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.
