Fantasia ’23: Shin Kamen Rider

When it comes to rebooting established franchises, the Japanese film industry is much smarter than Hollywood. Just look at the “Shins,” or the “Shin Japan Heroes Universe” movies: Shin Godzilla and Shin Ultraman. They are all true to the spirit of the originals, but the effects have been modernized—and pretty much only the effects (although Shin Godzilla also savaged the supposed professionalism of government bureaucrats). Fans of the long-running motorcycle tokusatsu TV series might be surprised by the return to manga level of violence, but they will feel right at home with the rest of Hideaki Anno’s Shin Kamen Rider (or Shin Masked Rider), which screened at the 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival.

Poor innocent biker Takeshi Hongo was kidnapped by SHOCKER (a KAOS or THRUSH-like organization), who turned him into a grasshopper hybrid super-being. Ominously, they intend to use the augmented hybrids (“Augs”) like him to destroy humanity, because that will make Augs like them happy. In the long-run, they also think it is in our own best interest, since we are such a miserable species. Ruriko Midorikawa and her scientist father broke from SHOCKER, taking Hongo with them, so he can fight to save humanity. It is a family affair, since SHOCKER will be led by Ichiro Midorikawa, a butterfly-Aug, once he wakens from his cocoon.

Much to the mild mannered Hongo’s surprise, he can hardly control his killer instincts when he is suited up and using his Prana-fueled powers (prana being the rough equivalent of Chi in the Shin universe). In contrast, Ruriko Midorikawa is much more calculating and cold-blooded, but her powers are mostly those of the mental kind. She always prepares. Unfortunately, their only allies are the Anti-SHOCKER government agency, who are not particularly trust-worthy.

With all its stunt-driving, Shin Kamen Rider is sort of like a cross between Ultraman and Fast & Furious. While it is not as strong as the previous Shin films, it at least manages to tell an entirely self-contained story in a smidge over two hours, which is more than Fast X can say for itself.

In terms of effects, the Shin-inized Kamen Rider represents a major upgrade from the early 1970s cult classic. Sosuke Ikematsu and Minami Hamabe are also very strong as the brooding Hongo and the detached and analytical Midorikawa. Mirai Moriyama is pretty creepy as Ichiro Midorikawa, but the most memorable villain is Spider-Aug, the first that Hongo fights.

TIFF ’17: Motorrad

The politics of Easy Rider and Electric Glide in Blue are radically different, but the endings are oddly similar. Two wheels are generally a hard mode of transportation in the movies, but what Hugo faces with his brother’s dirt bike running mates is something else entirely. The machete-wielding rival bikers are real enough, but there is something ominously uncanny going on just outside our range of perception in Vincente Amorim’s incredibly strange Motorrad (trailer here), which screens during the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.

It’s not exactly Mad Max out there yet, but in Hugo’s provincial corner of Brazil, a carburetor is worth risking your life for. Rather awkwardly, the nebbish mechanic is busted red-handed trying to lift one from the body shop run by Paula’s grandfather (or whoever). Much to his surprise, she lets him go, with the part, after tending to a burn on his palm. As a result, Hugo is able to invite himself along when his brother Ricardo lights off on a road trip with some friends and dodgy acquaintances. Things get even better when they stumble across the very same Paula broken-down on a remote mountain trail. She will take them even further off the beaten path, which makes them sitting ducks when a black-clad gang of psychotic bikers starts picking them off, one by one.

Motorrad sounds like a simplistically conventional exploitation movie, but there is a lot more going on than initially meets the eye. Plus, the vibe is indescribably out-there. Clearly, Amorim is processing disparate influences, such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, perhaps Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin, and most of Jodorowsky’s filmography. The tone is weirdly unsettling, even though his sprawling visuals are frequently quite beautiful. Frankly, this film is light-years removed from Amorim’s moral dramas, such as Good and Dirty Hearts.

Therefore, it looks primed for cult-status, provided enough people see it at Toronto to build word-of-mouth momentum. Of course, it is guaranteed to be divisive, because of the curve-balls that come out of left field, but cineastes should still give all the credit in the world to the craftsmanship of Amorim, cinematographer Gustavo Hadba, and editor Lucas Gonzaga. This is an extraordinary looking field, but it is also pretty intense on a grungy genre level.

As Hugo, Guilherme Prates is a credibly gawky everyman and Brazilian TV regular Carla Salle is ambiguously seductive as the mysterious Paula, but this is not the sort of film that will launch actors to superstardom. This is Amorim’s show—and he constantly lets the bikes and harsh landscape upstage his competent ensemble.

As motorcycle movies go, Motorrad might just give Easy Rider a ride for its money (but Glide still takes the honors). It is one of the strangest films of the year, yet it also fulfills its slasher horror movie duties. Highly recommended for adventurous audiences, Motorrad screens again tomorrow (9/13) and Saturday (9/16), as part of this year’s TIFF.