Tokyo Gore Police movie review

by Chris   ⋅   June 8, 2008   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

Director: Yoshihiro Nishimura
Starring: Eihi Shiina, Itsuji Itao, Shoko Nakahara
Genre: Japan, Horror
This film will be given it’s West Coast Premiere at SF Indie’s Another Hole in the Head 2008, June 22. Click here for showtimes.

Wow. I’m at a loss for words. What can I say about Tokyo Gore Police? Well, first off, I guess I would have to make note that the film was far different than I initially expected. Fans of Machine Girl beware, Tokyo Gore Police is not a straightforward splatstick comedy. There are plenty of comedic elements, but for the most part the gore in this one will shock and appall you just as often as it makes you laugh. If that sounds like your idea of a good time, read on.

The second of this year’s two TokyoShock/Nikkatsu productions, Tokyo Gore Police marks makeup and special effects guru Yoshihiro Nishimura (Noriko’s Dinner Table, Strange Circus)’s directorial debut. Armed with a script by Kengo Kaji (Eko Eko Azarak, Uzumaki) and Sayako Nakoshi, they have set out to make one of the strangest, bloodiest films you’re likely to see at this year’s Another Hole in the Head festival.

Tokyo Gore Police sees a future Tokyo plagued by a bio-mechanical virus, taking the form of a key-shaped tumor in its host’s body, and a general homicidal psychosis. Infected persons are known as “Engineers” for their ability to manufacture weapons out of their flesh wounds. Our heroine, Ruka (Eihi Shiina, Audition), a female member of the city’s privatized police force, is tasked with tracking down and eradicating such engineers, as well as locating and arresting the infection’s source: a mysterious individual known only as The Key Man (Itsuji Itao, Hanging Garden, Ghost Train). As her investigation unfolds, Ruka discovers a history of genetic experimentation, abuses of power, and murder, all somehow linking back to her murdered father, Tokyo’s former police chief. As the evidence mounts, and the bodies continue to pile up, Ruka soon finds that the very people she works for might be more dangerous than the engineer threat ever was.

While Machine Girl’s references were almost all exclusively from Japanese pulp genres, Tokyo Gore Police seems just as inspired a bit from the Western Sci-Fi. The overall look and feel of the film is evocative of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, as well as William Gibson cyberpunk. There are moments of Cronenbergian body manipulation, complete with organic interfaces, a la Existenz, as well as satirical interludes in the form of comedic commerical insertions, a la Paul Verhoeven. However, the film maintains a distinctly Japanese tone and aesthetic. The privatized police force is a mix of police emblems and old samurai armor, by way of Mamoru Oshii’s trademark storm troopers. There’s the freakiest of freaky bondage clubbing, complete with a snail woman (possible Yokai experimentation) and one of the space characters from Vermillion Pleasure Night. And yes, thanks to Kengo Kaji, there’s a healthy dose of occultism, complete with an appearance by a midget devil.

As far as its shock and gore factor is concerned, Tokyo Gore Police is unequaled. Blood flows like Texas rain throughout, while lopped off limbs are piled higher than the mind can fathom. In the body mutation realm, the film proudly exhibits a penis gun, a massive vagina trap, a retracting chainsaw, teeth-boobies, organic bullets and much much more. In terms of pacing and tone, however, the film almost completely falters. Many a stunning visual is allowed to stick on screen too long. Lengthy sequences of Eihi Shiina’s glassy, non-emotive, frighteningly non-comprehending stare are paraded about ad-nauseum. And sequences of Ruka slicing and dicing are allowed more slow-mo than found in the entire Wild Bunch. In terms of tone, the film goes from serial killer horror to a cautionary tale of fascistic paranoia and aggression, complete with shoehorned, borderline dunder-headed commentary on current Japan/China relations. However, in making these criticisms it’s important to point out that this is Yoshihiro Nishimura’s first film, and some basic indulgences and general foot finding are to be expected. While these elements proved a bit tiresome, Nishimura nonetheless demonstrates a recognizable competence as a filmmaker.

Before we close, something is worth saying regarding the actors involved. Eihi Shiina’s screen presence proves as discomforting as ever. Her performance proves by and large robotic throughout. I’m not sure how she was chosen for the project, but I believe it might have had something to do with Tokyo Shock’s wanting an actress with a bit more marketability on US shores, by way of her Audition fame, rather than any sort of competency in terms of acting. Her shortcomings are slightly made up for by the remainder of the cast. The film also features a shocking appearance by Shoko Nakahara (Sodom the Killer, Visitor Q), who suffers one of the film’s goriest on-screen deaths.

In closing, Tokyo Gore Police wasn’t at all what I expected, nor was it something I was entirely prepared for. The film’s definitely a very niche piece, and I’d like to think I’m quite the niche-film kind of guy, but some of the material left me scratching my head. Tokyo Gore Police isn’t what I would call an entirely enjoyable film, but it is well put together and worth talking about. At the very least it holds the promise of increasingly strange and shocking things to come from Yoshihiro Nishimura.

About the Author

Chris Nelson has been a film fanatic for as long as he can remember. A former film and English major, he is now a Software Engineer and contract Technical Writer living in the Silicon Valley.