‘Tetsuo: The Iron Man’ or — Metal Madness?
Ever wondered what it would be like if David Lynch, Jan Svankmajer, Katsuhiro Otomo and David Cronenberg all fucked like crazy in a junk-yard and had a kid together? You did! Then you’d know the off-spring would look almost exactly like this — Shinya Tsukamoto’s glorious ‘Tetsuo: The Iron Man’ (1989).
One of the incredible things (and trust me, it is only one of the incredible things) about ‘Tetsuo: The Iron Man’ is despite how easy it is to list the obvious influences and inspirations — Lynch, Svankmajer, Otomo etc — is just how singularly unique and distinctive the movie’s personality is. It was made in 1989 and there was nothing else like it. It’s now 2019 and there still isn’t.
It tells the story of metal fetishist, a young man who likes slicing his flesh open and inserting metal into the wounds. Before the opening credits he is killed by a speeding car. We are then introduced to the Salaryman who, whilst shaving one morning, notices a shard on metal growing out of his face. He is concerned, especially after it bursts blood like an organic spot when squeezed. Yet he becomes REALLY concerned when it seems this metal disease is spreading throughout his entire body! Hopefully his girlfriend won’t notice.
How are metal fetishist and the Salaryman connected, if at all? Is there a cure for the condition? Is it possible to take the expression “I could do with a good drilling” literally? Watch ‘Tetsuo: The Iron Man’ and find out!
At first it might not seem that Tsukamoto’s film has much of a story, seeming to be nothing more than an excuse (albeit an insanely enjoyable one) for metallic mayhem, monochrome madness, ferrous (CHECK) ferocity, static-like editing, grotesque body-horror and slap-stick violence. Yet there is a narrative that slowly starts to protrude from under its grease and oil covered surface, the rust dropping away to reveal a surprisingly highly-polished machine driving everything. This results in a movie that is not only high satisfying but allows for a climax that is genuinely awe-inspiring and gratifyingly bonkers. God, I love it when small, low-budget movies have the balls to go big at the end.
All this imagination is contained within a super-tight 67 minutes which only emphasises the pressurised invention being blasted into your eyeballs. And if you don’t like visual overloaded then maybe stay away from ‘Tetsuo’ as this film starts off frantic, intense and crazy and only gets more so from there on. Not only that but the kinetic images being shot out of this kino-machine are extreme and brutal; like all engines firing at full blast, it doesn’t care what you think and should be approached with the utmost caution. The entire film is an amalgam of high-speed photography, stop-motion animation, industrial noise, searing lights, home-made effects and seizure-inducing editing… all often occurring at once!
‘Tetsuo: The Iron Man’ is possibly the finest example of industrial-punk ever made and blows any modern film I’ve seen over the last few years out of the water with its energy, ambition and invention. It is pure grime and blazing white-hot chrome. It is also a masterpiece.
