"Why didn't you help me?"Meatball Machine is another Japanese body-horror splatter-fest that on the surface makes little sense but revels in its insane internal logic. Even the clumsy exposition scene halfway through does not care whether the 'necroborgs' come from outer space or beneath the sea, but then all the film is concerned about - like these alien parasites - is the infected mutating, killing and eating each other in increasingly manic ways. This is Power Rangers as directed by David Cronenberg, with a side order of Alien, Robocop and Urotsukidoji. The low-budget and cheap effects immediately distance the viewer, yet there is ambition in the direction and use of camera. What holds the film together is the well-played central romance between Yoji and Sachiko, two lonely people in a nicely-drawn soulless industrial society who ultimately battle each other as the parasites take hold. The inevitable influence of Tetsuo is clear, but here the muddled premise detracts from a film that tries hard and occasionally succeeds.
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