Junk: Shiryô-gari

In an abandoned factory on the Japanese island of Okinawa, the U.S. army secretly developed a serum called "DNX" that is able to bring the dead back to life. Something went wrong and all scientists were killed. Now meet Saki and her gang. They just robbed a jeweller and are on their way to meet some Yakuza for a big deal. Guessed their meeting point? It doesn't take long time and an army of bloodthirsty zombies is after them. Soon everybody is running and fighting for his life...

20 years after the heydays of ultra-gory Italian zombie movies, the Japanese start to produce somehow very similar movies like this one. Heavily influenced by such films as George A. Romero's zombie trilogy, Italian and Spanish shockers from the late 70's and early 80's and the 1992 Japanese film "Living Dead in Tokyo Bay", this is a fun splatter film, and as such it delivers what fans would expect. The gory special effects are done very well most of the time - if you can't stand dismemberment, heads blown into pieces and gut-munching zombies, stay far away! On the other side, splatter movie fans will have plenty of fun with this movie.

I like zombie movies, and I like Japanese movies, but this one was just too amateurish. The acting went from bad to worse, at times getting so bad you couldn't concentrate on the movie - you had to stop and marvel at a line delivered particularly badly, wondering why it wasn't edited out and if that actor was possibly a funding source for the movie. To be fair, the Japanese actors, in general, did a much better job than their American counterparts.

For a better example of the Japanese zombie movie, see Bio Zombie. That at least has a decent level of humor. Junk had little to no humor, indicating that they took the movie a little too seriously. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't finish watching, but it was so bad I knew I'd never watch it again.

Mooshing together the "Reservoir Dogs" plot with a dose of "Re-Animator" and "Dawn of the Dead", this concerns a bunch of diamond thieves who meet up with mobsters at an abandoned military base, only to be ambushed by the living dead. Gleefully fast-paced, with zombies resembling the ones featured in "City of the Walking Dead"...i.e. the zombies look like they have mud all over their faces. Good gory fun, without the hassle of a plot. Too bad there ain't more of this kind of stuff these days. Most of the zombie stuff of late (House of the Dead, Resident Evil) treat zombies as just another shoot-'em-up element. Here they are the thrust of the story...what story there is.

Although severely outclassed by later films like "Wild Zero" and "Versus," "Junk" is still a worthwhile foray into the zombie genre, which seems to be getting a transfusion of much needed new blood over in Japan. The characters in this film are either selfish and unlikeable or simply cliche, which is the real drawback to the film. It prevents any sort of tension or emotional involvement. At the same time, there is a half-naked super zombie woman kicking people's heads off and breaking out some serious undead kungfu, so who can really complain? Decent gore, some good action, and a high energy level elevate the movie above the mundane script and characters, resulting in an above average time waster that delights in the end. If you're expecting the cuteness of "Wild Zero" or "Dead Alive," or the apocalyptic impact of "Dawn of the Dead," you're better off watching those movies. If you're looking for no-nonsense, gory, idiotic zombie fun with some gun toting Yakzua thrown in, this movie is aces.

A group of jewel thieves is to meet some Yakuza members at an abandoned facility to hock the hot ice...little did anyone seem to know that this "facility" was a former military installation that was doing work on the dead, namely - bringing them back to life. Guess it worked, 'cuz now the place is crawling with the undead. The jewelry deal goes bad, and now we have some people to supply lunch for the zombies...

JUNK is a pretty cool zombie film. Nothing really ground-breaking or spectacular, and seems to be much more related to the American, Romero-type zombie films than the typically whacked-out Asian stuff. The story is pretty simple, there's plenty of gore to go around, and the film is never really self-indulgent or too serious. A fun way to spend a couple of hours, but not a "great" film either. I personally tend to like JUNK less than most others that I talk to....still would recommend a look- 7.5/10