The Machine Girl

By: Joris Westerdaal

Thanks to Joris for sending in this review from the Amsterdam Film Festival

There’s nothing more liberating than watching a revenge movie. I just love the way these movies work. The story is simple, yet very engaging most of the times. Somebody gets treated inhumanely or gets pushed over the edge and starts taking right into their own hands by exacting cold blooded revenge on who ever has put them in these dire situations. THE MACHINE GIRL, by japanese director Noboru Iguchi, is no exception.

Ami and her younger brother Yu have no parents. They commited suicide from shame after falsely being accused of murder. Living alone now, Ami and Yu have sworn to never lose another loved one ever again so they never resort to violence and try to solve all their problems in a peacefull way, like their parents allways told them. Sho is the son of a Yakuza-clan leader and the leader of a gang of bullies who constantly terrorize poor Yu and his friend Takeshi. After Yu and Takeshi are murdered by the bullies Ami tries to investigate but gets attacked by the gang members’ parents who turn out to be even more sadistic than their offspring. Ami freaks out completely and swears to kill all of Yu’s enemies. This wont be easy because these Yakuza are members of the Hattori Hanzo ninja dynasty. Ami even loses one of her arms when she tries to attack the Yakuza home base. Barely alive she is taken in by Takeshi’s parents who happen to be mechanics. They fix her up with the perfect tool for pissed off, one armed school girls: an eight barreled machine gun prosthetic.

When I first heard of this movie I couldn’t help but immediately think of other films that use the same kind of gimmick (a body part thats transformed into a weapon) - like TETSUO or PLANET TERROR. Now that I have actually seen MACHINE GIRL it’s easy to say that this one is way different from those afforementioned two. The story is as simple as it gets and is only used as an excuse to get down to some serious blood-shedding. Most of the characters are totally over the top and unbelievable but still fun to watch. What really helps is that THE MACHINE GIRL herself (portrayed by Asami who is a popstar in her native country) is enjoyable and she looks great in that Japanese school uniform as well.

After a very bloody and disgusting opening sequence, which is a great introduction for the carnage that awaits, it took a bit too long for our leading lady to actually lose her arm and get her machine gun in my opinion. But as soon as Ami gains her machine gun arm the movie turns into the gorefest everybody expects it to be. And though the effects work at display never looks authentic it suits the cartoonish style of this movie just fine. Fountains of blood everywhere, people getting cut in two, decapitations, drillbra mayhem… it’s all in there. The only problem here is that the trailer spoiled a bit too much of the gory set pieces we get here, so if you haven’t seen it yet, I advise you to avoid it and let the movie surprise you.

There are some other minor flaws like some bad acting and poor dialogues, but the movie easilly overcomes its own flaws by never taking itself too serious. And though terribly sadistic things happen in this movie everything is so over the top insane that it had me laughing out loud many times over these atrocities like the raping of a dead school girl. MACHINE GIRL isn’t a revenge flick like KILL BILL, which leaves plenty of room for character development, this one can easilly go without any character development… just tell the story and let the mayhem begin.

This really is a perfect midnight movie; it’s simple, fast paced, funny and gory as hell. Invite some friends over, get drunk (or whatever) and let THE MACHINE GIRL lead you into a world of exploitation and bloody madness. I never saw any of Noboru Iguchi’s previous works but this weird little movie certainly made me curious. His next feature film “Tokyo Gore Police” is rumoured to be even more insane than this one so that certainly is something to look forward to.
Score: 8 / 10

