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7/10
for the gorehounds
trashgang9 May 2011
This is so over the top full of gore that even if you aren't into Asian flicks you will love it. Everything gorehounds love is available in this entertaining flick. The red stuff is sputtering all over bodies, even on the camera lens. There are decapitations, ninja fighting, bodies been cut in two, beheading, bodies being burned an of course you just can't take it seriously. If someone would encounter the things that are happening with the main lead you just won't survive it. But if you watch the opening credits than it's clear that they wanted to make some kind of exploitation. The surely succeeded in it. There are naturally some use of CGI and some cheap effects or stupid mistakes for example when one of the girls is being killed you still can see her heart beating in her neck. Nevertheless, big fun. And I was lucky to have met Asami, one of the coming stars in the genre, she was so friendly, I even had signed this DVD and had a picture together with her.
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7/10
Wildly entertaining and pure exploitative fun....
jmaruyama29 May 2008
Warning: Spoilers
With its female vengeance theme, outrageously campy story, and blood drenched violence, Iguchi Noboru's "Kataude Machine Girl/The Machine Girl" shares a lot in common with Quentin Tarantino's magnificently over-the-top "Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2". Yet the unique twist that Iguchi adds are elements of Paul Verhoeven's "Robocop" and Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead Series" to create this wacky revenge, horror, sci-fi hybrid that seems like an adult version of a kid's Tokusatsu (Live Action Adventure) show.

Not surprisingly, the film was produced jointly by Asian video distribution house Tokyo Shock/Media Blasters (whose specialty is V-Cinema and Ero-Guro films), B-Movie art-house Fever Dreams (Death Trance, Flesh For The Beast) and legendary Nikkatsu studios (whose 70s Roman Porno films are infamous) and their influence in "Machine Girl" is very much present. Yet, the film seems less like a Japanese sexploitation cheapie and more like a throwback to 70s style "Pinky Violence" and 80s splatter horror - a film so unapologetic in its visual bloodshed and graphic horror that it seems destined to be a cult classic among horror fans and film geeks.

Gravure idol and model Yashiro Minase plays high school athlete Hyuga Ami, a tough and spunky girl who is taking care of her younger brother Yu (Kawamura Ryosuke) after their parents committed suicide amid rumors and false allegations of murder.

Ami's seeming carefree life is suddenly turned asunder when Yu is callously tormented and killed by local high school punks led by the pompous Kimura Sho, the son of a Yakuza gang lord (Shimazu Kentaro) whose lineage is said to trace back to the famed Ninja clan of Hattori Hanzou (i.e. Kage No Gundan). Yu's classmate Sugihara Takashi is also killed by the same gang.

Insane with revenge, Ami confronts the parents of one of the gang members responsible for Yu's death (which the Police have ruled the incident a suicide). Yet the parents are every bit as malicious and evil as their spawn and Ami is nearly killed by them (she gets her arm "fried" in Tempura batter during her visit with them).

Ami returns to the house and forces a confession from the gang member and after a murderous rampage, she kills both the gang member and his mother (the father is left horribly scarred with hot oil). Ami decides to go after ringleader Sho.

Yet despite her best efforts, she is captured and mercilessly tortured by the Kimura clan which includes Sho's dragon-lady, mother-from-hell (Asami). They even go so far as to amputate Ami's left arm.

Incredibly, Ami survives and escapes to the only safe place, Sugihara Takashi's parents auto-shop. Former "bousouzouku" (biker gang) lovers Suguru (Ishikawa Yuya) and Miki (Honoka) tend to Ami's injuries and nurse her back to health. When Ami tells them that the Kimura clan were responsible for their son's torment and death, they agree to help Ami get revenge. Suguru designs a Gatling gun arm attachment for Ami while Miki trains the girl in street-fighting combat.

Kimura Sho discovers Ami's hiding place and sends a team of his fellow classmates (who have undergone Ninja training) after them. Ami uses her new "machine arm" to kill the underage assassins but not before they kill Suguru in the mêlée and severely injure Miki.

Despite her injuries Miki teams up with Ami to go after the Kimura clan yet they again meet another challenging obstacle as the parents of the assassins (whom Ami killed) undergo both "spiritual" as well as mechanical augmentation to become "demon warriors" in an effort to get revenge on Ami.

With its wacky and twisted story, silly dialog, bizarre costuming and insane ultraviolence, "Machine Girl" generates comparisons to the works of Sam Raimi particularly "Dark Man" and "Evil Dead". Iguchi also seems to be emulating the style of Miike Takashi and successfully matches some of the visual mayhem and creative invention that Miike has shown in past films like "Koroshi No Ichi".

