Tetsuo The Iron Man

What can I say about this movie that hasn’t been said before? One of my favorite movies of all time, it deals with Japanese salary-man of the title’s name, struggling through life until a metal fetishist, played by director Shinya Tsukamoto, who turns him into a metal monster. We later find out it’s all motivated by revenge, since the lead and his girlfriend had committed a hit-and-run with the fetishist as victim. First he tries to kill the man by sending a possessed assassin, a woman with glasses. Then he goes after him himself.
The changes are incredibly horrific and disgusting, ranging from what looks like metal pimples being popped (ew) to flesh of skin being ripped like they were pieces of plastic cloth. Even worse, his penis turns into a gigantic dick drill that impales his girlfriend. Oddly enough, it was her who impaled herself. Sexual curiosity is one thing, but this is ridiculous! Shinya’s directing style gives a lot of nods to Cronenberg and Lynch, but in the end this film is entirely his own.

Many movies in Japan like Meatball Machine have tried to imitate it’s style and content, but Tsukamoto’s film is a one and only, even in his own filmography. Particularly cool is the use of stop-motion animation, which is truly unique since he’s using humans. One of the greatest movies EVER.