R4 DVD
Madman Entertainment
Surreal,
violent, erotic and extreme and are the first words that come to mind when
watching this film. It is also so quintessentially Japanese- exploring themes of
authority, technology, sex and the limits of the human body. But beware this is
a very adult and transgressive film; from the moment it opens with a bullet
exploding a policeman’s head while his daughter watches to its final scenes of
fantasy mixed with gore there does not seem to be a second where the screen is
not awash with blood and guts. It deliberately plays with the viewer mixing
humour, fake commercials, highly sexualized violence and an onslaught of
carnage which will have you reeling. At the same time the plot is intriguing
and challenging and explores a range of themes including the genetic basis of
the criminal mind, the interaction between technology and the body and the
danger of police control developing into an authoritarian state.
Yoshihiro
Nishimura developed the special effects for the highly successful “The Machine
Girl” and is now the director of Tokyo Gore Police using must of the same
creative team. The plot was developed by Yoshihiro Nishimura with Kengo Kaji and Sayako Nakoshi and
unfolds on many different levels. It is both shocking and depraved, yet
intelligent and reflective. There are aspects which are actually quite moving
and yet at other times you want to look away from the sheer overpowering
violence shown on the screen. The commercials throughout the film are
innovative and send up the commercialism of modern life as well as the vacuity
of pseudo patriotism. The constant emphasis on the interaction between organism
and machine is explored in an intriguing manner which at times is reminiscent
of David Cronenberg.
The
cinematography and look of the film is evocative. From the bright lights of
Tokyo to its seedy sex bars, from the steampunk retro modernism of the outfits
of the police to the way in which the “engineers” mix flesh with weaponry.
In
the big business world of future Tokyo with its bright lights and technological
excess everything has been taken over by the private sector and that includes
the police. After initial resistance led by Ruka’s father, the police forced
was privatized and the fights against criminal now uses maximum force.
Things,
however, are not as they were in the past. There is a new enemy on the block
which is proving difficult to destroy. They are known as “the engineers”. They
are genetically engineered criminals who on injury transform their bodies into
organic-technological weapons. When I say organic-technological weapons, I mean
some of the strangest human-mechanical combinations you will ever see in a
film. Penis guns, arm machine guns, acid-spewing tits, vagina monsters,
human-mechanized sex machinations and lots and lots more. Some of these
“creatures” leave the world of Clive Barker and Cronenberg for dead; they are
truly perverse and astonishing. The fetish club where sex, bodies and machinery
meet is a real joy. The living chair which urinates on the audience is an utter
delight !
These
engineers are nearly indestructible; the only way to kill them is to totally
destroy their bodies exposing a small tumour in the shape of the key which
seems to be the source of their mutant ability. The key is also the way in
which their origin can be uncovered.
There
is a small specialized amour clad department which focuses on destroying the
engineers. Chief among the hunters is Ruka, an
attractive young lass with a penchant for self
destructiveness and killing
the engineers with an
oversized samurai
sword.
We
soon discover that Ruka’s father was murdered by a hitman when he tried to stop
the police force privatizing and that somehow this hitman is involved with the
genetically engineered criminals. The criminals are created by the Key Man, a
scientist who went feral when confronted with the death of his father and it is event that ties Ruka and the
Key Man together.
This
is a truly original film which combines horror, fantasy, humour and some of the
most wicked special effects you will ever see. It is brutal, visceral, erotic
and compelling. There is lots and lots of gore, blood, sex and violence but so
much of it comes with a wink and a smile so it is an enjoyable romp.
There
are times I wondered did I really see that ? And that is quite an achievement
in the horror genre. While Tokyo Gore Police could be classified as a horror
there is a lot which merges into fantasy, it certainly reminds me more of Clive
Barker’s Nightbreed than Hellraiser for example. This is perhaps the future of
fantasy for adults and if this is so, hold on, we are entering uncharted
territory.
This review will appear in Volume 2 No.3 (2009)
of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.
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