Whether by design or budget necessity, I was impressed with Nishimura Yoshihiro and Kazuno Tsuyoshi's decision to use a lot of "old school" techniques to achieve the outrageous gore sequences in the film. While not on the level of Tom Savini, Rick Baker or Tani "Screaming Mad George" Joji, their work here is impressive especially when over-reliance on CGI and green-screen is common in other films of this type. It almost took on a mad cartoon-like surrealism (Tom & Jerry or more appropriately Itchy and Scratchy from the Simpsons come to mind).

Yashiro makes for an attractive heroine and she brings charisma and charm to her role as Ami. In this age of young MILFs, I guess model Honoka's character may not be all that unbelievable but she does seem a tad too beautiful, a bit too cool and somewhat too young to be the mother of a junior high school teen. Yet, despite this Honoka does make for a tough partner to Ami's Machine Girl. Model/Singer Asami is also screen eye-candy as Kimura Sho's Lady Macbeth-like mother. She is seductively evil in the role and her camp performance is topped by her crowd-pleasing revelation of her "drill brassier". Her campy villainy is grand performance and fun to watch.

Shimazu Kentaro is also convincingly menacing in his performance as Yakuza boss Kimura. With his "Heihachi/Tekken" style hairstyle and "Flying Guilotine" weapon of choice, he makes for another interesting villain, albeit not an original one.

Like recent films "Shoot Em Up" and "Crank", "Machine Girl" is not for the overly serious and is suited for viewers who don't mind suspending disbelief and logic for a little over ninety minutes and just enjoying a film that is pure dark entertainment. I definitely look forward to their next project "Tokyo Gore Police" which looks even more outrageous and over-the-top.
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6/10
Japanese Gore Fest
lastliberal5 July 2008
I first thought that I was watching something from the grind-house era, then I noticed that this movie is only two months old. If this is where we are going, then get some waders folks, as the blood pours in this film. I'm talking blood spurting like a lawn sprinkler every time someone gets a body part cut off. Believe you me, there are plenty of body parts flying in this film.

If you like seeing a chef eat his fingers on a sushi roll, if you like seeing arms and legs and heads cut off, if you like blood all over, then you will love this film.

Yes our Rose had a machine gun leg in Planet Terror, but in this film, you get a machine gun arm, and a chainsaw leg and a chainsaw arm. But that isn't all. You get to see a drill bra that just shreds some luscious melons.

If you are a comic fan, then you will enjoy this as it is definitely over the top.
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The Machine Girl does exactly what it says on the tin.
chaos-rampant31 May 2008
The trailer for Noboru Iguchi's The Machine Girl has been doing the rounds of the b-movie community for months now. Gorehounds, exploitation fans action nuts alike have been looking forward to it with the same restless feverish anticipation the nerd community would embrace a new Star Wars movie. But let's get this out of the way first: a lot people of doubted the movie would fulfill the gory promises made by the trailer; cast away your doubts ye unbelievers, for like a good can of castoroil, this one does exactly what it says on the tin.

Now what does the tin say? A cartoonish hybrid of splattery goofy horror and gonzo action with only a basic revenge plot serving as a skeleton. I won't go into plot details because I'll only be wasting your time. In a nutshell: girl finds brother killed by yakuzas; girl has her arm chopped; girl wants revenge. Simple and effective. The talky parts that move the story forward are contrived enough to make you look forward to the next bout of creative splatter. Nothing to write home about but it gets the job done.

From a visual standpoint, the movie was shot in HD and that lends a cold, realistic look to it. Faster shutter speeds were used in the action scenes which means more stuttery images, reminiscent of 28 Days Later for example. The added benefit can be observed in the glorious blood geysers.

The main attraction here though is the splatter. It's done with enough tongue-in-cheek attitude to keep it from treading horror territory and remains more geared towards over-the-top action. Machine guns tear holes through heads and stomachs, torsos are cut in half, heads and hands chopped off and fingers served as sushi. Arterial sprays and blood geysers are all over the place in true 70's samurai fashion. Kung-fu fans will get a kick out of a favorite cult weapon cameo, the flying guillotine (as seen in Flying Guillotine and Master of the Flying Guillotine) and a certain drill bra is worthy of the cock and ball gun in From Dusk Till Dawn. There are evil yakuzas doing blood rituals, ninjas complete with shurikens and silly costumes (a nod to Godfrey Ho maybe?) and the cheese-tastic Super Mourners Squad. The prevalent comic-book sensibility makes everything so wildly enjoyable. Good, clean, family entertainment overall.

There might be gore galore but the movie is not without its flaws either. The score for one verges on silly muzak. Some parts sound like an early 90's NAMCO video game while others are cheap filler electronica. I wasn't expecting Morricone of course so it's only a slight annoyance but 70's Japanese exploitation movies boasted wonderful string scores that would have added the extra oomph here.

