Meatball Machine

"Meatball Machine"

Have you ever wanted to see a film based solely on the positives you created in your own head? Completely ignoring any cinematic standards or any reviews written on the film? Because, of course, your going to believe what you want to believe anyway. This way of thinking is very true in my case and for my latest film review for the Japanese shock film "Meatball Machine"

'Meatball Machine" is another film among the ranks of the Tokyo Gore- splatter film genres, with a pinch of Sci-Fi. I was curiously drawn to the film solely on genre, but more specifically because Japanese Effects Director Yoshihiro Nishimura helms the ever so, not so easily forgotten style of excessive blood, mutations of grandeur and everything perverse his big brain can throw at you. In this case the film is a complete success for it's costumes and effects. I've come to the realization that the best way to judge Nishimura's FX work is to base it strictly on a physiological basis. If you feel a little queasy or your stomach mildly turns, then the film is usually pretty good. If you experience any worse symptoms then the aforementioned, you better settle in and expect a wild ride.

As for the remainder of the film.... I'll get to that a bit later...after the jump!

"Meatball Machine" pits a young machine worker "Yoji" ( Issei Takahashi) as a lonely member of society. He's not great with the ladies and frequents adult theaters only to receive advancements from a transvestite. When a friend attempts to cheer him up and brings him to a brothel to de-virginize him, he walks out before anything happens.

On a daily basis he longs across a field at the affection of his desire, a young women, a co-worker whom he cannot muster enough courage to share his feelings.

This sub-plot plays second fiddle to the meat of the story that explodingly connects a bit later in the film.

Japan has become infested with parasitic alien creatures that inhabit and take control of human hosts, and when one of the host bodies are met face to face with another, a fight to the death ensues...oh and the winner rips out the alien parasite and eats it upon victory (yeah. not a real family friendly film). One of the more eventful scenes in the film is when a alien is found by "Yoji" outside the porn theatre. He brings it home and puts it in his closet. When he invites his affection home with him, it rears it's ugly head, and horrible scorpion tail, that it inserts inside her vagina, spewing the alien parasite inside her to take control of her. I swear, maybe it was just me, but it looked like she actually took pleasure when that elephants trunk stinger penetrated her Hoo Hoo....eww! This sequence sets off a chain of events that is "Meatball Machine"

Co-Directors Yudai Yamaguchi and Jan'ichi Yamamoto create this concoction based on earlier work written, produced and directed by Yamamoto in 1999. Their science experiment Circa 2005 starts very well- with elements of horrific, excessive gore, violence and welcomed extremism. My first thoughts were " I'm in for gory, gory, goodness".

Like this head split in two!!!!!( Not the best Photo)

Overall the direction was moderately constructed-Costume and Effects were pleasantly expected. The Writing at times, I felt lacked in originality and direction, at times becoming loose, making the pace and energy of the film misplaced. The love story, sub-plot was refreshingly agreeable for sheer ironic purposes. In conclusion the film is a success for any fan of the Japanese bloody madness genre. A little too weird in subject matter for my taste, but it is worth watching....once!

BruceVain

Wow baby, this is indeed some fine Asian horror/gore, and a crazy outlandish movie. This is a Japanese splatterfest that reminded me a little of Tetsuo, except in this case with all the blood and guts, there is a bizarre love story. It's hard to imagine how they even dreamed up this visually stunning movie, with some unique alien creatures that infect humans as parasites, turning them into part machine or I guess cyborgs. The only thing wrong with these creatures after they take over a human, is they need to kill each other and eat the other. hmmm, yum yum. This would probably be called industrial splatter or something like that, with a superb soundtrack to add to all the fun. The movie also borrows a little from Carpenter's "The Thing" in creature design and effects. I would put this in the must-have category for gorehounds, as there is non-stop carnage and some very fine gore. And a must-have for stoners, because you don't even need to read the sub-titles, the visual images alone are enough of a mind trip. The design of the little creatures that inhabit the human body like a fetus reminded me a little of Frank Henenlotter's movies, which is another homage to some excellent gore films with a sense of humour. "Meatball Machine" is great fun for gorehounds, there is no doubt about it, and I simply loved it.

Meatball Machine is an amazing splatter film, it has an original plot with young love, buckets of blood, and weird alien creatures that mutate people into freakish robotic war machines.

Now the film isn't for everyone, people who love splatter films or the movie Tetsuo: the Iron Man will applaud it.

The special effects can be cheesy at some points of the film, but your not exactly suppose to take the film very seriously.

Yet, all in all it's a lot of fun, well if you find budding romantics infested with slimy tumor like gobbles who seek to destroy each other in bloody alien oozing battles.

Such a Disappointment, unlike Tokyo Gore Police, Tetsuo The iron man, Machine Girl and Robo Geisha, This is Just a little Dispointing, 5/10.

To be honest,the gore is a More gory, but Story is just meh,

This film plays like a full-length, color Tetsuo the Iron Man. As with that film, I suspect that viewers who are not Japanese (like me) are missing some important cultural resonance.

What I, the gaijin, saw was a somewhat entertaining gore/splatter film with some uniquely Japanese body horror elements. (Japanese body horror often seems to involve growing massive new parts that may be made of non-organic materials).

I wasn't, like, on the edge of my seat or anything, but the fight scenes are pretty great.

It's free on Amazon right now, which is about what you'd want to pay for it.