Tetsuo: The Iron Man is one of those movies that will never have a mainstream following simply because it doesn’t have a coherent plot (nor a point, some might say). If you’ve seen David Lynch’s Eraserhead or David Cronenberg’s Videodrome and didn’t care much for either, well, this one isn’t going to do a whole lot for you either. Taking place in a strange industrial setting not too far removed from the setting of Eraserhead, Tetsuo is quite the odd piece of work, though it’s definitely noteworthy for a directorial debut (I almost said “feature-length,” but at it’s hour runtime, it falls just a bit short).

The very basic storyline revolves around the main character (credited as simply “Salaryman”) hitting a pedestrian who happens to be a metal fetishist, whatever that is. Perhaps as ‘punishment’ for his involvement in the hit & run accident, Salaryman begins to grow metal parts all over his body. I won’t spoil the movie for anyone interested in seeing it, but you’ve basically already got the gist of the plotline, so if you’re expecting any major twists and turns beyond what you’ve already read then you’re not in for a whole lot. As a whole, I enjoyed the film and its unique style. There are lots of sped-up shots and some great stop-motion animation, not to mention the soundtrack (a solid mixture of experimental and industrial music).

Unless you absolutely love Lynch/Cronenberg, rent it first, but if you already enjoy either or both, it would be a no-brainer for your collection.

*While I mentioned above that it seems to be influenced by Lynch and Cronenberg’s work, it’s interesting to note that the movie itself seems to have inspired another film: Takashi Miike’s Full Metal Yakuza (which is a truly awful, awful movie).