Tetsuo: The Bullet Man – DVD Review

The Film:

Few films have the raw, kinetic energy that director Shinya Tsukamoto displayed in his Tetsuo: The Iron Man 20 years ago. Picture David Cronenberg’s flesh/machinery love affair, hyped up on Redbull, just ‘roid-raging for a little over an hour. Yet it was morally and sexually ambiguous, something that aided the stark black-and-white film, in a rare narrative free-form exercise that was undeniably memorable. Perhaps it’s nothing more than a cool, underground cult film (although the film’s status might prove otherwise), Tsukamoto dropped a few forgettable films like its sequel, Tetsuo: The Body Hammer and Nightmare Detective.

While not wholly successful, the raw, constant energy is back with a vengeance in Tetsuo: The Bullet Man, which ultimately is less ambitious than its predecessor.

The story is simple, and less ambiguous this time out, which often feels like a weird sequel/rehash of Tetsuo: The Iron Man. An American living in Tokyo sees his son brutally run down by an unknown assailant, and stricken with grief, pain, and a nagging wife, a metamorphosis happens, like the previous films. Shinya Tsukamoto’s twisted creation is even more eerie this time out, visually, as that’s pretty much what these films are. A visual orgy of a rotating collage of man, machine, and steam. Running only about 70 minutes, The Bullet Man maybe be overly simplistic to fully enjoy, as it’s clearly defined the father’s internal rage which not only consumes the antagonist but the family as well.

Tetsuo: The Bullet Man strikes the cord of what we loved about the first film, nearly 20 years ago, even if it feels like a rehash. That feeling isn’t a killer, a Tsukamoto’s style overcomes it, making the film a quick, visual, frantic piece of film-making. For some it’s an arthouse horror curiosity, for others is a welcome return, but either way, The Bullet Man is a strange English-language debut.

The DVD:

Audio/Video: MPI Home Video has a hard task of pleasing the intentions of the director, as well as DVD buyers. The murky almost black-and-white image looks purposely muddy, yet there’s consistency in detail and sharpness. While the transfer is a hard one to critique, it’s overall decent given the intentions. The DD 5.1 mix is loud, maybe excruciatingly loud, a design by the director, yet I wouldn’t doubt if a lot of you are constantly turning the volume up and down to adjust.

Sadly, no extras outside of Trailers.

The Film: Rating:

The DVD: Rating: