Customer Reviews

Tokyo Gore Police

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

From the producers of "Machine Girl" and "Death Trance" comes a film that is so outrageously bizarre, full of "pink" violence, blood-splattering horror effects, TRULY bizarre characters, that will definitely make some people stop the film, others will cheer, but no one can deny that the film is brilliant in a very different and original way. If you think you are ready for "TOKYO GORE POLICE" then you have another think coming. Once you see the film's opening act of dismembered full frontal nudity with lots of blood and gore, you may get the idea that you are in for something very unusual. So, Do I have your attention yet??

In a far distant future, Tokyo's police force have been privatized and they are locked in constant combat with a group of genetically enhanced killers called "Engineers". These genetically modified super-murderers can bio-infuse their open wounds with weapons, turning self-mutilation into combat form. Ruka (Eihi Shiina, Audition) is the daughter of the police chief's murdered right-hand man, is now the police corporation's top engineer hunter. With cold-blooded efficiency, she cuts through the psychotic engineers and leaves them very dead. Nothing can keep her from her duty, that is until she encounters a mysterious engineer called the "key man" and she learns the truth behind her father's death.

"Tokyo Gore Police" is the directorial debut of Yoshihiro Nishimura, the same man who is responsible for the effects and make up for "Machine Girl", the man had brainstormed with Sion Sono for "Strange Circus", and if those two films are any indication, you can imagine just how outrageous and chaotic this film can get. I am at a lost for words, this film had left me almost speechless. Nishimura definitely pulled out all the stops in his debut film, but unlike "Machine Girl" which felt almost like a humorous, gore-riddled stunt show, "Tokyo Gore Police" manages to execute everything with a straight face and what you will get is something no one would expect. The film is a thematic affair, and the film is very dark--in a very pleasant way.

Amid all the brutality, dismemberment, blood and a whole lot of GORE, the film has a commentary on the excesses of society that may lead to its collapse. The TV commercials give a hint of the film's current popular culture with the products they sell. Apparently, suicide and self-mutilation is the "in" thing amid the teens and video game consoles such as the Wii have games that allow the player to mutilate and kill within the comfort of one's own home. The film also borrows the element from "Robocop" regarding the idea of a corporation that runs a city's police force. The police force's uniform bears a resemblance to ancient samurai armor and western elements. (except for Ruka, who wears a sexy uniform--somewhat dominatrix style). The self-mutilation idea may have been lifted from Cronenberg via "Existenz" and the film's look and feel is definitely anime-inspired; the imagery may have a little bit of a comic "bookish" atmosphere.

The film definitely has a lot of things to say and it would be very easy for the viewer to shut off his brain and let the violent (if campy) imagery just wash over him. The film has its share of outrageous and oddball characters; there's a freaky bondage club, there's a snail woman (who may be a Yokai character), there`s even some hinted S & M. Then if we begin to talk about shocking images and gore, then nothing to this day may equal "Tokyo Gore Police". Blood just drops like a strong rainfall; there're boobies that spew acid and ones with teeth, one man has literally a cannon for his male genitalia, a huge deathtrap of a female genitalia, organic bullets, knives, blades, brains being cut open, penises being bitten off--you name it, this film has it. The film is remarkably INSANE.

The action scenes are quite reminiscent of "Machine Girl" but dare I say, it does succeed where the former failed. A bazooka and splattering blood are used to propel oneself that adds somewhat to its silliness and outrageousness. These are not negative comments but the film lives and stays aloft on this style. There are some uses of slow-motion in the action, and it is not so much as how hard-hitting it is, as to how bloody and gory one action scene may get. The make-up efx go from a pure "camp" to quite bizarre with the blood splattering all over the place including the camera view. (it does minimize CGI blood and uses old-fashioned prosthetics and red ink). The film's tone takes on some serial killer elements to a cautionary tale of fascistic and social paranoia with restrained aggression, with some competitive subtle quips about China and Japan.

The film's plot may not be complex, and the screenplay isn't without its flaws. Some of its elements may seem a little tiresome after awhile but it does display director Nishimura's potential as a filmmaker. Keep in mind that this is first directorial assignment, and it is no fault of his that some of the film's storytelling is unrefined and feels a little convoluted. Eihi Shiina is very fitting as the film's lead. The woman is as cold and emotionless as in "Audition". However, Shiina exhibits a particular type of sex appeal that's both frightening and alluring. Ruka's character is a woman sworn to her duty and manages to shut off almost everything in this chaotic Tokyo. Her past is told in the form of flashbacks (as with most of the film's character developments) and her one link to order and sanity is her relationship to a kindly bar owner (Ikuko Sawada).

