The minimal moments of on-screen gore involve the tired act of ripping and revealing the disembowelled guts of a victim, which are a bizarre neon pink in colour. It resorts to typical zombie neck bites with very little blood and any blood that does appear is usually sprayed onto a wall from off-screen. Unfortunately Attack Girls… even manages to disappoint on what it is supposed to fundamentally provide its audience. While narrative is predominately subservient in exploitation cinema, any positives are usually found in grisly special effects, some degree of erotica and bizarre comedy. The film simply feels like an extremely poor attempt at filmmaking akin to a clumsy low grade student effort. The frequent carelessness is epitomised during the opening credits where the word ‘directed’ is misspelt ‘d-e-r-e-c-t-e-d.’ Such an amateurish mistake is unforgivable and should have really been heeded as an indication of what was to come. Yes, low budget filmmaking is expected to look shoddy and have that ‘DIY’ feel to it but it is also supposed to possess a charm and self-awareness that makes it bizarrely appealing take Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead (1981). Visually it feels like it has been shot on a mid-level HD camera more suitable for home video, the pace of the editing is particularly disjointed and shots frequently dip out of focus throughout. This haphazard style unfortunately also dominates the film technically. Aki’s training as a ’water assassin’ is never fully explained and just seems too illogical even for a film of this style, as well as the reasoning for the outbreak of the virus. Plot or characterisation is never the priority for filmmakers within this style of filmmaking but within Attack Girls… it is particularly ridiculous and very underdeveloped, almost to the degree that it feels the script was being written on a napkin while filming. However this is unfortunately where all positives end. The title alone is simply brilliant, alluding to the possibility of a film that is even more creative and bizarre than Nishimura’s recent cult hit. The plot is clearly an over-the-top irrational affair, characteristic of extreme Japanese and exploitive cinema, which suggests something of such promise. It is the responsibility of Aki, with her deadly expertise as a ‘water assassin’, and the rest of the swim team to battle the undead swarming their school and defeat those responsible. Quickly the virus transforms all those infected into flesh eating zombies, with the only exceptions being the girls swim team (immune due to their constant exposure to chlorine). The orphaned Aki (Sasa Handa), arrives at a new school only to discover it has suffered the outbreak of a mysterious virus. Directed by Koji Kawano and starring Japanese adult entertainment star Sasa Handa, expectations were deservedly high regarding this film due to the recent successful release of a number of extreme horror films from Japan. So fittingly my next choice was Attack Girls Swim Team Versus The Unliving Dead (2007). After thoroughly enjoying the visual lunacy that was Tokyo Gore Police (2008), I decided to immerse myself further into the murky terrain of extreme Japanese horror cinema.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |