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18 out of 19 people found the following review useful: The visceral pleasure of watching cyborgs tear each other apart, 22 September 2007 Author: K_Todorov from Bulgaria
Directed by the duo Yudai Yamaguchi (Battlefield Baseball) and Jun'ichi Yamamoto "Meatball Machine" is apparently a remake of Yamamoto's 1999 movie with the same name. I doubt I'll ever get a chance to see the original so I'll just stick commenting on this one. First of what is "Meatball Machine" ? A simple in noway pretentious low budget industrial splatter flick packed with great make up effects and gore. It's not something you'll end up writing books about but it's nevertheless entertaining if you dig this type of cinema."Meatball Machine" follows the well known plot. Boy loves girl but is too afraid to ask her on a date. Boy finally meets girl. Girl gets infected by a parasitic alien creature that turns her into a homicidal cyborg. Boy, in turn does also transform into said thing, and goes on a quest to save his love. Will he succeed? Who gives a damn, as long as there is carnage and death I'm satisfied.The plot is simple, relatively clichéd but it does it's job well enough setting the movie's course straight forward into a bloody confrontation between the two leading characters. There is a subplot focusing on how the parasite that infected the girl came into to their lives. And yes it too luckily shows more violence. I'm happy. Acting is what you would expect from a no budget splatter film. It's not exactly painful for the ears but it's not exactly good either.The movie's main attraction besides the violence and gore (like I haven't mentioned that enough already) are the cyborg designs. Done by Keita Amemiya who's work in creating outlandish creatures and costumes for both movies and video-games is well known. The necroborgs as they are called in "Meatball Machine" look stunningly detailed. Without the usage of CGI Amemiya's designs are a breathtaking fusion of flesh and metal, painfully awesome in their appearance. Able to transforms various parts of the body into cool weaponry such as saws, rocket launchers, blood-firing shotguns and so on and so on. Though you can easily recognize the cheapness of the film, necroborgs are A-movie class."Meatball Machine" is "Tetsuo The Iron Man" mixed up with "Alien" all done in low budget and extra ketchup mode. It's an immensely entertaining film that disregards modern special effects and proves that the splatter genre is still alive and kicking.
8 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Wonderful, absolutely wonderful film, 14 February 2008 Author: orrinkillspeople from United States
Meatball Machine is an amazing splatter film, it has an original plot with young love, buckets of blood, and weird alien creatures that mutate people into freakish robotic war machines.Now the film isn't for everyone, people who love splatter films or the movie Tetsuo: the Iron Man will applaud it.The special effects can be cheesy at some points of the film, but your not exactly suppose to take the film very seriously.Yet, all in all it's a lot of fun, well if you find budding romantics infested with slimy tumor like gobbles who seek to destroy each other in bloody alien oozing battles.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Entertaining and cheerful massacre, 30 June 2007 Author: sevdah from Yugoslavia
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I don't know whether to recommend this movie to the fans of " Tetsuo " or not . Why " Tetsuo " ? Because you can easily label some things about this movie as a very obvious " Tetsuo " rip - off . The concept is similar , editing is equally frantic and fast - which is good because , aside from making the movie more dynamic , it obscures some flaws caused by low budget and other factors .There is lot more gore , less eroticism and , in the case of " Meatball machine " , the transformation of human being into a creature that's partially a machine( sounds familiar ? ) called " Necroborg " ( very original ) is caused by slimy little aliens .These slimy little scums from outer space actually use human beings as vessels for their gladiator games that they play with each other . They infest the body , somehow manage to put an insane amount of mechanical parts in it pulling them seemingly out of nowhere and turn it into a killing machine that targets other Necroborgs . Their aim is to defeat another alien who is in another Necroborg , rip it out of the corpse and eat it .All in all , the plot sounds somewhat silly and I didn't expect much , but at the end I actually enjoyed this film .As I said before , this is a low budget flick , but it's still relatively decent . Don't expect much from actors , they're mostly not very good , but it can be tolerated . I liked the atmosphere and gore , certain bizarre situations and the way the movie is directed and edited . Although the story is not too original , it possesses certain charm - to me at least .7 out of 10 .
