Simply A Masterpiece

I'll tell you why so serious

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Tetsuo II: Body Hammer is the second entry in the Tetsuo series and arguably an improvement over the first film. It has a more coherent plot, better special effects, and a better flow. Of the two, it was the more accessible film.Body Hammer follows the struggle of a seemingly meek man after his son is kidnapped by a ruthless gang / cult. The cult is run by a mad scientist who seeks to combine man and machine. When the father is subjected to one of these experiments, all hell breaks loose.Although surreal, Tetsuo II is a distinctly more conventional film than its predecessor, which came across as a grotesque student film. The sequel has a more typical sci-fi action plot even as it uses the bizarre animation and concepts that made the original a cult classic. This is actually a good thing, as it makes it easier to discern what the director is trying to get across.The film also benefits from improved special effects and costumes. While the original relied on rather clunky stop motion animation, the effects in Body Hammer are far more convincing.There are some issues with the film's plot, not the least of which being why the gang would grant super powers to someone whose son they had just kidnapped. Nevertheless, it is definitely a worthy follow-up to the original.

This movie is highly recommended for the fans of its predecessor, although it's not in black and white, doesn't have as good of a soundtrack or have as much surrealism as the first film, but it remains to be a bit more action-packed and (let's not forget) makes a bit more sense. This time, the salary man (the protagonist from the first film) lives a normal life with his family until one day his son gets kidnapped and the salary man is forced to be experimented on by a large a gang of skinheads which speeds up the mutating process of becoming a part-metal weapon and part-human being. It's not really a sequel but it surely is one of the greatest underrated films of-all-time and is about as good as the first film (TETSUO), if not, better.

This is truly a worthy sequel. A brilliant re-imagining with increased budget and, yes, something approaching a story. But don't be surprised if you lose the plot yourself, just sit back and be amazed by this work of live manga brilliance. Be perversely moved too, as I was, by the family story at the heart of the work. The effects are unique and uniquely unreal, as they were in the original. This is one filmaker's nightmares rendered real. These two films, along with Lynch's Eraserhead, are the real deal. The cutting is fast so as to cause many (already extreme) shots to register on the subconscious more than the seeing eye. It will haunt you. Very highly recommended indeed.

When I saw Tetsuo: Ironman this past January, I was amazed. While I had always been intrigued by the video's box, I had never heard anything about it. It blew me away with its visceral imagery and insanity. Now, finally, I've seen Tetsuo II. I gave the first one a 10/10 on imdb, and I give II a 9/10. This one is amazingly directed, filmed, acted, and developed. It has lost a bit of the first one's viscerality, and the plot is a bit more conventional (although it has just a few discernable conventions, like the rivalry between brothers in youth, the fact that one of them was good and one of them was evil, etc. Really, though, when you see it you'll probably not be thinking it conventional at all). Also, the first film's breakneck speed has been slowed down a little. In the first one, the plot was difficult, if not impossible, to understand. Body Hammer takes time to make us understand, and that is not necessarily a good thing. Still, Tetsuo II is a very great film. I just wish Shinya Tsukamoto had more films available in America!