U.S. DVD Release
Ya know I’ve said it many times before but I’ll drop this wise little gem once again for those that may have missed it. Occasionally a film can win me over with nothing more than outlandish gore and insane violence even if the plot is non-existent and the acting is doody. Truth be told I’m one of those “Horror Elitists” people whine about and as I grow older I simply demand more of my entertainment. There’s certainly nothing wrong with kicking back and enjoying a good old muff ‘n’ duff slashathon with mountains of gore but I’m no longer easily amused. I’m not easily swayed by dancing monkeys though; there are times when I demand nothing less than to be intellectually challenged.
In the case of Meatball Machine, well, let’s just say I wasn’t expecting Cronenberg or Jodorowsky when I sat down to watch. I expected nothing less than outrageous gore and action and by gum that’s exactly what I got! There’s really not much of a plot here…it’s doubtful people will be talking about this years from now…it’s a here and now type film that will no doubt please goremongers as well as Asian cinema geeks. It’s a quick fix gore flick; Romeo and Juliet directed by GWAR.
A lonely factory worker named Yuji has been watching a beautiful young woman hang laundry everyday during his lunch breaks. She doesn’t seem to notice poor Yuji but he can’t help but watch her anyhow as he has deep feelings for her. Watching her from afar doesn’t seem to help Yuji’s social life any though as his home life consists of tinkering with electronics and masturbating.
One night after a particularly harrowing encounter with a pissed off transvestite looking for action, Yuji is left bruised and battered, lying in a pile of alley trash. Before he can pull himself from the mess a strange object falls from the roof above him nearly slamming into his head. He scoops the turtle shell-like object up and takes it to the factory in an attempt to crack it open but he can’t seem to figure out what the hell it is or even how to get it open. Nothing appears to be able to open the thing!
While on his way home from the factory he encounters a co-worker attempting to rape the laundry girl in a dark park and Yuji makes a valiant effort to defend the young woman. Unfortunately, Yuji is given a sound beating for his trouble. One good thing does come from the ass kicking though…Sachiko, the laundry girl, helps Yuji back to his home where she nurses his wounds for a bit and then shares her feelings with him. Apparently, all the while Yuji was watching her…she was watching him! They’ve both been pining for one another! There’s only one thing keeping the would-be lovers apart…Sachiko’s abusive past and horrible scarring all over her body. Yuji appears to be disgusted and Sachiko breaks down emotionally.
Before things can progress any further for either of them though, the object in his closet springs to life, smashes through his closet and attaches itself to Sachiko! The shell begins dispersing whipping tendrils from it as a defense mechanism against Yuji and it forces itself further into Sachiko’s body becoming one with her and transforming her into a murderous bio-mechanical vehicle of death and destruction for a gross little parasitic alien being!
Is there any way for Yuji to help Sachiko detach the extraterrestrial device? He’s offered help from a weird old man that seems to have incredible knowledge of the creatures that inhabit the shells but can he be trusted? There may only be one way to help Sachiko and that’s to kill her but will Yuji hesitate when the time comes?
Meatball Machine isn’t an overly complicated flick; it’s sort of like Tsukamoto’s Tetsuo sans Tsukamoto’s visionary writing, directing and cinematography. I suppose one might call it “Cyberpunk-Lite.” The film features an incredible amount of gross out sequences, gallons upon gallons of blood and an occasional sexy wink to Japanese Hentai. It’s colorful and crass with just enough style to keep it from being visually boring.
However, visually exciting as it may be, the film does get a wee bit boring. It drags toward the last quarter before things really heat up and I found myself shooting quick glances at my clock every now and then to check the time. Flimsy plots, sporadic bits of padding and stiff, low budget acting tends to make me restless.
Now, if it sounds like I’m shitting on the flick, I’m really not. Meatball Machine is a wild ride indeed and it certainly hits the spot on those days when you’re not in the mood to question your existence or play Sherlock Holmes. You won’t need a PhD to figure this gonzo flick out and the extras included on the disc by Danger After Dark / TLA Releasing are wonderfully entertaining.
