There will be blood (and lots of it)

Tokyo Gore Police (Yoshihiro Nishimura, 2008)

The film begins with a young woman, Ruka (Eihi Shiina), who witnesses the assassination of her father, a charismatic police chief in Tokyo. Meanwhile, a mad scientist known simply as the “Key Man” creates a virus that mutates people into “Engineers”, killing machines that after each severed limb sprout grotesque weapons of destruction, capriciously resulting in blood splattered anarchy. Tokyo is thus in a state of emergency and the city is forced to combat this bizarre threat by privatizing the police force. The vengeful and somewhat subdued Ruka joins this team of misfit officers and later finds out the truth behind the monsters and her troubled past.

Yoshihiro Nishimura is a master when it comes to constructing blood drenched splat fests. After his work on The Machine Girl, Nishimura decided to film a remake of Anatomia Extinction, an independent film he made over ten years ago. Tokyo Gore Police was then filmed in a two-week span and released in the same year as The Machine Girl. But instead of looking clumsy and rushed, the film tackles the perverse subject matter with unassuming detail. It is a remarkable social satire of unabashed violence and gore. The action rises above the typical camp that exploitative films tend to exude. Each shot of blood and mutated growth is meticulous in its conception which makes the carnage a harmonious exercise in creativity and force. Thrilling and unnerving, Tokyo Gore Police astonishes with bewildering flurry.

I had my share of exploitation flicks and extreme Japanese cinema (Audition, Ichi the Killer, Battle Royale, etc.), but honestly there is one scene in this movie I cannot shake out of my head (it’s been over a couple weeks now). I won’t spoil anything.but the thought of someone even thinking yet alone writing and filming a scene like that is what frightens me the most. Usually I have a high tolerance when it comes to cinematic violence since most of it is fake. Even in the context of this film, it was just demented on a level I could not begin to comprehend. If this piques your interest in any way, I would definitely recommend adding this to your Netflix queue. All the hype is surely warranted.