The CGI however should have been avoided altogether. They draw unnecessary attention to themselves and even though one could argue they are in step with the anything goes attitude of the film, I can't help but think they cheapen the whole thing in a visually unappealing way. Just watch the flying shurikens and you'll see what I mean.

What's important though is that The Machine Girl fulfills every promise it made upon its announcement. Watch the trailer. If an over the top action splatter fest that winks to martial arts and refuses to take itself too seriously sounds like your kind of thing, the movie will not disappoint. Iguchi made it with the enthusiasm of a fan and it shows: he knows what works and what doesn't. He also knows how many times fans have been disappointed by misleading ballyhoos and trailers of promised graphic violence and he delivers exactly what he set out to do.
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7/10
"That's right. I am a murderer"
lost-in-limbo5 October 2010
Insanity from Japan. "The Machine Girl" is a modern blood-soak tale of revenge. A simple, candid payback story (which is a running theme with many characters getting onto the act as blood ties are important), however there's nothing restrained about its macabre humour and over-the-top visuals. Campy make-up and cheesy gore effects on CGI overload, but there's a gleeful sense to all of the spurting mayhem that it's hard to take seriously or to be disturbed by. Comic-book pulp with a typical grindhouse edge, sees many characters (some quite colourful or cornball) come and go and plenty of outlandish instances formulate into deliriously unholy madness --- but these gratuitously choreographed sequences were delivered with plenty of ticker and style by writer / director Noboru Iguchi. Crisp cinematography and a sprightly cued score added to the exuberance, although I did find the mid-section to somewhat drag a bit.

High-school girl Ami sets out to avenge her younger brother's death at the hands of some school bullies who have ties in the Yakuza family. But her first encounter sees her losing half of her left arm and barely escaping to find shelter in a garage that's owned by her brother's dead friend's parents. There they heal her, arm her up with a high-powered machine gun and she teams up with the chainsaw-wielding mother Miki for revenge of their loved ones.

A cute Minase Yashiro brings a strong and determined presence to her Ami character and Asami along side her has a forceful stability as Miki. The bad guy roles are colourfully done with venom by Kentarô Shimazu, Honokaa (wearing a bra that you won't forget) and Nobuhiro Nishihara.

Overcooked, but ludicrously ruthless bloodbath fun.
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4/10
Story Of Ricky For Girls
Matt_Layden27 June 2008
A young boy and his best friend is murdered by the son of a Yakuza gang. His sister decides to take revenge on him and his family. On first first attempt he is taken hostage and has her arm chopped off. After escaping she teams up with the mother of the friend who died and both of them take their revenge on the gang.

I was first introduced into the Asian Extreme genre with Battle Royale and I absolutely loved it. So I decided to broaden my range and watch more of what America deemed "extreme". My experience has been 50/50. When I watch a film like Story Of Ricky, I enjoy it for the stupidity and obscene amount of gore. Nothing in it is serious and everything is over the top. Then there are films that take themselves too seriously. Miike's Ichi The Killer is one of these films. I would enjoy it a lot more if it weren't so serious. Enter The Machine Girl. A grotesque, in your face blood splatter of a film. The film is competently directed and the violence is cartoonish.

The film opens with the revenge murder of 4 boys by the Machine Girl. Who has a machine gun on her arm. Think Ash from Army of Darkness minus the chainsaw. Even though said chainsaw shows up at the end of the film. While watching it I kept laughing at the crappy dialogue, but most of it was probably intentionally bad and the acting is what is expected from a film like this, bad and over the top.

The violence is over the top as well, it has to be when the lead character has a gun for an arm. Faces, limbs and everything else get blown off. After a ninja attack, who wear red track suits for some reason, the machine girl blasts his face away with the gun. After the mayhem we see that she has blown a hole into his face. This man has no face, just a hole and yet he still screams in pain and agony. How someone can still scream when they have had their entire face blown away is beyond me, yet you roll with it.

If you want a comparison to what this film is like, the house of blue leaves scene in Kill Bill is basically all over this film. Buckets of blood gush out of missing arms and heads. I can't recommend this film because it is garbage. But it's the type of garbage you can forgive because it doesn't try to be anything other then that. There are cheap CGI effects throughout. This is a type of film you watch when your drunk with a bunch of friends and you need to have something to laugh at and just basically have a good time. As a film with a narrative it fails, as a film that just wants to entertain and have people laugh at it's stupidity....it gets an A.
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7/10
A rip-roaring rampage of revenge
cdsp9831 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
First off, this movie was nothing but cartoonish violence throughout. From the weapons to the characters, this movie was made for people who like action and over-the-top gore, but still want to be able to laugh about it. Too often (here in the states) gore is used to incite disgust or fear in the viewer. I personally find it disgusting that they think I'll pay money to see two hours of someone treading the fine line between art and tasteless.