If you only see ONE outrageously absurd and ridiculously over-the-top Asian splatter yarn this year - or even this lifetime, for that matter – you better make damn sure it’s Noboru Iguchi’s “The Machine Girl”! This stupendously demented piece of Japanese “Revengeploitaton” features king-size portions of all the regular and crowd-pleasing ingredients, like crazed stereotypical characters (Yakuzas, Ninjas, schoolgirls in uniform, …) and simplistic story lines, but it particularly specializes in extreme Magna-esquire gore and kitschy comedy. Beautiful and multi-talented schoolgirl Ami lives alone with her nerdy brother Yu since their parents committed suicide for falsely being accused of homicide. Ami protects her brother where she can, but she doesn’t know he and his friend Takashi are the main targets of youthful bullies with prominent Yakuza-parents. The boys get killed, but nobody wants to help Ami because of her notorious family history and her sole attempts to get revenge literally cost the poor girl an arm. She finally gets help from Takashi’s mourning parents, who also provide Ami with a machine-gun prosthesis. “Machine Girl” offers a wide selection of decapitations, dismemberment, close-up gunfire, stabbings, split-open skulls, chainsaw murders, fried limbs, slit throats, electrocutions, impalement and Samurai swashbuckling. Seen all of that before in other schlocky splatter fodder already? Well, yeah … but what about flying guillotines and drill bras? Most of the running time, the screen is literally colored red with gallons of fake blood and removed intestines, but the tone of the film continuously remains blackly comical and light-headed. The phenomenally berserk make-up effects, courtesy of Yoshihiro Nishimura, are often nauseating, but never truly offensive. “Machine Girl” definitely also stars a couple of ravishing and incredibly sexy Japanese actresses, like Ami, her partner in crime Miki and even the supremely bitchy Yakuza’s wife. The battle sequences at the beginning and in the garage, as well as the entire final showdown of course, simply have to be seen to be believed. This outrageously grotesque movie is well-made, well-acted and directed and indescribably entertaining.

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I can’t say that I really consider myself to be a trend-follower. Despite this, however, I’ve got my finger firmly on the pulse of everything that’s cool, hip and happening! I know all about what the kids are into these days, whether it’s invisible cola, pet rocks, or even the macarena. Because I care, I’d like to impart a bit of insight into the latest fad sweeping the globe: Replacing amputated limbs with firearms!

It all began during that magical era known as “last spring” when Rose McGowan … ahem … blasted her way onto the screen in Planet Terror, the Robert Rodriguez–helmed half of Grindhouse. As go-go dancer Cherry Darling, McGowan proved that there’s something oddly alluring about a gal blasting away at zombies with a machine gun that’s been crammed into her thigh. Who knew?
Upping the ante in machine-gun chic is the forthcoming Japanese flick The Machine Girl (Kataude mashin garu), a film that concerns a schoolgirl out for revenge when her family is killed (and her arm is amputated) by the Yakuza.
The Machine Girl has truly got it all: ninjas, sailor fuku school girls, revenge, Yakuza, flying guillotines, drill bras and, of course, the gatling gun arm. According to my calculations, those elements may add up to equal the best movie ever … and by “best movie ever,” I mean I made out with the trailer five times last night. See for yourself, though be warned: the trailer is over-the-top bloody and totally NSFW.

While I’ll be first in line for The Machine Girl, I would never condone such violence in real life. I mean, if my arm were ever chopped off by a clan of ninja Yakuza, I’d like to think that I’d rise above the notion of revenge. Instead of a Gatling gun, maybe I’d attach a Super Soaker to myself and spend my days watering gardens and cooling off the neighborhood children during the summer heat. You know, giving peace a chance and all that.

Carl Morano of Fever Dreams passed on the above costume/makeup test shot from the company’s latest project, tentatively titled TOKYO GORE POLICE. “It’s our next production to be shot entirely in Japan,” Morano tells Fango. “The film will be directed by special effects designer Yoshihiro [MEATBALL MACHINE] Nishimura, and is currently in preproduction, with shooting to begin in early 2008.” Plot details are currently under wraps, but that title is certainly enticing; look for more on the movie at this site in the near future.

In addition, Fever Dreams just unveiled the splatterific trailer for MACHINE GIRL, its previous Japan-lensed film, which we last reported on here. Noboru Iguchi wrote and directed this blood-drenched saga of a young girl who gets revenge on those who killed her brother and severed her arm, with the help of a machine gun attached where her limb once was. Check out the over-the-top preview below! —Michael Gingold

December 18th, 2007 11:54 am
In News: Tokusatsu

A brief look at Noboru Iguchi’s upcoming film
Author: Elliot Gay
Source: Richard York, Twitch, Fangoria, Fever Dreams LLC, Gomorrahy
Special Thanks to Keith Aiken and Sheldon Warnock

Director Noboru Iguchi’s latest film effort, THE MACHINE GIRL (Kataude Mashingaru, THE ONE-ARMED MACHINE GIRL, 2008), will be seeing its theatrical release in Japan in 2008. Written by Iguchi himself, the film follows the story of Ami, a young high-school girl who sets out to take revenge on a gang of bullies after they kill her little brother. On the way to revenge, Ami loses an arm and replaces it with a high powered gun. Insane foes armed with their own bizarre weapons meet a violent end as Ami seeks vengeance for the deaths of those she cares about most.

