his throat. Scott and Seikura fight, but Seikura escapes the compound. Meanwhile, Aura infiltrates the compound and recruits several of her fellow former trainees to fight back and burn the compound to the ground. They end up destroying the entire camp. Aura then goes after Scott and Seikura. As the sun is coming up, she sees Seikura attack Scott from behind. However, Scott stabs Seikura with his sword and the movie ends with Scott standing over Seikura's body. Cast Release Theatrical The Octagon opened on 244 screens in Dallas, Kansas City, and St. Louis on 8 August 1980, before expanding into Los Angeles on 22 August 1980. Reception Critical response Variety noted that the film "ought to keep the fans happy. A bizarre plot involving the Ninja cult of Oriental assassins with international terrorism provides plenty of chances for Norris and other martial art experts to do their stuff, and pic has a nicely stylized look with excellent lensing and music. Subtleties of writing and performing are not this film's selling points, so it would be misleading to belabor those inadequacies." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "It has an understandable story with a little bit of sophistication, which immediately places it head and shoulders above the typical kung-fu chop-socky flick. Unfortunately, 'The Octagon' gets a little too complicated for its own good. There are a bunch of supporting characters who really aren't that crucial to the story, once it gets going in a straight line toward the ultimate confrontation between Scott James and his Oriental relative." Linda Gross of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "What is deeply disturbing about this movie is its inherent cynicism and wholesale endorsement of and commitment to violence. The screenplay by Leigh Chapman from a story by Chapman and Paul Aaron is predicated on the notion that pacifism causes violence and the only way to stop terrorism is to become a better fighter than your enemy, who in this case happens to be the hero's half-brother. The film also implies that if there are no wars around to fight, it's necessary to invent some." Joseph McLellan of The Washington Post wrote, "Clearly 'The Octagon' is no real threat to 'War and Peace' or even 'Beau Geste,' but it will appeal to those who are still in mourning for Bruce Lee, who like carefully choreographed