In Machine Girl, I knew what I was getting into from the cover. A school-girl with a Gatling for an arm. It was going to be bloody with some humor mixed in. On my personal score-sheet, this movie would be filled with beheadings, frags, dismemberment, and most importantly, creative deaths. While the CG was noticeable, it's important to note that it was supposed to be. That's part of the cartoonish violence and I (a person who hates CG) started to forgive that in order to get into the film.

Probably the most blatant example of the humor in this film is when Miki gets a mere laceration from a sword on her stomach, then spends the next scene suffering terribly from it. Up until that point, with numerous blood-geysers and dismemberments, and completely ignoring blood-loss and shock, I found the little nick she had to be a riot, and it was meant to be taken that way. In one of the final battles, Miki loses a foot to the Flying Guillotine and the evil-doer tells her she'll be dead in minutes from blood-loss. For an hour and a half people were losing limbs and blood, and now they're worried about bleeding out? That's humor, folks, not stupidity.

This film was really good, and in the same vein of film as Sin City. Comicbook violence and really good acting.
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5/10
Over the top violent and filled to the brim with gore
Vartiainen16 December 2018
In The Machine Girl, Ami Hyuga (Minase Yashiro) looses her last remaining family member, her little brother, to the yakuza. She sets out to avenge him by any means necessary, despite having sworn off violence after the death of her parents.

What follows is hour and a half of nothing but over the top fight scenes, high pressure blood spraying everywhere and gore special effects galore. We have machine guns, chainsaws, drills, katanas, throwing stars, and everything else under the sun, slicing and dicing and ripping and shredding. The special effects and props are certainly well-made, although it would no surprise if had ended up thinking that this was made in the early 90s.

And, if gore and splatter are your thing, then this is exactly your type of movie. It holds nothing back, has no qualms whatsoever and doesn't even acknowledge that the lines you're not supposed to cross exist.

Personally I did think that the film went a bit too far in that I didn't particularly like the protagonists or their code of conduct. What I mean is that even though you expect your hero to slice and dice and murder most brutally, it shouldn't feel like they do it out of malice or for the enjoyment of pain in others. This one crosses that line and I simply don't like my films, splatter or otherwise, to be made that way.

Still, it is a very impressive example of its particular subgenre. By all means, if you're wanting to check out what a proper Asian gorefest looks like, look no further.
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8/10
Deus Ex …. Machine Girl !!!!
Coventry29 March 2008
If you only see ONE outrageously absurd and ridiculously over-the-top Asian splatter yarn this year - or even this lifetime, for that matter – you better make damn sure it's Noboru Iguchi's "The Machine Girl"! This stupendously demented piece of Japanese "Revengeploitaton" features king-size portions of all the regular and crowd-pleasing ingredients, like crazed stereotypical characters (Yakuzas, Ninjas, schoolgirls in uniform, …) and simplistic story lines, but it particularly specializes in extreme Magna-esquire gore and kitschy comedy. Beautiful and multi-talented schoolgirl Ami lives alone with her nerdy brother Yu since their parents committed suicide for falsely being accused of homicide. Ami protects her brother where she can, but she doesn't know he and his friend Takashi are the main targets of youthful bullies with prominent Yakuza-parents. The boys get killed, but nobody wants to help Ami because of her notorious family history and her sole attempts to get revenge literally cost the poor girl an arm. She finally gets help from Takashi's mourning parents, who also provide Ami with a machine-gun prosthesis. "Machine Girl" offers a wide selection of decapitations, dismemberment, close-up gunfire, stabbings, split-open skulls, chainsaw murders, fried limbs, slit throats, electrocutions, impalement and Samurai swashbuckling. Seen all of that before in other schlocky splatter fodder already? Well, yeah … but what about flying guillotines and drill bras? Most of the running time, the screen is literally colored red with gallons of fake blood and removed intestines, but the tone of the film continuously remains blackly comical and light-headed. The phenomenally berserk make-up effects, courtesy of Yoshihiro Nishimura, are often nauseating, but never truly offensive. "Machine Girl" definitely also stars a couple of ravishing and incredibly sexy Japanese actresses, like Ami, her partner in crime Miki and even the supremely bitchy Yakuza's wife. The battle sequences at the beginning and in the garage, as well as the entire final showdown of course, simply have to be seen to be believed. This outrageously grotesque movie is well-made, well-acted and directed and indescribably entertaining.
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7/10
Drill Bra!!!!!
AirPlant30 October 2009
When schoolgirl Ami Hyuga's little brother is murdered, she vows vengeance upon the Yakuzas whose offspring carried out the deed. Along the way she is captured, tortured, and left for death. What follows is a testament to the indefatigably of the human spirit; and illustrates that determination can overcome the most seemingly insurmountable of challenges. In the lead role, Asami gives a finely nuanced performance, conveying both the vulnerability and passion of her character. Oh, did I mention that she has a machine gun for an arm? silly me, well she does. Absolutely essential over the top gore-fest arms, legs, heads are severed, hands are deep fried, fingers are eaten, eyeballs gouged and all involved are doused in literally hundreds of gallons of fake blood. My personal favourite is the matriarch of the evil family whose deadly Drill Bra (patents pending) proves a formidable challenge for our eponymous heroine. This ones never going to be nominated for a Palme dOr, but what it lacks in well, just about everything, it makes up in spades of enthusiasm.
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4/10
A for effort on this one
Darkside-Reviewer7 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I came across this movie randomly in a movie store when buying a few Blu Rays to add to my collection on the front cover was a woman with a schoolgirl outfit on and a machine gun in the place of her right arm on the back of the cover were shots of the movie mainly showing the gore and stunts I thought to myself this looks like it will be worth a few laughs I had no idea just how insane this movie was going to turn out to be forget low budget action B movie it's a showcase of bizarre movie ideas blended together to make one so bad it's amazing crazy blood soaked revenge thrill ride.

