore Kill Bill. I’ve seen Kill Bill Volume I sixty-eight times and Kill Bill Volume II twelve times since 2007; of those viewings, I’ve only seen Volumes I and II back to back in the same sitting twice, but those viewings were back in 2007 and 2008. One of my wedding gifts was a signed Kill Bill poster that hangs proudly in my office. I dressed up, on multiple Halloweens, as various characters from the movies. Over the years, I accumulated books on the movie lore. I became a filmmaker in 2020 because I’m inspired by Quentin Tarantino and named my business, Yellow & Black Studios, after the color of Beatrix Kiddo’s jumpsuit. 

Overview of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, according to IMDB.com: “A young woman is shot and left for dead at her wedding. Her entire wedding party is massacred in cold blood. After four years in a coma she awakes and systematically sets out to wreak revenge on the people responsible, especially their leader, Bill.”

The singular film also includes additional animated sequences, all of which were made after the original theatrical releases. I felt these sequences were unnecessary, but added to the lore of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad network. I won’t go into descriptions of these animated sequences to allow viewers to enjoy them as they see the film in theaters. 

What struck me the most about KBTWBA were the character arcs of Beatrix Kiddo (Black Mamba), Budd (Sidewinder), O-ren Ishii (Cottonmouth), Vernita Green (Copperhead), Elle Drive (California Mountain Snake), Bill (Snake Charmer), Hattori Hanzo, and Pai Mei. Enjoying the entirety of Kill Bill on the silver screen largely changed my appreciation of each character arc. Although it is his most violent film, KBTWBA is his most grounded story because of its highly constructed characters in filmography of characters who are intensely created. 

In order to move forward, I should talk about Tarantino’s filmography to compare them to KBTWBA. “Reservoir Dogs” (1992) is a tightly and brilliantly written film, but the criminals are not easily relatable. Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) is complex and conflicted, but I could not see myself in his position. “Pulp Fiction” (1994) is still a masterpiece of crazy cool characters, but the criminal underworld is not relatable or something I’ve experienced. “Jackie Brown” (1997) is a sleeper hit with hilarious characters, but I’m not a gun runner screwing over everyone. “Death Proof” (2007) is a stylized B-movie grindhouse film, but the characters are too-far-fetched to understand. “Inglorious Basterds” (2009) is a well-crafted and highly memorable war epic, but the stories the characters experienced aren’t anything I’ve lived through. Django Unchained (2012) is a stylized slavery story, but the lives of those characters are too far removed from mine. The Hateful Eight (2015) is a fantastic whodunit mixed with epic western genres, but the seedyness of each character is not relatable. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (2019) is a cool and superior look at behind the scenes of the movie industry which is a little close to what I’ve experienced but not at that grand scale. 

It might be strange to say KBTWBA is a grounded film. The stylized violence, intense action sequences, seedy themes, gruff language, exploitative nature, and lots of blood are not usually synonymous with “grounded”. It’s the characters’ stories in KBTWBA that are grounded. Tarantino & Thurman crafted a film, in its most bare bones structure, about a traumatized woman running away from an abusive relationship only to have her child taken away from her. In her search for her child, she does what any parent will do - find their child any means necessary. Thurman’s Beatrix Kiddo just happens to be a seasoned and dangerous assassin; her “any means necessary” threshold is above the 99th percentile in terms of martial arts, swordsmanship, weapons tactics, stealth, and more. In KBTWBA, the character arc of Kiddo is strong, compelling, touching, tragic, immersive, and thorough; all of her flaws are exposed and she is left with nothing but her assassin skills. In the end, she’s left with doubt in her mind - can she be a mom even though she’s killed hundreds of people?  This question will thankfully not be answered. Tarantino does a brilliant job in leaving much up to the imagination, and dread, of the viewer. 

Hattori Hanzo’s character contributes depth and humor to the dark, violent, and twisted story. Hanzo, played by Sonny Chiba who is a martial arts film legend, solidifies his singular sequence in the sushi bar as one of the most memorable. There’s no violence, but the soliloquy he performs is violent, haunting, and pensive in nature. It grounds the film in martial arts lore and theme.

Pai Mei (Gordon Liu) is a caricature of a kung fu master who demands respect, loves his beard, and is brutal in training. The introduction of Mei is significant because Bill comes down the stairs to Mei’s complex, Gao Temple in Zhongwei, China, with a bruised face. The audience knows Bill is an accomplished martial artist, so it can only be imagined how intense the scuffle was to convince Mei to take Beatrix in as his student. Mei becomes famous for his Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique and the Three-Inch punch. What I like most about Pai Mei is his ferocious respect of Beatrix Kiddo, even through his racist and discriminatory remarks. He tries to break Beatrix, but she refuses to give in. Perhaps it’s her love for Bill or a deeper drive that makes her resilience reach new heights. 

Elle Driver has the least screen time in KBTWBA; however, her presence on screen is purposeful and highly interesting. She only shows up in Volume I in the hospital armed with a syringe pumped full of poison, a sleek white nurse outfit, and a red cross eye patch. The sound in this scene makes it iconic with the nod to the 1968 British film, Twisted Nerve in which Elle Driver whistles as she walks down the hallway. It is haunting and unsettling as Elle cracks a sinister grin as she walks. Elle Driver shows up in Volume II to collect a sword she plans to swindle from Budd, a former assassination member. Daryl Hannah delivers some of her most potent lines and action sequences where she battles dirty with Beatrix Kiddo, only to lose her other eye. It’s a mystery what happens to Elle Driver, but she can’t seek revenge while blind, considering she’s a lone wolf who depends on no one. Her characterization is grounded in her hate for Beatrix Kiddo; she wants Bill as her lover. The fight between Beatrix and Elle is full of pain, hate, and dirty tactics, which is a stark contrast to Beatrix vs O-ren or Beatrix vs Vernita. 

