The Machine Girl (Kataude mashin gâru, in Japan) is an utterly ridiculous, over the top, silly film. The dialog is stunted and expository. The violence is so profane it might be more accurate to call it blood porn. The story is predictable, plot twists can be seen well before they come to light. The ever present theme of bullying and revenge, so prevalent in Japanese cinema, is present; the film doesn't really explore any new territory there.
That being said, Machine Girl is totally amazing. It's been a long time since I had so much fun watching a movie. The two guys I was watching it with and I were howling with laughter at points, leaping from our seats and cheering. The more limbs came off, the more we cheered. At a point, when someone was double wielding severed arms, still clinging to their blades, I actually dropped my beverage and gibbered to myself, not knowing how or with what to react.
The film doesn't fool around, opening with a gang of bullies being taken down by the mechanical machine gun arm and scythe of Ami Hyuga. Ami (played by softcore actress Asami), is exacting revenge on the gang of bullies that are responsible for her brother's death. About 30 seconds into the first scene, the first limb is severed, and we get a taste of the true star of the film: blood.
A side note: Machine Girl follows the hard core anime, Story of Rick-oh school of biology. That is, the human body contains at least 10 gallons of blood, under hundreds of pounds of pressure. If the skin breaks at any point, the blood will erupt out, streaming out so forcefully that it froths, mists, and shoots with enough strength to knock people over. Also, the natural reaction is to look directly at the wound, confirm that yes, the arm is gone, and then point the wound at anyone around you, as if to say, “Look! Look at what has happened! This part is gone!”, coating everyone else in a slick of gore.
After the gang is dispatched, the story rewinds to reveal what caused such a bloody display. We learn that Ami's brother, her only family after her parent’s dual suicide, was mercilessly bullied by thugs, eventually leading to his death. As Ami searches for his killers, she finds herself at the hands of the Hanzo Hattori ninja/yakuza/pimp clan. She escapes after being tortured and losing her arm, and runs to the rescue of Miki the mechanic. Their partnership leads them back to the clan, and into the blood soaked finale, which features, among other things, zombie parents, a head snatching lasso, and a drill bra.
Machine Girl is a complete blast to watch. A ridiculous, violent, gory, blast. I cannot recommend it enough.
|
