HCF Review - Dragon's Eye

ELECTRIC DRAGON 80.000 V (2001)

Tired of superhero movies? Well strap yourself in for a jolt of energy from Gakuryu ‘Sogo’ Ishii, director of such cult classics as Crazy Thunder Road. At just over fifty-minutes long this could be the fresh supply you’ve been looking for; an exaggerated ride full of hissing reptiles and buzzing live wires. Not every movie out there can be so brief of course, but it’s refreshing to watch something that isn’t a bladder bursting two and a half hours these days. Does it pack this running time with eye-searing images the likes of which would make Tsukamoto turn green with envy? It really depends on what you’re looking for in a tale which is brimming with stylish visuals but is light on anti-authority metaphor.

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HCF Review - Tsukamoto June

NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE 2 (2008)

Welcome back to the Midnight Patrol, and welcome back Tsukamoto fans. You may recall this inane reference from last time in the discussion of Nightmare Detective part one. But this is the sequel so things are the same but different. How different? On the surface things seem to be very unchanged. There are more suicidal thoughts, more bad parents, and more ghostly visions. Thankfully this is where things pick up and a lot of the problems from last time around have been addressed. Shinya Tsukamoto himself isn’t in front of the camera which is a shame, though unsurprising. Meanwhile singer Hitomi also declined to return which… is less of a problem. Let’s delve into the other tortured mindscapes involved and see what other changes lie in wait.

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HCF Review - Tsukamoto June

NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE (2006)

Welcome back to the Dream Zone gang. Oh and welcome back Tsukamoto fans. While the idea of seeing into somebody’s mind, or even sharing their nightmares, isn’t particularly novel, it’s always fun to see it tackled in movie form. After all, watching a film unfold is the ideal way to see someone else’s visions come to life. In the realm of film makers such as Wes Craven, Satoshi Kon, and beyond, the blurred line between reality and fantasy is perfect for the medium. However, in the case of Nightmare Detective it’s clear that the writers wanted to get in other elements including psychic powers and ghostly visions. How much of this tale succeeds is debatable as it jumps between real world loneliness and supernatural shenanigans.

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HCF Review - Tsukamoto June

TETSUO: THE BULLET MAN (2009)

Welcome to the barrel of the gun, and welcome back Tsukamoto fans. While the genre of the earlier Tetsuo films is perhaps debatable, one of their strengths is the way they feel so peculiar and unique. But with the second iteration (not counting Phantom of a Regular Size) some of that impenetrable exterior was lost. The original might have been part of a new wave of cyberpunk movies, leading to the so-called splatterpunk genre with the likes of Pinocchio 946, but the sequel added mainstream ideas about superhuman metamorphosis derived from family histories and triggered by anger. Which is unfortunately repeated here with more focus on conventional tropes and action. Does it at least blend the repulsive horror visuals with some slick battle sequences?

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HCF Review - Tsukamoto June

VITAL (2004)

Welcome to the autopsy slab, and welcome back Tsukamoto fans. In what seems like a stylistic companion piece to Gemini, this is another tale of medical practices and doomed romances. However, while that was a story of two-faced schemes and double standards, this is more about grief and obsession. It’s also yet another film about amnesia which might not seem compelling, but there are other aspects to consider. Is there life after loss? Is someone really dead if their loved ones refuse to let go, in a physical sense? The murky images and smoky incinerator chimneys in the opening suggest this isn’t going to be a sentimental exploration of such things. There’s a lot going on in a movie full of dreams and memories, even if it’s not as potent as the title suggests.

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