The Machine Girl

Japan, 2008
Original title: Kataude mashin gâru

Director: Noboru Iguchi
Starring: Minase Yashiro, Asami, Kentaro Shimazu, Honoka
IMDB: 6.1

Yet another film that cements Japan as the undisputed leaders in extreme cinema, The Machine Girl was produced by Tokyo Shock who are also responsible for the brilliant Tokyo Gore Police. Its obvious that these guys know what the fans want.

There's no pandering to sensitive tastes or the moral high ground here. It's total twisted adult entertainment all the way. There's gore galore, Japanese schoolgirls covered in blood, and sick Yakuza bastards all rolled together into one epic low-brow comedy-horror revenge flick that pulls no punches.

Ami (Minase Yashiro) was such a sweet young girl. That is until the spoiled son of a Yakuza ganglord and his high school gang bullied her brother to death. Approaching the parents of one of the gang members to insist that someone be held accountable, her code of non-violence is dismissed when his father attacks her with a golf club, and his mother turns her arm into tempura in a boiling pot of hot oil. Upon confronting the Yakuza ganglord, she is captured and tortured further, her arm dismembered in the process. Enough is enough.

Ami becomes a lethal schoolgirl killing machine! Even more so when the parents of another bullied schoolboy join forces with her and provide her with a handmade machine gun to attach to the stump of her missing arm. Mayhem and revenge ensue in the time-honoured tradition of asian revenge flicks.

The acting is uniformly excellent - especially from lead actress Minase Yashiro who has perfected the art of looking deadly, gorgeous, and cute whilst covered in blood and striking a suitably menacing pose in a schoolgirl outfit. Technically, the film could be improved in a number of areas - but commenting on such a thing would be a waste of time. This is campy, gory, outrageous fun in the mold of the Evil Dead series. The production values, while not at the top end, are certainly more than adequate for the genre.

Followed shortly after by the more surreal and twisted Tokyo Gore Police, The Machine Girl is more of a lower budget, more humorous version - equally as good, but in a different way, and is highly recommended.

Rating: 8.5/10

Screenshots - click to enlarge

Trailer