The idea behind the movie is a young girl looses her brother when he's killed by a bully who is also the son of a Yakuza boss she vows to take revenge but fails to kill the young man and due to that mistake she gets her arm cut off by a Samurai sword after being slowly tortured she happens to escape and along with a grieving mother who lost her son to the same Yakuza family team up replacing her arm for a fully automatic machine gun and with there set of Ninja skills they take on the Yakuza family in an insane revenge mission.

The sheer amount of violence, blood and gore in this movie is impressive for a low budget B movie there are some insane scenes including decapitations, head and body explosions, blood spraying in every direction, holes being punched and shot through people, inpalements you name this movie does it with all the blood and over the top acting you could possibly want in a movie like this including a women wearing a bra that makes her breasts become automatic drills and yes she attempts to kill someone by moterboating them.

I recommend this movie to any fans of dark comedy horror movies and horror B movies this is one of those so bad it's good kind of movies just don't watch this movie if your easily grossed out because you won't make it 30 minutes in.

Just a warning in the last 5 minutes of the movie there is a scene that uses a strobe light for a good 2 minutes and it is high intensity it would cause anyone with an epileptic disorder to have a fit so just a heads up to anyone who might be affected by it.
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8/10
Met the Hype and Beat It To Death
gavin69423 September 2008
Ami Hyuga (Minase Yashiro) lives a normal life... until her brother is killed by the Yakuza and some red-suited ninjas. Then she seeks revenge! Not strong enough, she is captured and tortured, losing her arm in the process. Again, she seeks revenge... this time with the help of a mechanic, his wife and her new Gatling gun arm. The ultimate in vengeance cinema.

The poster for this film makes the claim that this is the sort of film Quentin Tarantino wishes he could make. That comparison is about as dead-on as one could be, as the similarities between "Machine Girl" and "Kill Bill" are overwhelming. Woman getting revenge against a crime syndicate... fountains of spraying blood (more here than in "Bill") and even a Hattori Hanzo sword. Fans of "Bill" should be all over this like Homer Simpson on a doughnut.

Swords, chainsaws... throwing stars... the works. Blood, blood and more geysers of blood. Sadly, some of the film is computer-generated (pretty much the majority of the violence), but it didn't take away from the film as much as I thought it might. One enemy losing his face, another getting his head chopped (half) off... could have been done traditionally, but I don't think this was outrageously bad.

This film is a rush... cheer it on, soak in the violence, drink plenty of Scotch. I don't know what to say... it's just so much action, dark humor... it's like a cross between "Kill Bill" and "Battle Royale", though I wouldn't put it quite on "Royale"'s level... finding this film was a great stroke of luck, and you ought to hunt for it, too.
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7/10
Goretastic!
HaemovoreRex1 February 2009
Fellow fans of such glorious splatter-fests as Brain Dead (aka Dead Alive) and The Story Of Ricky - take note; You will absolutely love this little diamond!