"Tokyo Gore Police" wasn't exactly what I expected but boy, it was one fun ride. It was far more than I wanted to see or prepared myself for. The film is definitely NOT FOR EVERYONE, the film delivers its outright silliness and "mutated campiness" with a serious tone; that while it may seem funny--once you take it all in, it is a lot DARKER and bizarre than what it was at first impression. This type of film just doesn't give a smile nor will it get a thumbs up from mainstream audiences--you know why? Because of all the cut-off limbs, mutated and disemboweled body parts, the film would probably have everything torn away in PURE Bloody fashion. The only thing the film may be missing is a "rainbow", only instead of colors it would be made from blood.

Again, watch it if you dare....

Recommended Timidly but a HIGHLY Recommended rating to fans of Japanese cinema and Blood/Gore.
[4- Stars]

Note: There is a very strong hint that this is Yoshihiro Nishimura's first installment of blood and gore.
Video/audio: 1.77 ratio anamorphic widescreen. Great transfer for Tokyo Shock. Colors and blacks are radiant and strong, but some scenes have more grain than others. 5.1 Dolby Digital and 2.0 Surround Japanese and English language tracks. The English subtitles are excellent.

Tokyo Gore Police is a fun movie - it's one of the recent "over the top, super-gore" films coming out of Japan (Machine Girl, Mutant Girls Squad, Robo-Geisha, Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl, Meatball Machine, Samurai Princess, Hard Revenge Milly), and I think the names should be enough to tell you that these aren't going to be high-class art films. These movies are generally made on a lower budget, with a focus on trying to "top" the other movies in terms of craziness, and Tokyo Gore Police does a good job at that. If you've seen Kill Bill, these movies are over the top in a similar way as the Crazy 88's fight sequence in the first movie - blood splattering and parts flying everywhere. If you liked that, these movies are for you. If you didn't, just move on now.

For more information on this movie, I would suggest reading some of the reviews from the DVD page: Tokyo Gore Police. It's a love-it-or-hate-it type of movie.

I loved it - even bought 3 different versions of it, and that's part of where my problem is.

Media Blasters/Tokyo Shock have been releasing multiple versions of these films, each with numerous problems (usually release a movie-only version, following it up a couple months later with a Movie+Extras version (in the case of Tokyo Gore Police, a 2nd disc of short films), and then either a 3rd release (Movie+Extras+More Extras.. or a Blu-Ray)). Machine Girl is getting a total of 4 releases, this Blu-Ray is Tokyo Gore Police's 3rd release and it seems like a step back.

The most obvious problem is that this is listed as a 2-disc set on the back of the case, featuring the extras: TOKYO GORE POLICE SHORT FILM COLLECTION, ORIGINAL TRAILER, OPENING DIGEST. Opening the case, you'll immediately notice it's a 1-disc set, and the only extras are the theatrical trailer and some other Media Blasters/Tokyo Shock trailers.
It's also unexplainable - some companies will get lazy and just copy the DVD coverart for the Blu-Ray, leaving some discrepencies. Media Blasters actually re-did the artwork for the entire Blu-Ray case (front and back), and created a new menu system for the Blu-Ray, so it's not like it was a quick re-packaging.

If you want the Tokyo Gore Police Short Film Collection, you need to buy the Tokyo Gore Police 1.5 (2pc) (Dub Sub) on DVD (a repackaging of the original DVD + a 2nd disc with the short films). The short films themselves aren't that special (I purchased both versions of the DVD and was disappointed by the short films), so it's not a huge loss, but they do make a good FREE extra, especially when they're advertised on the case.

Video quality on the Blu-Ray is also questionable. I did a comparison with the DVD and the Blu-Ray appears to have some sort of digital-smoothing applied (and sharpening over that). Lots of faces lack detail and show edge enhancement throughout the film. This is a low-budget film, so I won't completely fault Media Blasters, but there does appear to be some tweaking done as the DVD did not display these problems as noticeably. Media Blasters/Tokyo Shock has had a pretty spotty record with their blu-ray releases, so it's no surprise. At other times, though, it does seem good.

I can't comment on the audio as I don't have a DTS-HD compatible system, but the disc does contain English DTS-HD 2.0 / 5.1 and Japanese DTS-HD 2.0 / 5.1 according to the box (it's only listed as 2.0 or 5.1 on the menu, so I can't confirm it's DTS-HD).

I like the movie - I got the Blu-Ray cheap (cheaper than I paid for the DVD, even) so I don't regret it. I wouldn't recommend upgrading the DVD to it, but for those who are looking to buy it (without owning any previous editions), ask yourself if the Short Film Collection is important to you. If not, get the blu-ray. If it is, get the Tokyo Gore Police 1.5 (2pc) (Dub Sub) DVD.

Inevitably, this will be compared to the Machine Girl in most reviews, but that's a bit unfair to this film because despite all the gore and bizarre plot points, this film is a LOT different than that film... and it's also a lot better.

