Tetsuo: The Iron Man

Director - Shin'ya Tsukamoto (Killing, Haze)
Starring - Tomoro Taguchi (Non-Stop, Green), Kei Fujiwara (Organ, The Neptune Factor), and Nobu Kanoaka (Tokyo Fist, Tetsuo: Body Hammer)
Release Date - 1989
Genre - Horror/Sci-Fi
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     A few years ago I went on a Japanese horror kick.  I was buying up any and every Japanese horror movie I could find.  Most of the ones I grabbed were released in the last 10 years but a few older films did catch my eye.  One film was the 1989 cyberpunk Shin'ya Tsukamoto film Tetsuo: The Iron Man.  I was unable to pick it up because the DVD was way too pricey.  I decided to hold off and I'm glad I did.  Sometime back Arrow Video announced an awesome collection of Tsukamoto's films and the first in the set is Tetsuo: The Iron Man.  I really wanted to see this one so I went ahead and ordered a copy so I could add it to my collection.  

     The film follows a man who has a metal fetish.  He crams a rod into his thigh and goes to sleep.  He awakens to an infection on his leg with maggots crawling on the spot.  He panics and flees into the street where he is struck by a car.  His horrible ordeal is far from behind him.  Soon he finds his entire body being transformed and metal replacing his flesh.

     

     When I toss in a Japanese horror movie I typically expect to see over the top action and so much blood.  Tetsuo: The Iron Man was nothing like that.  In fact, this movie was nothing like I expected which could be why I enjoyed it so much.  The movie is surreal, hypnotic, and very intriguing.  The acting in this one is works for the film but it's difficult to judge in a traditional sense.  The film mixes arthouse with cyberpunk resulting in a very unusual film.  It's because of this that we get non-traditional acting.  The cast is really dedicated to their roles even though it was very demanding.  They do a fantastic job and really make the movie what it is.  The story for this one is completely fucking bonkers.  Honestly,  it's simple as fuck but the imagery and the way Tsukamoto tells the story just draws you in and holds you.  Cinematography tells this story and it's fucking perfect.  Finally, the film doesn't really have on screen deaths in a traditional sense but we do get some great practical effects and prosthetics.   Watching the two go through their transformation is absolutely amazing.  I could watch this movie again and still be mesmerized by these scenes.  Overall, Tetsuo: The Iron Man is not your typical horror film.  This horror/sci-fi hybrid cyberpunk film could easily pass as an arthouse feature.  The blu looks great from Arrow Video and I can't recommend it enough.  Check it out.