Wednesday, May 07, 2008

SEX, VIOLENCE AND WEIRDNESS!

There appears to be exponential irony rampant within the current crop of neo- exploitation films (post-deuce). This is no more evident than in a few recent self-referentially tongue in cheek pre-fab cult films from Asia.

Machine Girl grabbed a lot of attention when its trailer hit Youtube. Did director Noboru Iguchi willfully rip off Rodriguez' potluck pastiche offered up in the Planet Terror half of Grindhouse? Or perhaps the deadly disfigured badass hottie with a gun fever dream has been floating in the ether since the days when They Call Her One Eye enjoyed extended runs in Times Square? This looks like an homage cum send-up of everything from Sukeban Deka to Master of the Flying Guillotine and a barrel of mindless monkey fun at that. Tokyo Shock is releasing the DVD in June. Too bad these sort of films don't get wide theatrical releases anymore. I still have fond memories of seeing a midnight show of Demons.

The team behind Machine Girl already have a new gross-out action epic, Tokyo Gore Police. It's directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura, the effects man from Machine Girl , and stars Eihi Shiina, the sexy sadist from Audition.

Sex as a mantle for ultra-violence can get exhaustive so it's a breath of fresh air to hear about a new neo-spaghetti western by way of Korea. Kim Ji Woon, the director of the excellent modern noir/Hong Kong action homage A Bittersweet Life, the creepy artsy horror Tale of Two Sisters and the wacky cult wrestling comedy The Foul King is behind this one: The Good, The Bad and The Weird!

It takes place in 1930's Manchuria and involves bandits, militants, and a treasure map. Heartthrob Lee Byung Hun from A Bittersweet Life plays the good, Jung Woo Sung from Musa plays the bad, and that funny pudgy underdog from The Host Song Kang Ho plays the weird.

1 comment:

HagenvonTronje said...

Man, Machine Girl is one of the best movies ever created. MC and Tokyo Gore Police are some of my favorite Movies, saw the world premiere at the Japanese Film Festival in Germany.