The Machine Girl (2008)

This is so over the top full of gore that even if you aren't into Asian flicks you will love it. Everything gorehounds love is available in this entertaining flick. The red stuff is sputtering all over bodies, even on the camera lens. There are decapitations, ninja fighting, bodies been cut in two, beheading, bodies being burned an of course you just can't take it seriously. If someone would encounter the things that are happening with the main lead you just won't survive it. But if you watch the opening credits than it's clear that they wanted to make some kind of exploitation. The surely succeeded in it. There are naturally some use of CGI and some cheap effects or stupid mistakes for example when one of the girls is being killed you still can see her heart beating in her neck. Nevertheless, big fun. And I was lucky to have met Asami, one of the coming stars in the genre, she was so friendly, I even had signed this DVD and had a picture together with her.

Fmovies: Wearing their cute sailor-style outfits, with knee high socks and short pleated skirt, teenage Japanese schoolgirls exude a unique blend of innocence and sexiness that has made them the centre of an entire industry in their homeland.

Director Noboru Iguchi's hyper violent Machine Girl capitalises on the appeal of these Eastern lolitas by having a protagonist, Ami, who is a textbook example of 'bura-sera' (as the whole sexy-schoolgirl schtick is apparently known in Japan). Combining an adorable adolescent with ultra-gore, Iguchi delivers an incredible non-stop exercise in exploitation that will make fans of Eastern OTT action wobbly at the knees with excitement.

From it's excessively violent and oh-so-cool opening pre-credits sequence, which sees a one-armed Ami (played by the 'hotter-than-wasabi' Minase Yashiro) with the mother of all machine guns mounted on her stump, graphically slaughtering a gang of thugs, I just knew this film was going to kick major ass in ways that Quentin Tarantino could only dream of.

Essentially, Machine Girl is a revenge pot-boiler: Ami is a happy-go-lucky schoolgirl until the day her brother Yu, and his friend Takashi, are murdered by a group of bullies, led by the son of an evil Yakuza. After a failed attempt at seeking vengeance leaves her minus one arm, she teams up with Takashi's mother Miki (played by the very tasty AV star Asami) for another bash at settling the score—this time armed to the teeth with weaponry made by Miki's mechanic husband. What sets this film apart from most other flicks in the revenge genre, however, is its incredible no-holds-barred, anything-goes approach which delivers a continuously breath-taking array of jaw-dropping set-pieces and truly memorable moments of gore.

With so much juicy splatter on display, it would be impossible to describe every bit of carnage in detail, but here are a few of my favourite moments: the Yakuza's chef is forced to prepare a finger buffet—with his own fingers as the buffet; Ami decapitates a boy and puts his head in his family's soup for his mother to find; a trio of ninjas use shuriken (throwing stars) to chop up Miki's hubby; the head Yakuza throws a 'flying guillotine' to remove his enemies' noggins; Miki attaches a chainsaw to her leg to slice one victim completely in half; and the Yakuza boss's wife attacks Ami with a drill-bit bra (yes, you read that right.... a drill-bit bra!!!).

If you've already seen and loved such films as Braindead, The Story of Ricky, and Versus, then I guarantee that Machine Girl will leave you totally satisfied.

Ami (Asami) is out for revenge after her brother Yu is murdered by a gang of young yakuza-ninjas. Unfortunately, while in pursuit of the leaders, she is captured and one of her arms is cut off. Not to worry, a friendly couple who are also out for revenge on the same people have a solution, make her a machine gun arm! After The Machine Girl finished I can safely say this: the Japanese are still producing awesome gore flicks. Noboru Iguchi has created a film that will surely receive cult status and easily go down as one of the goriest films ever made. Firstly, this IS a gore-flick, there is enough blood spray to fill a lake. Secondly, the story is not complex or incredibly challenging, likewise, there is nil character development. Therefore, if you watch this movie thinking along those lines (I would not know why, though, as it IS called The Machine Girl) you will be sorely disappointed. If you do go in expecting outrageous gore and some genuinely funny comedy you will be very pleased! The Machine Girl really should be released theatrically everywhere, it is a fun, exciting and well-made action/comedy/drama and one of the best movies of 2008!

4/5

The Machine Girl fmovies. I have always thought of Japonesse comedy as being like Shakespeare comedy; funny to the people of the time and/or place but not to the rest of us. This is the first Asian film to not only make me laugh more than just a chuckle, but to make me cry with laughter and literally smack my knee. The reason that this is so good is because it seems as if writer director Noboru Iguchi took a step or two back too get a view of the Asian film market as a whole and even seems to have looked at it with a non-Asian eye to see how the rest of us see the market.

The deliberate over-the-top cheese and "happy family beginnings" were great fun, but its the wonderfully gory scenes that you'll remember. I don't want to go into too much detail so as to avoid spoiling the fun for those who haven't seen it, except to say that the scene with the main bad guy making his son drink his blood as a right of passage to the yakuzza is the main culprit for my man tears.

The only real problem of note is that the fun starts to dry a little as time goes on, the gore occurs less and less and the deliberate cheesy acting and dialogue almost gets tiresome (though it never actually is). It seems as if Iguchi used up all his best ideas too quickly in the first half and had to run with an empty tank for the last third.

Despite this its still always superb fun, and even though it is definitely gory, I recommend most people to see it, just cover your eyes if it gets too much at times!

This film is filled with violence and gore, severed heads and limbs. So, why am I recommending it? Its fun to watch despite all that. The core of the plot is good. Ami, played by the pretty Minase Yashiro, avenges the murder of her younger brother Yu at the hands of a group of sadistic young people who are part of the Kimora clan. Ami's arm is hacked off in her first attempt to kill the son who caused Yu's death, but she manages to escape and is taken in by Miki, whose son Takeshi was also killed by the gang with Yu. It is Takeshi's mother Miki who goes along with Ami on this mission. If you don't like blood and gore, you can't watch this film. I normally do not like it, but this movie moves along at a good pace and Minase Yashiro actually does a good job as Ami. So, if you can handle buckets of blood, I think you'll enjoy it.

The acting is terrible, the action is terrible, the story is terrible, the special effects are terrible but the gore is magnificent and that saves the movie completely... This isn't a horror movie that wants to spook you but wants to disgusts you... and oh boy, it really does... I've seen it on BIFFF festival at Brussels and I can assure you everybody loved it... the more bloody disgusting the gore was, the more fun we had... it didn't matter that it looked all fake like hell... and if you were looking for some originality in this movie, you would certainly find it in the gore. :-) So one advice: buy some beer and chips, and see this movie not alone but with some friends... a fun evening assured