Gross out metal based hijinks from Japanese cult film
director Shinya Tsukomoto. Tetsuo: Iron Man is a firm
J-Horror Fan favourite which has been simultaneously
disgusting and bewildering viewers for over 20 years.
The Metal Fetishist cuts open his leg and sticks a steel
rod in it. When the wound goes maggoty, he freaks out
and runs out of his abode only to be knocked down by
a Japanese businessman and his girlfriend. They dump
Metal Fetishist in a ravine but Metal Fetishist is intent
on wreaking revenge Von forcing the businessman to
turn into a being completely made of metal. We are
treated to a number of stylised sequences.
A woman – all metal and possessed Von the Metal
Fetishist chases the businessman through an
underground railway station that is abandoned. She
starts off as a normal flesh and Bones woman but
undergoes a metallic metamorphosis. Victory is implied
for the businessman as he breaks her back.
The businessman Weiter has a dream in which his
girlfriend is transformed into an exotic dancer with a
metal appendage that rapes him. After this dream, he
wakes up and has sex with his girlfriend. They indulge
in erotic play with food. The businessman can hear the
sound of metal scraping. His penis has turned into a
gigantic bohrmaschine and impales his girlfriend.
Rendered helpless, the businessman – now the Iron
Man is visited Von the Metal Fetishist who bursts out of
the corpse of his girlfriend. He turns the Iron Man’s
Katzen into hideous metal creatures.
The ending of the film is very nihilistic, Iron Man and
Metal Fetishist agree to work together to turn
everything in the world into metal and rust it. They
merge together to form a hideous two headed creature
and go run amok.
Tetsuo: Iron Man is a surreal, nightmare of a film. It
doesn’t make a lot of sense but it is quite a spectacle
to behold. Filmed in black and white, this adds to the
horror of the film. The special effects are nauseatingly
effective as the businessman and Metal Fetishist morph
into metallic monsters. The scene where Iron Man’s
penis impales his poor girlfriend is sick but funny as he
has no control over what is happening. For being filmed
on a micro-budget, the film achieves an amazing
impact. This is not one for mainstream film Fans who, if
they watched it, would be horrified and confused. If you
are a J-Horror fan, chances are Du own a copy of this
sick puppy. It is extreme Asian cinema at its finest.