Based upon a manga, this gore laden knockabout features a heroine boasting a chain gun for an arm(!) which she puts to delightful good use in blasting through scores of Yakuza henchmen, crazy parents and bullying school kids! Much like the previously mentioned cinematic pinnacles of gore, the extremely violent material here is handled very much tongue in cheek and equates to an amazingly entertaining ninety or so minutes of blood spurting glory. Simply ridiculously entertaining and a gore hounds delight from start to blood drenched finale - please, we NEED a sequel!
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1/10
Japanese Splatter Porn of the very cheapest kind
agitpop6 July 2013
This is a completely mindless splatter and gore-film for people who consider fountains of fake-blood, flying body parts and looking at Japanese girls' panties a time well spent. Or in other words: one has to be very drunk, mentally challenged or sexually retarded to be able to enjoy this junk. I can imagine that an all-boy frat-house-party might be the right screening place.

It's like watching gangbang-porn, with the difference that all penetration is substituted with stabbing, chopping, slicing. Instead of sperm you'll see ejaculations of fake blood and instead of sex-organs you'll see intestines and brain-matter. Same as in porn the act of f*cking / killing itself in all its weird variations is considered to be completely sufficient for a movie plot, but the constant flow of blood and violence is numbing and debilitating and it's honestly extremely boring.

You will see random acts of cheap violence over and over again, nothing changes: chop chop chop, head body arm, left right across. So if you're the kind of guy who's hysterically laughing again and again about the extremely cheap and mindless cinematic execution of the same kind of dumb violent joke repeated over and over for 90 minutes then this might be the right film for you. For anyone else it's boring after 5 minutes.

Conclusion: avoid by all means.

PS: If you're interested in violent Japanese cinema then watch "Itchy The Killer" instead; if you're into weird Japanese cinema then watch any "Pink Eiga" movie from the late 70ies / 80ies. I'm not sure if these films are available outside of Japan though (I'm living in Japan).
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Awful is to little - watch this movie and loose precious time from your life
no_vampires_here17 July 2008
I have never seen such level of "awfulness" in a movie - EVER!

C'mon... the fake scars that come of the face of the "actor" if i can call him that way. I come to IMDb to see 8 (EIGHT!) stars??? Jesus Christ! This movie isn't worth a cent and a quarter of a star rating.

The actors and those fake limbs that i can fake better if i put my mind to it is simply ... unspeakable bad.

All i see is the Asian male obsession in this movie. Young girl, face like a doll, blood, panties...is like a hentai anime. I hope i will never come to see a ..how you say to these cheap movies...GORE movies in my life.
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6/10
Comically violent Japanese revenge flick.
Someguysomwhere9 July 2008
In a nutshell (in case you have things to do): Girl's brother is tormented and eventually killed by a gang of bullies; chief among them is the son of a Yakuza leader. The girl is determined to have revenge (all the while dressed in school girl uniform, which seems to me to be a popular Japanese fetish, -maybe yours too, who knows).

And so the stage is set for one of the most violent and ridiculous movie I've ever seen. All of the comedy -and I do mean all of it- ironically comes from the violence. This is because it's so over-the-top, and the props sometimes so obvious (like a mannequin's head substituted for a human head in one scene) -you cannot help but laugh.

Finally, just to give you an idea of what you're dealing with, some parts of the movie towards the end looks like something that could have been staged by MAD TV or Saturday Night Live. This is a movie that knows it's silly (but "funny" silly, mind you) so I'm giving it six silly stars. Love, Boloxxxi.
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1/10
Don't watch this!
grinten3822 November 2008
As a fan of Asian cinema, as a fan of anything out of the ordinary, I can only warn you to not watch this movie. I watched it at he Amsterdam fantastic film festival 2008 and I had just seen 7 other films of various quality. This one tops the list of the worst film of the festival. The first 5 minutes are the best, after that it is boring beyond belief. I was curious, but to be honest had a lot of trouble holding on to the end of the movie. My friends were mad at me for bringing them to this film and I cannot blame them. Nothing really can be said in favor of the film and I am not going to try. Don't rent it don't buy it don't watch it, just don't.
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7/10
Japan does Tarantino meets 70s splatter fest.
come2whereimfrom13 June 2008
Madder than a box of cocks, Machine Girl has everything in droves. This makes 'Ichi the Killer' seem to make sense and has more blood than the 'Evil Dead' trilogy put together. There really isn't any great plot, just a string of set pieces that are increasingly bizarre as the film goes on. Blood, gore, schoolgirls, ninja's, the death bra and a mad yakuza boss are just some of the surreal elements to this crazy ride of a movie. Beginning with opening credits that Quentin Tarantino would be proud of we are introduced to Asami or Machine girl, so called as she has a machine gun for an arm and as the credits roll so does she dispatching a gang of youths in various gruesome ways before a flash back tells us how it got to this point. Basically her brother was killed by bullies and she wants revenge, losing an arm along the way and replacing it with a machine gun and towards the end of the movie a chainsaw which is it basically in a nutshell. So you get rather attractive Japanese ladies fighting and so many over the top deaths its unreal add to that wacky acting and blood galore and you have an enjoyable but mental romp revenge fest. Funny, filthy and damn right insane there's nothing to not like about this b-movies bonkers brilliance.
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5/10
violent....just...so violent
panzersam10 July 2008
May I state first that I do enjoy many shooting games and violent movies.(who doesn't). But this movie... I have never seen so much blood. In fact its so violent I found it funny as the machine girl shot with her 50 caliber machine gun blowing of a mans head one centimeter at a time.

