“Tetsuo: The Iron Man” is one hell of a strange film. Produced in 1988 in Japan, The film is directed and constructed from the imagination of Shinya Tsukamoto the director of such bizarre films such as “A Snake of June” and “Vital”. Tetsuo: The Iron Man” can best be described as a Japanese film that would best resemble the work of David Lynch’s film “Eraserhead”. Although the stories are completely different from another “Tetsuo” is shot much like “Eraserhead” and is shot on a very similar if not the same kind of black and white film stock.
To compare “Tetsuo” anymore to “Eraserhead” however would be wrong, as both stories are a lot different from one another. I found “Tetsuo” not to be as shocking as “Eraserhead” however it does have plenty of gore and weirdness to go around. Oh and it is in fact a shocking film, but not as effective on the human psyche as “Eraserhead” is. “Tetsuo” does in fact have some very strange and bizarre sexual content such as a penis turning into a “killer drill penis” and a strange sex scene involving some other weird stuff, as well as plenty of other sexual references.
The overall style and the uncomfortable feeling I got from watching this film is what appealed to me. It’s at times a hard film to follow, but overall the plot is pretty simple. There is a lot of detail in the film however that must be pay attention too in order to really appreciate the artistic merit of the picture. The acting in the film is very good, and thank god that actors did pull off their roles well as the film probably would of suffered if they didn’t. I also have plenty of praise for director Shinya Tsukamoto, whom managed to pull off this bizarre story and help his actors and crew get though it.
Effects wise, this film must have been a bitch to shoot, I mean were talking a lot of stop motion photography, wrapping people up in all kind of metal and throwing tons of make-up and prosthetics on, it must of been a real pain in the ass to pull off. But in the end they did it and the great special effects are what make this film.
Overall I really enjoyed “Tetsuo: The Iron Man”. I can’t recommend this film to everyone, however if you into David Lynch films or David Cronenberg films, you’ll probably enjoy this flick. It’s a must for all Asian Horror Fans to add this DVD to their collection.
– Horror Bob
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- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
