TETSUO: THE IRON MAN
A film review by Joseph Brenner
Copyright 1992 Joseph Brenner
A Japanese, arty flick, which supposedly uses horror movie tropes to make some sort of cyberpunk comment on modern culture. It's got some moments, but it's mostly just dull and stupid.
To understand the plot of this movie, it helps a lot to read one of the newspaper reviews that are floating around. There's nothing particularly deep about it, but the movie isn't very good at communicating what's supposed to be happening: a "metal fetishist" inserts a piece of rusty metal tubing into his leg, freaks out and runs in front of a car which is being driven by a "salary man" and his girl friend. The salary man then seems to be infected with some sort of disease that progressively transforms him into metal. The thankfully black and white look of this movie, involves various disgusting looking chaotic masses of old machine parts protruding from peoples bodies (like VIDEODROME, but not done as well).
In the only scene that's worth anything in the movie, the "salary man" undergoes the bulk of his transformation into metal while making love with his girlfriend. At first it seems like they might do something interesting with it (she says something like "No, show it to me. I don't frighten easily."), but it degenerates into the usual horror movie hysterics (a suggestion for directors: prevent the actors from screaming, using gags if necessary). Anyway, he emerges from hiding covered in metal, his penis transformed into a huge power drill. They spend some time running around, fighting. While she has him briefly subdued, there's a hint that she's turned on by his new body, but he kills her with his cool new tool. It isn't clear if she meant for this to happen, but if you believe the reviews she "dies in ecstasy."
I might excuse the excesses and clumsiness of this movie if I thought they really had something worthwhile to say, but they just don't. This whole business about the transformation "just happening" like some sort of disease is dumb any way you look at it. Cyberpunk is about turning yourself into a monster *on purpose*, not by accident. And this general theme of technology being out of control, an implacable, inhuman force ... it isn't just wrong, it's old and stale too.
(Oh, the music is pretty good though. If you're into moody industrial music, you might want to check out the sound track. For that matter, this movie would probably be okay as a dance club light show).
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