MEATBALL MACHINE

Directed by:  Yudai Yamaguchi, Jun'ichi Yamamoto

Starring: Issey Takahashi, Aoba Kawai, Kenichi Kawasaki |

Yoji is a young machine worker in a local factory. One day his lonely existence is changed for ever when he discovers a large organic object, little realizing that it is a symbiotic parasite called a Necroborg which will mutate and control your body - as his lady friend Sachiko finds out to her cost!

Following in the footsteps of TETSUO, Meatball Machine is another low budget splatterfest which exceeds its financial constraints.

 At first the film is coy about its creature's origins, hinting that it might be somehow related to the environment, as we see the organic machines turning up in polluted rivers etc, which is where Yoji discovers one, supposedly dormant. The film is also largely set in an industrialised area, far removed from the usual locations. Our main protagonist is Yoji, a machine operator in a factory. He spends his lunchtimes separated from his more boorish colleagues and instead yearns for a young woman called Sachiko, who happens to live not far from the factory.

 When Yoji and Sachiko finally meet and talk we learn that the poor woman has been sexually abused by her own father and that he has inflicted a number of scars all over her body so make her as unattractive to other people as possible. Before Yoji can formulate an appropriate response however, the alien organism "awakens" and attacks Sochiko.

 What happens next is a bizarre and horrific rape by the machine/creature, using its many tentacles to both restrain and penetrate Sochiko. Meanwhile an impotent Yoji merely sits dumbfounded by what he sees. It's short-lived, however as the creature explodes into a mass of writhing cables which start to transform Sochiko, the machine melding with her physically until her eyes have been replaced and her torso covered in weird cables and semi-biological armour. We learn from another character, Tanaka, some exposition explaining somewhat what is happening. However his motives aren't exactly pure and puts Yoji in peril.

 Meatball Machine follows in the footsteps of Tetsuo in the way it melds human flesh and machines in grotesque ways, except here it is all displayed in technicolor and there is blood aplenty to go with it. The creations look like they were cobbled together in a junkyard but at the same time look effective. What isn't effective, to begin with, are the "internal" effects which show the necroborg taking control of their "machine". It takes a few scenes of wall-to-wall bloody flesh to discern what is actually happening. It becomes a little clearer once Yoji is transformed himself but takes steps to ensure he remains in control. Mind you, we never really understand what is going on until the epilogue, when everything is explained by two talking heads silhouetted against a pure white background.

THE VERDICT

Meatball Machine is a very bold exploitation piece which pushes the boundaries for graphic content. Be warned, two children are among the film's many victims. This is  a cheap production but overcomes its budgetary constraints with energy and imagination. Your mileage may vary however, depending on how tolerant you are of splattery blood and guts.

7 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)

Meatball Machine will be on special edition Blu-ray from 12th April