Tetsuo: The Iron Man
Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto
Today we’ll be tackling a film from my favorite sub-genre of horror, body horror. I’m not sure what exactly it was that grabbed me about these types of horror films years ago, but there’s something primal and unnerving about even subpar body horror. Before I get too far into psychoanalyzing myself, let’s talk about a notable piece of the body horror film tapestry, Tetsuo: The Iron Man.
Tetsuo: The Iron Man is the charming and endlessly relatable story of a seemingly mild-mannered gent who transforms into a monster of flesh of metal, arranged in a thoroughly disgusting manner. I would prefer to not say any more because while I could tell you what the plot is, it wouldn’t really get across the bizarre and surreal experience of watching the movie and experiencing it for yourself and piecing things together. Not that it is difficult to understand, I don’t think the story is necessarily confusing, it’s just shown a little at a time to keep you guessing before it reveals things. And does Tetsuo reveal things!
What Tetsuo has become known for, among the horror geeks who still talk about it, is the film’s all-in approach to metallic body horror. This is one of the most earned reputations for any movie ever, as the opening sequence to the movie features some, quite frankly vomit inducing visuals and things barely let up as the movie jets forward. To say that Tetsuo is fast-paced doesn’t really do it justice, Tetsuo has an anarchic glee to it that instantly captures your attention and doesn’t let go until the credits roll.
And not to get too “We Live In A Society”, but there is some interesting social commentary here that I can certainly appreciate – in between bouts of glee and disgust, of course. There are definitely different ways you can read exactly what everything means, the most basic stuff would just be about the changing nature of humanity in a society that’s becoming more and more infused with technology but there’s a lot of other ways to go down that rabbit hole. It’s also fun to note that the ideas talked about in this film from 1989 are way way way more applicable 30 years later than they were back then when people use technology even more frequently and it intrudes much more into our lives.
Every single second something insane, disturbing, or darkly humorous is onscreen and this visual onslaught is even more impressive when you take the tight budget of the film into account. Reportedly, the director financed the film by saving all the money from his day job and funneling that into this truly odd passion project and I’m quite thankful for that. As far as experimental body horror goes, Tetsuo: The Iron Man is up there with the greats, and everyone who likes horror should give this a watch.
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