Vernita Green, played brilliantly by a clever and sinister Vivica A. Fox, has only one solo scene. She meets her demise to Beatrix’s knife, but her scene tells much about The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. Why can Vernita live a quiet life with her husband and child after retiring from the killing game while Beatrix was hunted down after leaving because she became pregnant? This isn’t apparent at the start of Volume I, but it becomes a big issue later in Volume II. Also, Vernita’s recovery after being punched in the face after opening the front door is lightning fast and shows how she could’ve gone back into the life of an assassin in a split second; her knife fighting skills are wickedly impressive. Fox shows off her acting ability through being the gentle mother to a ruthless killer in a singular scene. Her demise is one of the most depressing because her daughter witnessed it. 

Budd’s storyline, even compared to Beatrix Kiddo, is the saddest. Budd was played by the late and brilliant actor, Michael Madsen, who had one of the coolest raspy voices. After the massacre at the chapel, he follows a neo-western depressed life in a trailer in the desert. It’s Tarantino’s tribute to the recluse in the western genre who gets pulled back into the violence he tried to leave. Bill, his brother, visits him after the massacre at The House of Blue Leaves, but Budd laughs him off because he still hates him for an unknown reason. He gets fired from his job at the strip club and is in need of money. So, when he ambushes Beatrix who attempted to sneak up on him, he calls up Elle Driver to sell the Hattori Hanzo sword for $1 million. In the meantime, he buries Beatrix alive but says, “this is for breaking my brother’s heart” before he seals the coffin. This is another nod to the subdued and tragic love story crafted by Tarantino & Thurman. Budd dies from bites from a black mamba snake planted by Elle Driver; his death is horrible and slow, which is unlike the other members of the Deadly Vipers. 

O-Ren Ishii’s storyline is rich, powerful, and a violent assault on the audience. It’s curious to see how O-ren’s story contains the most background and variety, even compared to Beatrix Kiddo’s story. O-ren, played by a polished, fierce, and highly capable Lucy Liu, surrounds herself with the Japanese mafia, The Crazy 88. O-ren’s showdown at The House of Blue Leaves would’ve been entertaining and violently insane on its own, but Tarantino added a depressing and lengthy backstory. O-ren’s parents were killed by a Yakuza boss, who also was a pedophile; O-ren utilized his disgusting vice and seduced him. O-ren assassinated the Yakuza boss, escaped, and grew up to become a crime queen. Tarantino plays with the audience because now O-ren’s association with violence is understandable and grounded. How else would a traumatized girl who only knows violence turn out as an adult?  People are just pawns in her obsession with power. What are her desires in life if she can kill anyone she wants to? None of her henchmen mean much to her, except for Sofie Fatale and Gogo Yubari, who she shows a little remorse for their demise. The rest of the Crazy 88 are just pawns to protect her and do her bidding. 

Bill’s story arc is the most subdued, a big nod to David Carradine’s acting chops. His rich voice fills the story with pain, regret, diabolic humor, intelligence, and calm. He is not seen in Volume I, but his presence and aura are felt in each scene. In Volume II, his character arc becomes the most important versus Beatrix Kiddo’s. Yes, his name is on the title of each movie, but killing Bill isn’t a simple task - it’s an arduous journey. Bill’s backstory of how much Beatrix admired him as a teacher and lover is potent, convincing, and sad. Two scenes stick out to me: the campfire and the porch at the chapel. The campfire scene in which Beatrix and Bill converse before Beatrix goes off to study with Pai Mei is telling because of how Bill is in his calm, romantic state with her. With his flute, he tells the story of Pai Mei and shows the audience how much he holds Beatrix in high regard. It’s a touching and haunting scene given it comes an hour and a half after the massacre at The House of Blue Leaves. The porch scene is difficult to watch because Bill, with another flute, is calm and relaxed speaking in his low, raspy voice. The audience already knows about the impending carnage, so the romantic, flirty gestures between Beatrix and Bill are painful. This is the brilliance of Tarantino’s directing because he places conflicting emotions in a thrilling and morally difficult paradox. 

If there is a flaw, it is in the uneven amount of time Tarantino gives to each character. Beatrix Kiddo gets the most, O-ren the second, Bill the third,  Budd the fourth.  Elle Driver gets the least amount of story, but her screen time is one of the most memorable - the whistle! 

At its core, KBTWBA is a tragic love story without the expletive or romantic components usually found in stories and movies. All of the pieces associated with a love story are extracted and become references mentioned by each character. There is not any scene that directly establishes Bill and Beatrix as lovers; it’s the tension, regret, remorse, hatred, violence, and touching dialogue that shapes their twisted love story. It’s a rather compelling manner to tell a love story amidst a film comprising two film genres: westerns and kung fu. This is why I love the movie; it tells the story between the lines and wants the audience to make their own connections. 

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on December 6, 2025 with my lovely wife, Amy.

I’m over the moon to be able to see Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair in theaters. In all of its glorious and squeamish sequences, I saw my favorite movie of all time on the silver screen. Thank you, Amy, for this special gift; I’m ecstatic to share it with you.