Zonbi asu [Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead] (2011)

(In French, On Cable TV, August 2021) While it would be hilarious to take Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead as representing something fundamental about Japan, let’s admit that this is a film that’s far from the mainstream. Yes, it fits with films such as Tokyo Gore Police and Meatball Machine, but that’s a very specific flavour, not a national obsession. But anyway: As the title suggests, this is a film that blends gory zombie horror with flatulent comedy. As young students head to the woods for a weekend of camping, they encounter zombies created by a mad scientist’s experiment. The tropes pile up without too much logic, but then again if logic is what you’re after, you’re clearly not in the right frame of mind for Zonbi asu. As schoolgirls are bitten and experience fatal flatulence, director Noboru Iguchi goes for funny gross-out and generally achieves its objectives, all the way to a climax in which flatulence once again plays a pivotal role. It’s mildly funny, not really horrific, and clearly meant to disgust at times, but it’s saved by a tone that doesn’t quite go for extreme nihilism. It’s far from being the worst horror film I’ve seen this week, although that’s not really saying a lot. One fair warning: Zonbi asu is not quite as good as its title. But it’s not that far off either.