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Splattery Japanese Cyber-punk..., 7 December 2007 Author: EVOL666 from St. John's Abortion Clinic
The Japanese cyber-punk films have never really done a whole lot for me, but of the handful that I've seen, most have been at least visually interesting and at least mostly entertaining. MEATBALL MACHINE is no exception.The storyline is about a species of parasites that take over human hosts, takes control of their bodies, turns them into "necroborgs", and causes them to fight each other with the sole purpose of eating each other - apparently as a "game" for the enjoyment of said parasites. The film mainly revolves around a shy guy and gal who fall for each other, but whose love-affair is cut short by both being infected with the parasites, and are forced to fight each other. It becomes a test of human-will vs. the parasite's control over their physical bodies...MEATBALL MACHINE will invariably be compared to TETSUO (as most cyber-punk films are), and for good reason. There are definitely some thematic parallels, though the films are definitely different. There's plenty of fun, splattery moments in MEATBALL MACHINE, and the creature/borg FX are definitely the high-point - a mixture of TETSUO-meets-GWAR that are both elaborate and inventive. Depending on your taste for these types of films, MEATBALL MACHINE may or may not be your thing. If you enjoy hyper-kinetic cyber-punk films with a healthy dose of splatter - this one's for you...7/10
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: way cool, 3 November 2007 Author: Vastarien202 from United States
Don't be fooled by the silly title folks, this is one sweet ride! A true successor to Tetsuo the Iron Man and Ichi the Killer, this gem starts with a bang and lays the gore on thick until the credits roll. It seems that aliens are taking over people's bodies and modifying them into war-machines, which are then used to fight each other in a twisted game for the amusement of their species. The winner of the battle eats the loser alive. That's mostly it for plot, but who cares when the gore is this good? I have no idea how many buckets of slime were used, but it's disgusting to behold. There is interesting and effective use of stop-motion when the takeovers are in progress, and loving care is lavished on all of the creature and make-up effects. The CGI is a bit limited, but that actually doesn't detract from the overall quality one bit, at least for me. This was truly a fun and stomach-turning film that deserves much praise, and has truly earned its place in the stack of Cult Classics. Find it and watch, you won't be disappointed!
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful: seems to be missing a certain something...., 21 June 2008 Author: TheatreX from Louisville, KY
Some kind of strange parasites have invaded Earth & (as one gentleman explains) "some came from the sea and some came from space". These parasites invade humans and turn them into mutated fighting machines called "Necroborgs". The Necroborgs battle each other to the death for the amusement of the parasites. A young man who works at a machine shop (Yoji) has found one of these parasitic things, that he thinks is dead. He keeps it in his closet at home but when he brings a young lady home that he fancies, it takes over her body & turns her into one of them there Necroborgs. Of course, Yoji eventually is infected by a crazy man who BREEDS Necroborgs so he can feed his partially-mutated daughter, and from there it's a battle of human will versus parasitic will.In some ways this is reminiscent of "Tetsuo", without quite being like it. However, despite the special effects and wild action scenes, this film seems to lack a certain something that I can't put my finger on, that would have breathed some life, or given some soul to this film. It's nasty, violent, and at times, fairly disgusting, and it's fairly well-done as far as effects go, but otherwise it seems rather flat. Of course, some will like it more than others, and it's not exactly made for a wide viewing audience. 6 out of 10.
4 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Stunning splatterfest freakout, 21 June 2008 Author: Indyrod from United States
Wow baby, this is indeed some fine Asian horror/gore, and a crazy outlandish movie. This is a Japanese splatterfest that reminded me a little of Tetsuo, except in this case with all the blood and guts, there is a bizarre love story. It's hard to imagine how they even dreamed up this visually stunning movie, with some unique alien creatures that infect humans as parasites, turning them into part machine or I guess cyborgs. The only thing wrong with these creatures after they take over a human, is they need to kill each other and eat the other. hmmm, yum yum. This would probably be called industrial splatter or something like that, with a superb soundtrack to add to all the fun. The movie also borrows a little from Carpenter's "The Thing" in creature design and effects. I would put this in the must-have category for gorehounds, as there is non-stop carnage and some very fine gore. And a must-have for stoners, because you don't even need to read the sub-titles, the visual images alone are enough of a mind trip. The design of the little creatures that inhabit the human body like a fetus reminded me a little of Frank Henenlotter's movies, which is another homage to some excellent gore films with a sense of humour. "Meatball Machine" is great fun for gorehounds, there is no doubt about it, and I simply loved it.