No matter what anyone says, The Machine Girl was really just an overblown gory comedy; this one, while boasting some really clever and hilarious parts (gotta love the fake television ads, including one with a killer Wii game!), is way darker and more serious and actually has a way more involving storyline, especially in the 2nd half. It is also bit slower and more character-driven; while this approach may turn off some people, it makes this film feel more real, more vibrant, more cinematic, and makes it way more rewatchable. None of it is boring in the least, of course -- in fact, this is one of the most entertaining films I've EVER seen.

Surreal and ultraviolent, and special mention has to be made to whoever did the soundtrack. A great film for any occasion. I loved it. More energy and great, original ideas than most any film I've seen come out in the past 5 years or so. Highly Recommended!

This is not a review of the movie, but of the Bluray itself. If you're into this new wave of Japanese splatter flicks then you know what to expect, and Tokyo Gore Police is amongst the best of its kind.

However, Media Blasters has dropped the ball with this release. Or, rather, someone in their art department is just incredibly lazy. The back cover has been copied and pasted from their 2 disc DVD edition. This Bluray release is ONE disc, not two. Furthermore, the listed bonus material (TGP short films, behind the scenes) are not on the disc. What you do get is a trailer for the film and for other Tokyo Shock releases.

The transfer is expectedly average (these cheaply shot and quickly made features are never going to sparkle), and there are DTS-HD 5.1 audio tracks in both Japanese and English.

It just boggles the mind that these kinds of oversights happen in this day and age. For shame, Media Blasters.

I should start by saying that this movie is so graphic in so many ways that I had to edit my own original review in order to make it decent for the general public. So, if, after reading my review, you think this movie's extreme, then multiply your expectations by about ten to be prepared for it.

In the not-too-distant-future, "engineers" and their genetically-altered spawn are able to generate mutated bio-weapon appendages from their wounds. The Tokyo police have become privatized for "the good of society," as their motto goes, and specifically to eliminate the "engineers" and their bio-engineered spawn. Claiming to be a better, more effective instrument for civil control, the Tokyo Police Corporation, as it's called, also ironically carries out summary executions of anyone, for the largest to the smallest of crimes. This is all done in the name of justice, efficiency, and eliminating "engineers." In one scene, for example, a man's hands are cut off for offending a female on the subway. In another scene, a call-girl madam is dismembered and impaled, through the mouth, with the wooden handle of a garden tool. Does retribution really get much better than that? I doubt it.

Oh, yes! There's also the main character Ruku played by the gorgeous Eihi Shiina! (What would a movie like this be without such a babe?) She's a crack, bad-girl engineer-hunter, motivated for revenge, after seeing her father killed by an engineer, as a child. Ruku is serious eye candy, gracefully kicking butt in all her perils, and always looking good enough to turn heads on or off a body. She even looks good with half her face blown off, a mutated eye, and a claw-like, genetically-altered arm appendage! Yes, trust me, this woman cannot look bad!

As with most unchecked forms of government, corruption is the result, and this movie has just that as part of its message. Beyond that, there's not much else mental about it. However, that's not a bad thing here at all. Anyone who watches a movie titled Tokyo Gore Police wants one thing for sure--gore, gore, and more gore! Well, this movie will certainly NOT disappoint in that area. As the title implies, there is, indeed, gore aplenty here. From the first seconds of the movie, the viewer is soaked in scenes of blood, carnage, and gratuitous violence. The first scene of the movie involving an "engineer" with a chainsaw sets an over-the-top tone from the start. This scene will have you ducking and dodging, or looking for your raincoat, even as a viewer.

The violence and gore in this movie are excessive throughout. There are numerous decapitations, dissections, dismemberments, disembowelments, and heads split in half. In every scene, blood sprays from wounds like water from a hose, for periods far longer than anything remotely possible. Yes, this movie is far from realistic, but no less effective as a result. The excessive blood, violence, and gore, along with over-the-top personalities and plots, give this movie more of a live-action comic book look. Ironically, the pulp effects also help to tone the movie down to some arguably reasonable level. Anything more realistic in a movie this gory would be impossible to market as entertainment, by any stretch.

Of course, there is the inevitable and necessary heroine/villain showdown in this movie. No other end could make it complete or worthy of viewing after a point, anyway. The bad guy and the good gal go at it to the bitter end, and the results are, shall we say, not to the physical advantage of either. However, as I said, the good gal Ruku still looks good anyway. So, who cares?

Again, this movie is clearly NOT for everyone. It does, however, satisfy a certain gore fan's niche for the more extreme in violent, over-the-top cinema. If you're one of the lucky lover's of copious carnage and blood, then, by all means, dial 911 for the Tokyo Gore Police today!

