Fantasia ’17: Kodoku Meatball Machine

It is sort of like Stephen King’s Under the Doom, but with gallons more gore. The director claims he used four tons of fake blood, but that sounds like a conservative estimate based on what’s on the screen. Regardless, a neighborhood filled with some of the worst people in Tokyo is in for a mutated beatdown when a cosmic bell jar cuts them off from the rest of the city in mad man Yoshihiro Nishimura’s Kodoku Meatball Machine (trailer here), which screened during the 2017 Fantasia International Film Festival.

Job never knew how good he had it, compared to poor, put-upon Yuji. The would-be debt collector is a magnet for all the neighborhood’s bullies, grifters, and freeloaders. He was already deeply in debt when he received a terminal cancer diagnosis. He is about ready to just cash-in, but he still finds himself attracted to Kaoru, the pretty girl working at his local used bookstore. Unfortunately, she is involved in an exploitative cult.

The hits just keep coming when an evil little boy in the cult frames Yuji for assaulting him. However, at least he will be safely tucked away in jail when the bell jar lands. The less “fortunate” will have embarrassing body parts sheared off by the impenetrable barrier. Once the neighborhood is cut off, some sort of space parasite starts infecting Yuji’s neighbors, turning them into rabid bio-mecha killing machines. They get to Yuji too, but he is able to maintain control of his new cyborg-like body, thanks to his cancerous blood. Old enemies become allies when the altered Yuji teams up with a dojo of ex-cops to save Kaoru from her infected guru.

Believe it or not, Nishimura actually makes us care about Yuji and Kaoru. They deserve better than they’ve ever got or are likely to get. However, the reason to see a Nishimura movie is the wildly gory practical effects and maybe some bare breasts. He does not disappoint on either score, particularly the former. Four tons worth. However, the bizarre harlequin-witches who usher in the alien occupation are devilishly intriguing, especially since they are played by Eihi Shiina, best known as the femme fatale for the ages in Takashi Miike’s Audition.

Right, at least four tons of fake blood. You can’t say you don’t know what you’re getting into with KMM. It should safely vault Nishimura past Noboru Iguchi to become the uncontested king of Japanese gore. Yet, the fact that he maintains a semblance of a human element amid all the berserk chaos is rather impressive. If you dig Nishimura, this Meatball is your huckleberry. Recommended accordingly, Kodoku Meatball Machine has another high-profile international festival screening coming up at Fright Fest UK, following its Canadian premiere at this year’s Fantasia.

Fantasia ’15: The Ninja War of Torakage

Ever found yourself wondering if you might enjoy a film more if a Portuguese ninja scholar was available to explain the cultural significance of the action on-screen? Well, a kitchen sink filmmaker like Yoshihiro Nishimura understands exactly where you’re coming from. By his lunatic standards, this foray into ninja skullduggery is pretty grounded, whereas for the rest of us mere mortals, it is total madness. Ninja clans will clash while Francisco the talking head elucidates the finer points in Nishimura’s The Ninja War of Torakage (trailer here), which screens today during the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.

Torakage and his wife Tsukikage were ninjas serving their ruthless mistress, Gensai, but they fell in love and quit to raise a family. Of course, you do not resign from Gensai’s service so easily—not that they considered the torture they endured so very easy. She had temporarily allowed them a false sense of security, but that is over now that she needs them again. Kidnapping their young son Kogetsu, she demands they steal a certain Silver Scroll from the despised Rikuri clan. Once they deliver it to her, she will marry it up with the Golden Scroll that just came into her possession, to determine the location of an ancient treasure.

Inconveniently, Torakage and Tsukikage find themselves out of the frying pan and into the fire when they are captured by the human-sacrificing Rikuri clan. Somehow, the competing clan fell under the sway of a charismatic cult leader, who offers Torakage a similar deal. If he steals the Golden Scroll from Gensai, he can exchange it for Tsukikage.

That all might not sound so far removed from the Jidaigeki mainstream, but Nishimura tosses in a bamboo Iron Man-like battle suit, dizzying “human shuriken” action, drug addiction, a mercenary angel with a death’s head, Francisco’s color commentary, a bunch of conversations about going poo, and Eihi Shiina from Takashi Miike’s Audition doing her thing. However, even amid all the lunacy, Torakage’s chief rival still scrupulously observes his code of honor.

Together with Tokyo Tribe and Nowhere Girl, Nana Seino scores a heck of a one-two-three punch in a trio of films beyond category. Each one is an overpowering ecosystem unto itself, but she never wilts in any of the three. Once again, she also shows some convincing action chops. As Torakage and his nemesis, Takumi Saitô and Kanji Tsuda also flash plenty of moves and manage to maintain a stiff-as-a-board sense of dignity while navigating the all-encompassing bedlam. Of course, Eihi Shiina is creepy well past the point of comfort as the sadistic Gensai.

Overly sensitive viewers should be warned—Ninja War is a fantastically bloody, unabashedly subversive, and mildly scatological film. In short, it has everything growing kids need for their healthy development. Recommended for those who enjoy boldly over-the-top cult cinema, The Ninja War of Torakage screens tonight (7/24), as part of this year’s Fantasia.