Noboru Iguchi is no stranger to horror films. Some of his previous credits include but are not limited to director Yudai Yamaguchi’s MEATBALL MACHINE (Mitoboru Mashin, 2007), and SUICIDE CIRCLE (Isatsu Sakuru, a.k.a. SUICIDE CLUB, 2002).

Also on board for THE MACHINE GIRL are Yoshihiro Nishimura and his company, Nishimura Motion Picture Model Makers Group (Y.K. Nishimura Eizô) - “NMPMMG” for short, who will be handling the multitude of special effects in the film. Previous special effects credits include MEATBALL MACHINE and SUKEBAN BOY (Oira Sukeban, 2006). Yuji Shimomura, director of the hyper kinetic film DEATH TRANCE (2005), is handling the martial arts choreography of the film.

The film is said to be a mix of the relentless action of DEATH TRANCE, with the over the top gore of MEATBALL MACHINE, combined to create a dynamic action/horror film. THE MACHINE GIRL stars J-idol Minase Yashiro as Ami. Rounding out the cast are adult actresses Asami Ogawa (Director Noboru Iguchi’s previous film SUKEBAN BOY) and Honoko, model Noriko Kijima, Kentaro Shimazu, Taro Suwa (BATTLE ROYALE, MEATBALL MACHINE), Nobuhiro Nishihara, and Ryosuke Kawamura.

THE MACHINE GIRL is a co-production between the US company Fever Dreams, LLC and Media Suits, a Japanese production house that merged with Nikkatsu Corporation (Nikkatsu K.K.) in 2006. Fever Dreams and Media Suits had previously partnered on DEATH TRANCE. The film’s international distribution rights were put up for sale by Nikkatsu at this year’s American Film Market. Media Blasters may be releasing THE MACHINE GIRL in America as a “Tokyo Shock Original” sometime in 2008.

Above is a sales poster for Noboru Iguchi’s The Machine Girl (Kataude mashin gâru). Distribution rights for the movie - a Fever Dreams LLC (U.S.) production - are to be offered for sale by Nikkatsu Corporation (Nikkatsu K.K.) at this year’s American Film Market (AFM) in Santa Monica, California.

The screenplay for The Machine Girl was written by Iguchi. The movie stars Minase Yashiro and Asami. Yoshihiro Nishimura and his company Nishimura Motion Picture Model Makers Group (Y.K. Nishimura Eizô) - “NMPMMG” for short - were responsible for the movie’s special effects, special make-up effects, and molds. Yûji Shimomura was its action choreographer. (Shimomura himself directed Death Trance.)

Here’s a synopsis for The Machine Girl from the Fangoria article “Fever Dreams returns to Japan for MACHINE GIRL”: “[The Machine Girl] is about a teenager named Ami who sets out for revenge on a gang of bullies who tortured her little brother to death. She winds up losing an arm along the way, and replaces it with a high-powered gun, à la Rose McGowan in Grindhouse. But she doesn’t stop at one limb; Ami continues to lose body parts and replac[e] them with more weapons [apparently including a drill bra (doriru bura)].”

Iguchi’s previous directing credits include Cat-Eyed Boy (Nekome kozô), Manji, Sukeban Boy (Oira sukeban), Snake Girl (Madara no shôjo), Saishû seiki! Natsume Nana - kyûkyoku no erosu, Impolite Education (18-kin - abunai kankei: the kinshinsôkan), and A Larva to Love (Koi suru yôchû).

NMPMMG: The Machine Girl (w/ stills)
AFM: The Machine Girl
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GOMORRAHY.com: Cat-Eyed Boy (w/ trailer, etc.)
GOMORRAHY.com: Manji (w/ trailer, etc.)
Sukeban Boy flyer (432 KB JPEG)
Sukeban Boy Japanese rental DVD cover (188 KB JPEG - viewer discretion is advised)
Snake Girl trailer (downloadable 5.6 MB MOV file)
Saishû seiki! Natsume Nana - kyûkyoku no erosu stills set (64 KB JPEG - viewer discretion is advised)
Saishû seiki! Natsume Nana - kyûkyoku no erosu Japanese sale DVD cover (128 KB JPEG - viewer discretion is advised)
GOMORRAHY.com: Trailer Park subsite (w/ trailer for A Larva to Love, etc.)