its hard to rate this movie because the amount of blood made me sick but it was a good watch for someone who just wants things blown up(or people for that case).

its a movie for the sick and I DO NOT recommend it to anyone who cant take a bit of violence and is sick at the time.
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10/10
Bloody terrific!
GrandpaBunche4 June 2008
If you, like me, are fed up with movies that promise heaps of action, gore, and blistering violence but then wuss out in every possible way, allow me to direct you to THE MACHINE GIRL, a live action Japanese offering that is so balls-out crazy and over-the-top across the board that it brought an ear-to-ear smile to my face. I was intrigued by this film's trailer when I saw it several months ago, so when I stumbled across the movie itself while DVD shopping the other day I figured I'd take a chance on it, and, hoo-boy, am I glad I did. I've frequently decried the crappy quality of many recent action flicks from the Land of the Rising Sun, but this one gets a solid 10 out of 10 for its unfailing intent to give the bloodthirsty audience exactly what it wants. And then some! It's the goriest film I've seen in who knows how long, and as per what you'd expect from the Japanese it's barking mad in its over the top carnage and violence; no bullshit, I had exclaimed "Holy $#!+!" no less than three times before the movie was even five minutes into its running time.

A sterling example of the tried and true "you killed my brother" revenge genre, THE MACHINE GIRL takes the story of a high school girl named Ami (Minase Yashiro, in her film debut) who seeks retribution for her younger brother's murder at the hands of a pack of sadistic bullies and sends it clear into the stratosphere of mayhem-laden ass-whuppin' by rendering the sanguinary set pieces as impossibly and cartoonishly spewy as is possible to depict, all while maintaining a brisk pace that barely allows viewers time to catch their breath. The character development is minimal at best, and once the heroine's motivation is established, it's off to the races. To put it as simply as the film does, Ami tracks down the bullies and metes out justice accented with geysers of blood and entrails, losing her left arm in a one-two punch of a tempura deep-frying and a samurai sword dismemberment along the way, eventually replacing her missing limb with a fully functional assault helicopter's machine gun — complete with a seemingly endless supply of rounds — and, near the film's climax, a chain saw originally wielded by her garage mechanic ally.

And as if that isn't enough, the cowardly jerkwad who leads the bullies is revealed to not only be a spoiled Yakuza prince, but also the heir to a clan of ninja descended from the legendary Hattori Hanzo himself, so we also get modern day ninja action thrown into the mix for good, extra-stupid measure. It's an orgy of bloodshed, creative demises, loony superheroics, and a complete disconnect from reality in one of those worlds where the police simply do not exist until well after the participants in the mayhem have bled out, and I thoroughly enjoyed every frame of the damned thing.

