VFF '12 Sneak Preview: Mutant Girls Squad and Growing Up: A Movie Review

Directors: Noboru Iguchi, Yoshihiro Nishimura and Tak Sakaguchi.

Writers: Noboru Iguchi (story), and Jun Tsugita (screenplay).

Cast: Naoto Takenaka, Yumi Sugimoto, Yûko Takayama and Suzuka Morita.

The people behind Sushi Typhoon are at "it" again, and this time the directorial team of Noboru Iguchi, Yoshihiro Nishimura and Tak Sakaguchi created a product that's more digestible. Instead of one attractive female lead, there are three, and each director handled a segment of this movie. After a Charlie's Angel style introduction, this movie moves back in time to show how the Mutant Girls Squad formed.

Rin (Yumi Sugimoto) is an unassuming teen who is simply being bullied at school. After she celebrates her 16th birthday, her parents reveal that she is a mutant, a Hiruko that can manifest body armour or extra body parts. Her father is pure stock and mother a human, and that can lead to some interesting results when puberty almost changes her.

But when mutant-busters, cops, come in to break up her party, her parents are killed. That's enough to cause her to manifest her powers. But after a misunderstanding with the populace and an encounter with Rei (Yûko Takayama), she goes back to school—to a place where she can be accepted—and begin training. She also makes a new friend, Yoshie (Suzuka Morita), who sympathizes with her.

But no J-Horror flic will be complete without its trademark portrayal of a dystopian world. Ever since Nishimura burst onto the scene that has become today’s style of J-horror. Before, the monsters have been more traditional, more Shinto-style in its aesthetics, but ever since the turn of the millennium, a new generation of producer-directors are changing the visceral grisliness around.

The monsters are far stranger than any ghost from Ju-on. They are exaggerated to great comedic effect and it makes for many classic B-movie style moments. It's like the Japanese producers have decided to take the grim out of the Evil Dead and Nightbreed equation and simply camp it up. Clive Barker may have fits of laughter. Chris Claremont, writer of the "Uncanny X-men" may well praise the hidden messages. At least these mutants are trying to save their race from genocide from the hands of General Koshimizu (Naoto Takenaka), who is very over-the-top hilarious. That should come to no surprise since he is a highly respected comedian and impressionist in Japan.

In a tale that sees the world through the eyes of Rin, her half-breed existence may well be the saving grace to prevent homo superior and sapiens from wiping each other out. Humanity once respected their supernatural mutant cousins and gave them their space, but now that is gone. The question is will everyone accept it?

Overall: 6.5 out of 10.

* Victoria, B.C. Premiere, Feb 12 – Cineplex Odeon Theatre 2 – 9:30pm

The film's Japanese homepage:

Mutant Girls Squad in Japan

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Posted in: 2012,2012 release,filmmaking,japanese,movie review,surreal