Eihi Shiina

(In French, On Cable TV, May 2020) Considering the title Tokyo Gore Police and the known depths (Heights? Extremes?) which Japanese gory horror can reach, it’s a surprise to realize that the film doesn’t play quite as disgustingly as I expected. I’m not a fan of gore, but expecting much worse probably made this a better experience: The plot is slight but heroic, the special effects are so over the top that they become easier to, ahem, stomach, and there is a crazy (but not completely psychopathic) sense of humour running through it all. Writer-director Yoshihiro Nishimura was on his first project as a director here, but already used to similar fare thanks to his work doing special effects on Machine Gun Girl (which is more difficult to watch than this one). Eihi Shiina is not bad as the heroine, but the stars here are the almost-endless and grotesque effects of gore, dismemberment and mutation that end up forming the bulk of the film’s narrative. I may not recommend it to someone else, but I didn’t have as bad of a time watching Tokyo Gore Police as I expected, and that’s already saying a lot.