Meatball Machine review by The Grim Ringler

Meatball Machine

There is a splinter genre of Asian cinema that you either sorta get, or you don’t. You seem to love it, or you hate it. Me, I never quite got it. These are very surreal, very artsy, very strange and violent films and they have their charm, there’s no doubting that, but I just can’t say that I really love the movies. If you’re wondering what a prime example of these films would be, look no further than Tetsuo, which paved the way for Meatball Machine to find its way to our shores.

Two alien factions have taken their war to earth, and, using humans as their hosts, are cutting a bloody path through the streets. A young loner is obsessed with the woman who lives next to where he works and he can barely function while obsessing over her. The man comes across one of the alien computer units (I am guessing this is what it was, it’s the core system that infects the people and turns them into bio-mech monsters) after taking a beating from an irate transvestite and takes it home, curious as to what it is. He gets his chance to make a connection with the woman he is so smitten with when he stops a man from forcing himself on her. When the two share a moment of closeness back at his flat he finds a strange scar on her neck and then comes face to face with the symbiotic creature that lives in her, as her sexual arousal sets it loose (!!). It turns out that she has been infected with the parasite and there is no cure for her. She will be controlled and forced to fight another with a similar parasite, and the loser will be devoured. It turns out that the woman’s father has been using other men as food for his daughter and this man, love her though he may, is about to become her next victim and meal. Pitted against one another, these tragic lovers must battle one another in a violent, gory fight which will leave one, if not both, dead.

You can’t funk the feel on the fact that this is definitely a fun, if silly, movie. It’s gory, it’s crazy, and it reminded me of a GWAR concert. A lot of people will like this for its frenetic action, its crazed images, and its violence, but it was just a bit too strange for me. The heart of the film are the over the top fight scenes and special effects. The special effects are very good, very effective, and are at times definitely cringe worthy. The bio-mech costumes are very silly but that’s sort of the charm of the film. I found the film’s story off-putting and it all seemed like an excuse to get some bio-mech monsters to beat each other up. For some, this will be pure gold, for me it got boring. Invite some friends over, rent it, pop some corn, and live up the gory goodness.

The film has a nice presentation, and looks good. The subtitles are mostly well done, and have few major problems. This is another nice release under the Danger After Dark label from TLA Releasing and shows more love than you’d expect for the film. With several extras, and a nice package, if you like the film, this is the way to see it.

…c…




5 out of 10 Jackasses
blog comments powered by Disqus