Tetsuo II: Body HammerRage indiscriminately destroys within and without. Tetsuo II: Body Hammer is a science fiction body horror movie about a mild-mannered father named Taniguchi Tomoo (Tomorowo Taguchi) who turns into a monster after being targeted by a twisted post-human gang that uses rage to transform themselves into hybrids of flesh and metal. After the gang pushes Taniguchi too far, he loses all control and the careful life he has crafted for himself and his wife, Kana (Nobu Kanaoka), becomes a living nightmare. All that is left in Taniguchi is a rage-fulled drive to revenge himself, burning away what's left of his humanity.
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Tetsuo II: Body Hammer is written and directed by Shinya Tsukamoto, and is the successor to his breakthrough experimental body horror film, Tetsuo: The Iron Man. Like its predecessor, Tetsuo II depicts the graphic transformation of the human body after exposure to extreme feelings. In Tetsuo, it was predominantly arousal, but in Tetsuo II, it is hatred. In both films, Tsukamoto explores the link between the destructive urges within us and how they manifest on a physical level. From the start, Taniguchi is presented as meek and even effeminate. Waking from a dream in tears, he cuddles with his wife for comfort. At breakfast in the family's soft and chic apartment, he wears a puffy blouse that may exemplify Eighties fashion, but also emphasizes a softness within Taniguchi. These observations are only meant to call attention to an inherent tendency in society to associate masculine qualities with certain behaviors and manner of dress. Tetsuo II challenges gender stereotypes through its protagonist by pointing out how Taniguchi's descent into a "hyper-masculine" persona only brings death and destruction to his family and others. The catalyst comes from an abduction attempt on Taniguchi's son, Minori (Keinosuke Tomioka), by a pair of thoroughly tough looking, muscular thugs. They appear to inject Taniguchi with something resembling an air gun before running off with Minori, leaving Taniguchi and Kana tearing through the mall in a desperate search for the boy. Taniguchi ends up dangling off the edge of a roof as the two hoods mock and berate him in front of his boy, just before leaving him to his death. He is saved at the last minute by his wife who becomes the hero when she pulls him up. After the attack, the physically weak Taniguchi feels compelled to prove his masculinity to his son, and begins working out, drawing upon the strength to perform after recalling how full of hate being powerless made him feel. This kind of dynamic could be played out in a variety of ways in another film, from Taniguchi externalizing his anger against his family, or training his body to overcome evil and triumph in the subsequent encounter. But Tsukamoto takes a more openly metaphorical approach to this empty pursuit of a masculine ideal--one designed solely to sate the ego--by transforming Taniguchi into a living weapon.
As in Tetsuo, Shinya Tsukamoto plays the role of the antagonist--in this case, the shadowy leader of this musclebound cadre of rageaholics. His purpose for exposing a group of men to this cybernetic kind of cancer is ephemeral, but there is the suggestion that he is building an army, though to what end remains a mystery. The plots in both Tetsuo and Tetsuo II are essentially incidental to the raw assault on the senses that represents the experience of watching these films. The colors of Tetsuo II alternate between gunmetal blue and molten steel orange, a representation of the yin and yang, of Taniguchi and his nemesis. And the musical score is a blast of industrial sounds of machinery--a cacophony pounding away with the rhythm of a tribal ritual. Taniguchi and his family dwell in a city that towers with skyscrapers, and virtually every scene on a rooftop figuratively (and at least in the first instance, literally) pushes him over the edge. Taniguchi's transformation into a body riddled with guns is the physical manifestation of the neuroses that have been gnawing away at him, in part resulting from living in this claustrophobic city. This idea is subtly reinforced in his desire to keep and take care of plants; there is nothing green outside of his apartment. Even the people in this city turn a blind eye to his and Kana's cries for help when Minori is being whisked away by the gang members. Essentially, Taniguchi's rage is not just directed toward the sinister thugs who have destroyed his life, but for the whole city that created such an environment where this could happen. (This interpretation helps shed light on the film's conclusion.) But Taniguchi is also accountable for his tragedy by passively locking away his fear and the trauma that spawned it rather than face it head-on. He tells Kana that he can't remember anything about his childhood before he was adopted at age eight. When he loses control and blacks out the first time, he knows in the horrifying aftermath that he is responsible because he subconsciously ignored his problem. That Taniguchi becomes a hideous monster is also a metaphor; his rage transforms him into something alien that instills fear and terror, especially in his wife. (His turn from being the kindly husband into a demonic patriarch is a concept explored in films like Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, where the boundaries that make family a "safe zone" collapse.) Despite Taniguchi being the protagonist of Tetsuo II, his way of conquering his enemy is to become an even "bigger" monster, recalling a familiar line from Nietzsche: "Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster."
Recommended for: Fans of a hyperkinetic and jarring science fiction horror film that embraces an industrial and cyberpunk aesthetic. Tetsuo II cautions against the dangers of pursuing hollow ideals like gender norms at the expense of your loved ones' welfare, and about the devastating cost on your soul for not managing your anger, leaving it with no place to go but to explode outward without restraint.
As in Tetsuo, Shinya Tsukamoto plays the role of the antagonist--in this case, the shadowy leader of this musclebound cadre of rageaholics. His purpose for exposing a group of men to this cybernetic kind of cancer is ephemeral, but there is the suggestion that he is building an army, though to what end remains a mystery. The plots in both Tetsuo and Tetsuo II are essentially incidental to the raw assault on the senses that represents the experience of watching these films. The colors of Tetsuo II alternate between gunmetal blue and molten steel orange, a representation of the yin and yang, of Taniguchi and his nemesis. And the musical score is a blast of industrial sounds of machinery--a cacophony pounding away with the rhythm of a tribal ritual. Taniguchi and his family dwell in a city that towers with skyscrapers, and virtually every scene on a rooftop figuratively (and at least in the first instance, literally) pushes him over the edge. Taniguchi's transformation into a body riddled with guns is the physical manifestation of the neuroses that have been gnawing away at him, in part resulting from living in this claustrophobic city. This idea is subtly reinforced in his desire to keep and take care of plants; there is nothing green outside of his apartment. Even the people in this city turn a blind eye to his and Kana's cries for help when Minori is being whisked away by the gang members. Essentially, Taniguchi's rage is not just directed toward the sinister thugs who have destroyed his life, but for the whole city that created such an environment where this could happen. (This interpretation helps shed light on the film's conclusion.) But Taniguchi is also accountable for his tragedy by passively locking away his fear and the trauma that spawned it rather than face it head-on. He tells Kana that he can't remember anything about his childhood before he was adopted at age eight. When he loses control and blacks out the first time, he knows in the horrifying aftermath that he is responsible because he subconsciously ignored his problem. That Taniguchi becomes a hideous monster is also a metaphor; his rage transforms him into something alien that instills fear and terror, especially in his wife. (His turn from being the kindly husband into a demonic patriarch is a concept explored in films like Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, where the boundaries that make family a "safe zone" collapse.) Despite Taniguchi being the protagonist of Tetsuo II, his way of conquering his enemy is to become an even "bigger" monster, recalling a familiar line from Nietzsche: "Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster."
Recommended for: Fans of a hyperkinetic and jarring science fiction horror film that embraces an industrial and cyberpunk aesthetic. Tetsuo II cautions against the dangers of pursuing hollow ideals like gender norms at the expense of your loved ones' welfare, and about the devastating cost on your soul for not managing your anger, leaving it with no place to go but to explode outward without restraint.