3 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Why aren't more films (especially American) more like Meatball Machine?, 1 January 2009 Author: chicago7979 from San Antonio, Texas
Why aren't more films (especially American) more like Meatball Machine? This is my first official on-line review and I am charged with "electrical ecstasy" after having chosen "Meatball Machine" as my first endeavor. This is a review, so I'll try to stick to mere reflection and gut emotion.I mean, this is one creative piece of work even though it is clearly inspired by the now classic TETSUO! So what if it's not all original? I own both of these films and though Tetsuo is one strange son of a bitch, Meatball Machine is far superior and can be sat through without the strong desire to indulge in a dose of mind altering drugs to clarify film significance. Meatball Machine is as elaborate in it's story as it is in its high influx of blood and gore. Thank you Jesus for Japanese Cinema!Simply put, the last time my dreams were overrun by visions of horror happened after watching Nightmare on Elm Street when I was 7 or so. I could picture in my dreams a tongue coming out of a telephone for weeks on end. This time (at 31) my dreams were pleasantly awe inspiring.In this film human bodies are host to Aliens whose sole purpose is to try and fulfill their never ending quench for human flesh and blood. Humans become flesh eating cyborgs!!! There's more!!! Fight scenes!! Great Music!! Great point-of-view shots! Decent acting by the woman Cyborg (at least better than her male counterpart). The fight seen in the end is worth watching ten or twenty times.Oh, and did I forget to mention it's a Love story! Wow, I hate love stories but this takes the cake!I can't wait to have friends over to watch this film once more just to see the reaction on their faces. Sadly, I took time to write this review because I'm afraid most friends and family wont understand Meatball Machine. The truth is America as a whole is not prepared for Meatball Machine.Lastly, My wife walked in while I was watching the climactic fight scene at the end and she was speechless. Normally she says something like "why are you watching that junk?" This time she had nothing to say. I was glad! This is not junk. This isn't just SPLATTER (splatter for the sake of splatter is also great). This is Art my friends. Art.CHACHO
4 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Necroborgs are cool with me!, 16 December 2007 Author: ElijahCSkuggs from Happy Land, who lives in a Gumdrop House on Lolly Pop Lane
Most of the feedback I've heard concerning Meatball Machine has been pretty mixed. A couple even saying that they think "it sucked". Well, to those people I say, get some f@ckin imagination and go f@ck yourself. This was a very entertaining flick.The story starts with this mechanical bug which attacks and somehow transforms its hosts into these Gwar-costume looking, deathbots called Necroborgs. Eventually you learn that these mechanical bugs also attach a little parasite onto you, which then is able to control your actions due to hot-wiring your nervous system. Unfortunately for two love-seeking lonely young adults, they happen to cross paths with the mechanical bug, and before you know it transformations are taking place and blood is being splattered. Is there a way to stop the transformation? Maybe a way to stop this mechanical bug threat? Why do the Necroborgs fight one another? Do the two desperate singles get to express their feelings for one another and do the nasty? Only one way to find out.Going into Meatball Machine I was kinda wary due to the mixed reactions, but it turned out being a great surprise. A few unanswered questions, some average acting at times and a slightly confusing ending are the only weak points I can think of. From the anime feel to it, to the parasites becoming little characters themselves and even to the low budget feel, this movie hits the right mark much more than it misses. With a ever-developing story that's interesting enough to keep oneself asking questions throughout mixed with the cool make-up effects and blood splatter, this is one flick fans of bizarro/horror/Tetsuo/splatter fans should check out. 8 outta 10
1 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Full Of Gory Cheese...But Needed More Bread, 29 January 2008 Author: koroshiya-ichi-1 from United States
This movie is pretty sick. There's lot's of disgusting gore and more jiggling latex prosthetics than most B-Budget horror flicks out there, but the story is pretty aimless. There are several moments where it seems as if the only purpose of the actors is to remind the viewer that they are watching a live-action movie. Besides these flaws, which may only be minor for some people, the movie does possess a certain coolness, which shines primarily in the "fight" scenes. The climax of the story takes a while to get going, and might drag on a little too long. The music is done pretty well, as are the sound effects. Overall, This could be a great addition to the library of any J-Horror film fan, or anyone who just loves a good splatter-fest. If you can't rent it anywhere, however, don't bother purchasing it, or you might be let down.
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