2.5 does mean I enjoyed it.
I almost watched Pretty Devil Yoko after Tokyo Drifter, but I realized watching another new wave film after Tokyo Drifter could potentially make the second film look bad if it was, you know, less than a masterpiece, like how most movies are not masterpieces, you know?
So instead I watched this well-known gore-hound schlock from the guys who made Tokyo Gore Police. I never watched this back in the day, but I've been aware of it since its release because I'd seen Tokyo Gore Police the year before.
It seems like, in this movie, adults and the government are involved in a secret conspiracy to oppress mutants, which it turns out includes our main character, who cuts the school nurse's ear off with her crazy mutant hand on her 16th birthday. When she gets back home, her father exposes his mutant external vagina to her. Then they're killed by the fascist police, and Rin is chased through the streets by people looking to make money by killing her after mistaking her for a local legend. I guess growing up sucks, after all.
Right at the moment when Rin is about to die, she's saved by a mysterious stranger with a blade and an umbrella and put in an iron mask. That's when she meets her new best friends: girl with butt chainsaw, girl with breast swords, girl with hand head, a real bellydancer, and several named characters
I'll say this, alright? If you watched Tokyo Gore Police and desperately needed to see more weird, horny mutant girl cinema, no matter the quality, then I think you could watch this and get your fix. I think most people would pin this down as a vastly worse film, and most people don't rate Tokyo Gore Police. But here's the thing...and I realize this sounds insane, but there's a bizarrely sort of queer subtext to this film. After all, it's about a group of young mutant women led by a revolutionary crossdresser. They've always been there, but have been repressed by the dominant culture of mankind, forced to live their lives in secret. Late in the film, Rei and Rin's treasures (mutations) make music together. The big emotional statement is that they deserve to live, too. I mean, as a film it's offensive garbage, and the number of things that they put in here just to be shocking is actually amazing to contemplate. But like Tokyo Gore Police, there's an underlying sentiment shared with Tokyo Gore Police that it's possible for outcasts to resist control, overcome suffering, and experience happiness despite immense troubles. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's admirable. I mean, this film is never going to enter the queer canon or anything like that. It does, however, feature Naoto Takenaka, and he wears red briefs, which is a heck of a lot more than you can say for most movies.
The third act involves members of the Hiruko clan carrying out low-budget terrorist attacks. Most of the attacks seem to involve suicide bombing, and Rin questions the value of indiscriminate murder and suicide bombing. There's a racist caricature of a Chinese person. All of Rin's new friends die because of the suicide bombing strategy. It's not really sad because everything in this film is so immensely stupid. Yoshie holds off boob sword girl and butt chainsaw girl so Rin can chase after the third member of the film's trio, Rei, and stop her from blowing herself up. Yoshie ends up cutting the arms off of butt chainsaw girl and using her butt chainsaw to kill boob sword girl. There are some redeeming features of the final act, however: Kisaragi has defeated erectile dysfunction and become a JRPG boss, which seems to have been a core part of his plans all along, and Rin and Rei fight. The unexplained naked lady wakes up and starts self-harming to shoot burning blood at Yoshie. Rin and Rei's confrontation is actually really touching, and ends with an almost loving embrace which is interrupted by the super evil JRPG villain. That fight includes a Michael Jackson joke. There's some fantastic gore. The ending actually sort of feels a little triumphant. What can I possibly say at the end of the film, other than...jesus christ, dude
"The life of the party can't cry. Silly girl." "You're right." "Rin. Today you turn 16. Now...I will tell you something very important."
alt. quote: "It's over." "Not really." "What're we gonna do?" "For now, we gotta get out of here." "After that?" "Don't know. But we'll live. Let's live."
2.5 does mean I enjoyed it.
I almost watched Pretty Devil Yoko after Tokyo Drifter, but I realized watching another new wave film after Tokyo Drifter could potentially make the second film look bad if it was, you know, less than a masterpiece, like how most movies are not masterpieces, you know?
So instead I watched this well-known gore-hound schlock from the guys who made Tokyo Gore Police. I never watched this back in the day, but I've been aware of it since its release because I'd seen Tokyo Gore Police the year before.
It seems like, in this movie, adults and the government are involved in a secret conspiracy to oppress mutants, which it turns out includes our main character, who cuts the school nurse's ear off with her crazy mutant hand on her 16th birthday. When she gets back home, her father exposes his mutant external vagina to her. Then they're killed by the fascist police, and Rin is chased through the streets by people looking to make money by killing her after mistaking her for a local legend. I guess growing up sucks, after all.
Right at the moment when Rin is about to die, she's saved by a mysterious stranger with a blade and an umbrella and put in an iron mask. That's when she meets her new best friends: girl with butt chainsaw, girl with breast swords, girl with hand head, a real bellydancer, and several named characters
I'll say this, alright? If you watched Tokyo Gore Police and desperately needed to see more weird, horny mutant girl cinema, no matter the quality, then I think you could watch this and get your fix. I think most people would pin this down as a vastly worse film, and most people don't rate Tokyo Gore Police. But here's the thing...and I realize this sounds insane, but there's a bizarrely sort of queer subtext to this film. After all, it's about a group of young mutant women led by a revolutionary crossdresser. They've always been there, but have been repressed by the dominant culture of mankind, forced to live their lives in secret. Late in the film, Rei and Rin's treasures (mutations) make music together. The big emotional statement is that they deserve to live, too. I mean, as a film it's offensive garbage, and the number of things that they put in here just to be shocking is actually amazing to contemplate. But like Tokyo Gore Police, there's an underlying sentiment shared with Tokyo Gore Police that it's possible for outcasts to resist control, overcome suffering, and experience happiness despite immense troubles. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's admirable. I mean, this film is never going to enter the queer canon or anything like that. It does, however, feature Naoto Takenaka, and he wears red briefs, which is a heck of a lot more than you can say for most movies.
The third act involves members of the Hiruko clan carrying out low-budget terrorist attacks. Most of the attacks seem to involve suicide bombing, and Rin questions the value of indiscriminate murder and suicide bombing. There's a racist caricature of a Chinese person. All of Rin's new friends die because of the suicide bombing strategy. It's not really sad because everything in this film is so immensely stupid. Yoshie holds off boob sword girl and butt chainsaw girl so Rin can chase after the third member of the film's trio, Rei, and stop her from blowing herself up. Yoshie ends up cutting the arms off of butt chainsaw girl and using her butt chainsaw to kill boob sword girl. There are some redeeming features of the final act, however: Kisaragi has defeated erectile dysfunction and become a JRPG boss, which seems to have been a core part of his plans all along, and Rin and Rei fight. The unexplained naked lady wakes up and starts self-harming to shoot burning blood at Yoshie. Rin and Rei's confrontation is actually really touching, and ends with an almost loving embrace which is interrupted by the super evil JRPG villain. That fight includes a Michael Jackson joke. There's some fantastic gore. The ending actually sort of feels a little triumphant. What can I possibly say at the end of the film, other than...jesus christ, dude
"The life of the party can't cry. Silly girl." "You're right." "Rin. Today you turn 16. Now...I will tell you something very important."
alt. quote: "It's over." "Not really." "What're we gonna do?" "For now, we gotta get out of here." "After that?" "Don't know. But we'll live. Let's live."
