Tonight’s feature presentations are a couple of treasured underground gems that will make your far-too frail flesh crawl off you trembling bones. Both movies are carved deep into the deformed stone which makes up the Mount Rushmore of Body Horror cinema, and makes it that much harder to behold. Our first stop is in the land of the rising sun before visiting the True North for some maple leaf mayhem. Now, get ready for two truly transformative tales.
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
At last, we have finally come to this amazingly bats—t crazy movie! In 1989, director Shinya Tsukamoto released a cyberpunk/body horror flick that tests the mettle (or is it metal?) of anyone who dares to call themselves an “edgelord” and it sends normies running away in disgust.
This movie was filmed in black and white, but believe me when I say that the colors won’t be missed where we’re going. Get ready for enough heavy metal to split your eardrums, your head, and anywhere else that’s capable of gushing blood! It is my honor to present to you the great Tetsuo: The Iron Man.
The is a story about your average, blue-collar Salaryman (Tomorowo Taguchi) who mows down a person with his car, and disposes of his body without going to the authorities. His victim turns out to be true metal enthusiast, and I’m not talking the kind that starts moshpits either, but the sharp kind that can cause a serious infection if someone were to jam it into their open leg wounds.
This disturbed Fetishist (Shinya Tsukamoto) gets all the metal he can handle when he meets the front of Salaryman’s vehicle, but this is not the end for him. His metallic spirit endures the hit-and-run to wreak some havoc on the murdering motorist.
Plagued by visions of industrial wastelands, and nightmares of being chrome-holed by machinery, the Salaryman finds a shard of very sharp metal growing out of his cheek during his morning shave, and this is only the beginning.
The small shard quickly spreads until his entire body is metamorphosized into human/metal hybrid that’s sharp to the touch, and even comes with a free power drill that his girlfriend (Kei Fujiwara) is certain to love. This leads to an unexpected reunion with the Fetishist, the magnetic connection they now share, and the gleaming destiny that awaits them both.
Since its release, Tetsuo: The Iron Man has been a staple for midnight screenings at arthouse cinemas, and the dwindling first-run theaters that still care about movies. The gritty visuals, and over-the-top gore provide enough distraction from the movie’s complete lack of plot, but that’s not why people are still talking about this movie 35 years later.
Imagine if David Cronenberg had a child with David Lynch, and those two quirky Canucks left that little abomination to die in a Japanese junkyard. That’s what it’s like to watch Tetsuo: the Iron Man. It was followed by two equally nutty sequels, but this one is still the best. Get some metal in your life, and head over to Kanopy for this heavy helping.
But first, the trailer…
The Brood (1979)
Speaking of Cronenberg (and abominable offspring), the king has returned! Once again, David Cronenberg graces us with his royal presence for this 1979 cult classic.
It’s his fourth feature as director, and one of the first to lay down the foundation for what would be known as the body horror subgenre. A brilliantly bizarre film that sits high atop the list of most enthusiasts, but that’s only if they even know what they’re talking about. Starring Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle, and the immortal acting/drinking legend Oliver Reed, this is David Cronenberg’s The Brood.
To say that Frank Carveth (Hindle) is having a rough time would be an understatement. His estranged (and deranged) wife, Nola (Eggar), suffered from a nervous breakdown, and had to be committed. He got involved with a woman who fell in love with him for his sanity, and hoped it would rub off, but that obviously failed.
To help with her therapy, they split custody of their daughter, Candice. One day, Frank picks her up from the Somafree Institute after seeing Nola, and is shocked to find bruises all over her body. Things get even weirder when he goes to the private hospital, and gets a good look at the therapeutic practices taking place.
The eccentric Dr. Raglan (Reed) treats his patients by forcing them to suppress their emotions through physiological changes that manifests from their bodies in a technique called “psychoplasmics,” and the whole thing is even weirder than it sounds.
To add on to the crazy pile, a bunch of mutant kids start attacking the people close to Frank, and a bunch of unsolved murders start occurring. Worried for the safety of Candice, but hindered by legal red tape, he finds a way to save her from the small, mutated hands of…The Brood!!!
There’s a philosophy beneath the gross weirdness, and it’s hard to tell which part sticks with people the longest. Samantha Eggar is terrifying in her role as a mentally ill person, and gets even scarier as she reveals the big “changes” in her life. Oliver Reed is his usual amazing, drunken self, and he doesn’t slur a single line (like a true professional!). Howard Shore delivers another perfect score, and shows why he’s the John Williams to Cronenberg’s Steven Spielberg.
Whenever anyone says “Classic Cronenberg” this is the first movie that comes to my mind. Not only because it defines the genre he was helping to create, but I consider it his best from the “Classical” days. Head on over to MAX and have a look for yourself. Or chicken out, and just watch the trailer.