You know, I have a bit of an idea what this film was about, but my clear head to that sort of thing has been drowned repeatedly in the gallons upon gallons of blood that was flashed in front of my face in some of the most startling groteseque imagery I've ever seen.

TOKYO GORE POLICE is a masterpiece in its distortion of the human body, and an epic in its destruction of that body. It put whole new vulgar thoughts in my head, and I'm just left in awe of that.

On top of that, it's unnervingly relentless in its presentation. If you go longer than a minute without seeing something bizarre and revolting, it's because you've closed your eyes.

Really, it's just gross. All the way through. And in fantastic new ways.

If you like gore and insanity you've absolutely got to see this. If you like story -- well, TOKYO GORE POLICE has one. And um. It's about people mutilating themselves. There's more to it than that, I'm sure, and the fuzzy image I have in my head doesn't make it out to be utter garbage, but I was too giddy with childish delight at the violence to notice.

If you're not into gorefests you probably should skip anything with GORE right there in the title to begin with, but TOKYO GORE POLICE is an especially large SKIP for you.

Simply put, this is the most bizarre, ridiculous, gratuitous, nonsensical movie I have ever seen.

The daughter of a murdered police officer, Ruka (Eihi Shiina, the definition of evil in Audition) is a member of a future privatized police force - clad in a cross between ancient samurai gear, high-tech armor and Darth Vader helmets - whose sole purpose is to battle genetically enhanced, cyberpunk villains called engineers. Told between random commercials promoting wrist-cutting and discouraging seppuku (i.e. hara-kiri), the plotline is peppered with flashbacks, cartoons, and every possible oddity squeezable into a Japanese version of a circus freak-show. Think Judge Dredd with a ghetto Lucy Liu in place of Sly, mixed with the commercial jingoism of Starship Troopers and a ninja-slave-dog-sword-BDSM-slave-person(?).

There is a prostitute killer, an attempt to kill a school yard of children playing soccer, cranium kickball, torture porn and random torture, decapitation of a petty criminal, executions of peaceful protestors, sexual perversion, and a midget devil. If severed limbs are your thing, then you'll be in heaven. If generic gore, volcanic blood, and randomly inserted exploding heads tickle your fancy, then I recommend a viewing. If campy horror turns you on, this will be your Nicholas Sparks. If a Japanese dude doing a poor imitation of the Michael Jackson crotch grab as he walks towards a fetishist sex club where he gets Bobbit-ized, later attacked by a gatormaid, and grows a loin-cannon, well, be honest, that's not anybody's "thing."

This movie is meant to be as over-the-top gory and odd as possible; it succeeds. Thumbs up, I think. You get the point.

Call up your gore bros, it's time for a splatterparty!
This dynamic visual slice of insanity is drenched in way more blood than Tampax could absorb. The gore flows like wine, it's time to dine on demented violence and get inebriated on the psychotic bewilderment spewing out from the mind of Yoshihiro Nishimura.

TOKYO GORE POLICE really is just pure creative and crazy genius. Amazingly shot in just 2 weeks, this film instantly catapults itself near the top of greatest gore cinema ever imagined. It's like an addictive injection of TETSUO, ARMY OF DARKNESS, ROBOCOP, GOZU, DEAD ALIVE, and VIDEODROME. This film is waaaay better than the ultra-violent MACHINE GIRL.

It's a dizzying journey of maniacal mayhem. The gorgeous Eihi Shiina(AUDITION) is the cop hunting the "engineers", a group of criminals that can mutate their severed limbs into warped weapons of destruction. The story immediately spirals into a vortex of awesomely wretched sick battles that probably feels like an acid trip. No ill side effects, it just doesn't get any crazier than this!

Your DVD collection sucks without this flick. BUY THIS NOW!

This film definately isn't for everyone. The gore level rises to comedic extents and the creativity in the film easily makes it a cult classic. As for many cult classics however, the acting is a little lame in parts, but you're too busy watching blood spill everywhere to really notice. All in all, for those who are into the so called "gore porn" this is right up your alley. :)

This movie is about a girl who kills people called 'engineers.' Engineers are people who grow weapons back where body parts get cut off. She's out to find the person who's responsible for killing her father who is in fact the father of the head engineer. Yeah, it's odd.
Overall this movie was entertaining, although I wanted it to hurry up by the one hour mark. There is insane amounts of blood and guts and most of it is hilarious. There was a little too much CGI for my tastes though. I'll take bad puppets over bad computer graphics any day.
Without spoiling too much, the best part is the fact that if you're studying serial killers and you get pissed off, just inject Charles Manson and Ed Gein into yourself and you'll become a super weapon weapon yourself.
Rent it if you want to see it but I can't recommend buying this at full price, it's not worth multiple viewings