As you've probably gathered, THE MACHINE GIRL is unrelentingly excessive, but the film is so crazy that it soon veers into outright parody of its own genre and is frequently hilarious because it's all played totally straight, with heaps of ass-kicking and violence committed by a cute schoolgirl in one of those now-fetishized school uniforms. And what's not to love about a film featuring the return of the favorite weapon of all us martial arts movie buffs: the venerable "flying guillotine?" And, yes, there's more than a bit of a debt owed to both PLANET TERROR (2007) and ARMY OF DARKNESS (1992), but I had more fun with this movie than both of those flicks combined (and I liked both of them to varying degrees). And just so we're absolutely clear on this, Peter Jackson's DEAD ALIVE (aka BRAIN DEAD, 1992) still gets my vote as the goriest film ever made — or that it's even possible to make — but THE MACHINE GIRL gives it a damned good shot at the title, and it's entertaining as hell. Take my word for it and put THE MACHINE GIRL at the top of your Netflix queue immediately!
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6/10
"Grindhouse" meets a cheesy Kung Fu flick.
timb758 June 2008
This is a great film to add to any Grindhouse collection. Lots of fake blood, lots of fake fights, lots of cheesy "just killed you" one liners. The story is so Japanese. Your typical, "You've dishonored my family and now you must die" movie. The hero and her side kick in this one are women just like you usually see in "Grindhouse" movies. Which is a good change of pace from your typical action flick. The scenes between two women seem so lesbian. Nothing wrong with that but it seems to me every time two women get together in this movie they're hitting on each other. I just find that a little odd. This film is very cheesy. It's like watching the original "Power Rangers" with sexual content, bad language, and blood. Lots of blood. That's what makes this movie so great though. How extremely cheesy it is.
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1/10
Horrible...
desconfiado2 June 2008
This is a horrible movie(?). Really i don't understand how can someone say this is a good movie or even mediocre. This is crap! Gratuit violence, stupid plot, terrible acting... What else can i say... I would elect it to the worst movie i have ever seen. I really don't understand how it is rated 6.9 or whatever. It's misleading to people with good taste and cinema lovers. What is going on...? Are you all going crazy?!?! I am not a fundamentalist, far from it, but this kind of movie should not be allowed anywhere. I am only writing some more about it in order for this comment to be accepted here because i am so "chocked" with this movie that i don't know what else i can say about, except that it is the ULTIMATE CRAP MOVIE.
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8/10
Bloody, Gory But Still Pure Escapist Fun
crossbow01061 February 2009
This film is filled with violence and gore, severed heads and limbs. So, why am I recommending it? Its fun to watch despite all that. The core of the plot is good. Ami, played by the pretty Minase Yashiro, avenges the murder of her younger brother Yu at the hands of a group of sadistic young people who are part of the Kimora clan. Ami's arm is hacked off in her first attempt to kill the son who caused Yu's death, but she manages to escape and is taken in by Miki, whose son Takeshi was also killed by the gang with Yu. It is Takeshi's mother Miki who goes along with Ami on this mission. If you don't like blood and gore, you can't watch this film. I normally do not like it, but this movie moves along at a good pace and Minase Yashiro actually does a good job as Ami. So, if you can handle buckets of blood, I think you'll enjoy it.
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7/10
Girl has arm. Girl loses arm. GIRL REPLACES ARM WITH A GATLING GUN AND SEEKS REVENGE...
ftyl5 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I urge everyone to check out the trailer for The Machine Girl. If you don't laugh, this film is not for you. If you do prepare to rupture something as, over the course of 90 minutes you will experience: tempura battered forearms, digit-spiced sushi, dismemberment through tripping, A DRILL BRA, ninjas in tracksuits, sapphic arm-wrestling, necrophilic deflowering, bullet flaying, vomiting intestines and gallons and gallons of geysering blood.

Good writing, good performances, good CG and good taste are not The Machine Girls' forte. What it does have going for it is an abyssal black sense of humour and a penchant for treading the line between the disgusting and the absurd (avoiding, as it does so, the pitfalls of some more extreme Japanese horror offerings). The story, such as it is, revolves around a seemingly normal Japanese high school girl who – after the death of her brother – goes after the ones responsible. There are some other incidentals; the mystery surrounding the death of her parents, for example but it is just filler – the tasteless bread surrounding this sandwich of ultraviolence. The opening scene is a perfect demonstration of Machine Girls' intentions (it contains plot spoilers that reach halfway into the film) effectively stifling any chance of tension or drama. And then a petite girl in a Japanese schoolgirl outfit straps a Gatling gun to the stump of her left arm and you understand. You reach calmly into your brain and turn the switch marked 'Reality' to the off position, dial your gorge reflex down a couple of notches and prepare to ride the claret rapids wherever they may take you.

The Machine Girl is gory, tasteless, voyeuristic and peppered with 'performers' from Japan's porn industry. It is also funny, self-aware and delivers on its promises very effectively (mainly: lots and lots of blood. It has some corny moments and is technically rather low rent but, in all honesty, competent film-making would only distract from the films gleeful, nihilistic bloodletting. So sit down with some popcorn (avoid sushi), grab the (even more hilarious) dub of The Machine Girl and prepare to dissolve all sense of good taste and decency for an hour and half. I almost guarantee you'll enjoy it
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2/10
and the point of this movie is....
six_66666613 June 2008
I'v seen b-movies before,i'v seen bad pointless movies but this is really just goes over the top,really stupid action scenes,terrible acting,horrible story,cheesy effects,this movie must of inspired by the attack of the killer tomatoes,I had the same expression on my face when I watched that movie but at least that was like that on purpose.I loved kill bill and all the old shaolin movie but this is as far as you can get.Maybe they should change the name of the movie and call it power rangers meets itchy the killer,wouldn't't that be more interesting? I advise everyone not to waste any time and money on this movie.See audition or itchy the killer or braindead or anything.I place this movie right next to meet the spartans
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