Tetsuo: The Bullet Man (2009) (Blu-ray Review)
DIRECTED BY: Shin’ya Tsukamoto
STARRING: Eric Bossick, Akiko Monô, Yûko Nakamura
RATED: UR/Region: A/1:85/1080P/NUMBER OF DISCS 1
AVAILABLE FROM Unearthed Films
An American man moves to Japan, get married to a Japanese woman. Sounds wholesome enough huh? But when their son is killedby a driver he then transforms into a metallic being! What follows is the third and final film in Shin’ya Tsukamoto cyber punk and experimental body horror trilogy!
Made in 2009 and to mixed results, but I find it fun.
If you’ve ever watched a movie and thought, “You know what? This could use about 300% more screaming, flashing lights, and people turning into industrial machinery,” then congratulations—Tetsuo: The Bullet Man is exactly the fever dream you’ve been looking for.
Like I said before, this is the third entry in Shin’ya Tsukamoto’s Tetsuo series, and somehow it manages to be both easier to follow than the original Tetsuo: The Iron Man… and just as completely insane.
The plot? Well… there technically is one.
An American businessman discovers there’s a very good reason he has anger management issues, and before long he’s transforming into a walking pile of metal while everyone around him seems to have collectively agreed that reality is optional.
Sounds ridiculous?
It is.
The movie throws so much visual chaos at you that trying to process everything is like attempting to read a novel while riding a roller coaster through a scrap yard. Between the frantic editing, relentless camera movement, and enough metallic body horror to make a mechanic uncomfortable, it’s never boring.
Now, is it as groundbreaking as the original Tetsuo?
Not really.
That’s probably its biggest problem. It spends a little too much time living in the shadow of the earlier films instead of forging its own identity. Fans of the originals will probably enjoy the ride, but it’s hard not to compare it to what came before, and those are some pretty massive steel boots to fill.
That said, I still had a good time with it.
The practical effects are fantastic, the body horror is as gloriously weird as you’d hope, and Tsukamoto once again proves that nobody does industrial nightmare fuel quite like he does. Every transformation feels painful, messy, and just plain wrong—in the best possible way.
The pacing barely gives you a chance to breathe. It’s the cinematic equivalent of being shoved into a washing machine full of sheet metal and loud industrial music. Ninety minutes later you crawl out wondering what just happened… but somehow you’re smiling.
Sure, it doesn’t hit the same highs as the first two films, and some of the emotional beats don’t land as well as they probably should. But honestly, you’re not watching Tetsuo: The Bullet Man for subtle character development. You’re here to watch a guy become a human weapon because Japanese cyberpunk has decided that biology is merely a suggestion.
Mission accomplished.
Is it weird?
Absolutely.
Is it loud?
Painfully so.
Will everyone enjoy it?
Not a chance.
But if you’re already on the Tetsuo train, this is a worthy stop. It may not be the strongest entry in the trilogy, but it’s still packed with enough wild imagery, metallic madness, and beautifully unhinged energy to remind you why these movies have become cult classics.
Besides, after watching someone literally turn into a weapon, suddenly having to replace your car’s muffler doesn’t seem like such a big deal anymore.
Extras
- Audio Commentary with Actor Eric Bossick and Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes
- Tetsuo: The Bullet Man – Multi Material Version
- Photo Gallery
- Trailers
