Junk

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.

Junk (2000) was one of the new wave zombie films to come from Japan during the turn of the century. Like the others it was made on the cheap but highly entertaining. This film's about an experiment gone awry (can't those scientists get anything right?). The gore level is very high and it features two very unlikely heroes and some hot Japanese ladies. Why can't they make zombie films like this in the United States instead of rubbish like Resident Evil (which parts of this movie were taken from). Junk (like Score) was partially shot in English. I love this movie and I know you will to.

Highly recommended

George A. Romero would be pleased.

Did I mention there were two hot Japanese ladies in the picture?

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.

Director Atsushi Muroga does it again... after having taken parts from "Reservoir Dogs", "Natural Born Killers", "The Getaway" and numerous other action/crime films to mix it all together for his gore loaded actioner "Score" (1995) about jewelry robbers versus criminal couple versus double crossing Yakuzas, he mixes Lucio Fulci's "Zombi 2" (aka "Zombie Flesh Eaters" etc.) with George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" and "Day of the Dead" and "Re-Animator", plus "Return of the Living Dead" 1 and 3, and, concerning the basic plot, his own "Score" (which means the film has also elements of the above mentioned American non-Zombie productions) to create a modern Zombie movie that looks like one that was made in the early 1980s: almost nostalgic.

That doesn't mean that the movie is totally unoriginal. It's the first of a recent "Zombie wave" from Japan, followed by the nonsensical "punk rock horror" movie "Wild Zero" and the best of the bunch, the stylishly but a bit too long "Versus". "Junk" delivers all a Zombie fan needs, although it's been all there before, and - at least concerning the ideas lifted from Fulci and Romero - it has been there better. But all the blood and guts, plus the relentless action Asian cinema is known for, make this film entertaining 83 minutes, best consumed with fellow Zombie freaks, enough beer (or else) and snacks.

Obviously Atsushi Muroga doesn't intend to reinvent well known genres or plots. But he wants to give the audience a good time with popcorn action and horror - and gore. And this he does very well. Rating: 6 out of 10.