Despite Fandor’s extensive library of bonafide classics (including a selection of Werner Herzog’s early filmography, which I really need to get around to watching), I’ve been using the streaming service almost exclusively to guiltlessly enjoy… well, schlock, from the so-bad-it’s-good Miami Connection to the legitimately entertaining Riki-Oh to the downright baffling Marronnier. And tonight, I experienced my trashiest film yet (on this specific platform, anyway): Tokyo Gore Police, a cinematic gargle blaster that combines the cartoonish satire of RoboCop, the charmingly silly costumes and creature designs of tokusatsu television series, the sexually-charged violent excesses of ‘90s anime OVAs, and body horror that would make David Cronenberg retch into 110 minutes of blood-soaked slapstick/absurdist comedy.
Considering my current state of mental exhaustion following the end of a particularly stressful gig, it was exactly the kind of cocktail I needed (as opposed to, say, a cerebral meditation on/deconstruction of the redemption narrative/savior complex).
[Originally written April 7, 2018.]