Soon after he finds that a piece of his razor blade is lodged in his face, or seems to be growing from his skin. Initially he finds himself running from a mutated women through a train station. Meanwhile the Salaryman (Tomorowo Taguchi) is trapped in the first of many bizarre dreams or visions. Even the oncoming vehicle is given an alluring sheen when smooth jazz begins to play as it speeds towards the camera. It’s going to be gruesome, it’s going to be stylish, and it’s going to be sexual.
![tetsuo the iron man tetsuo the iron man](https://gfx.videobuster.de/archive/v/cKf-hqciJhHrt6nGa3JjRWAcz0lMkawMDglMkYwMyUyRmltYZklMkZqcGVnJTJG0DJhNGRkYrqLtDhl1zhjMDD1YmNi2TRkMi5qcGcmcj137zg/tetsuo-1-the-iron-man.jpg)
This opening tells you everything you need to know about the film. But things go awry very quickly and in a panic he runs into the street, only to be struck down by a car. Maybe it will help his racing speed? In some ways this ends up being true by the end of the story. The Fetishist (Shinya Tsukamoto) seems to think that putting threaded pipes into his open wounds will give him a sense of satisfaction. In a dirty factory cupboard of some kind a man obsessed with collecting pieces of metal, and pictures of track athletes, sits alone in a pile of wiring and junk. But neither will prepare you for the fully realised nightmare of Tetsuo.
![tetsuo the iron man tetsuo the iron man](https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-EKbKDE0nWCXFYLEZ-6rmSwA-t500x500.jpg)
Both movies contain the DNA of what would follow, including the actors, the frenetic camera angles, and the stop motion racing effects.
![tetsuo the iron man tetsuo the iron man](https://shiverhousecom.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/tetsuo_greyscale_ironman.jpg)
The latter meanwhile is a surprisingly light story about an outcast boy who finds himself in a distant future ruled by vampires. The former is more or less a rough test run for his feature length debut, and it contains some of the infamous effects scenes but little narrative. This same kind of passion can be found in his early festival shorts, The Phantom of Regular Size, and The Adventures of Electric Rod Boy. One day I hope to enjoy life with even a small amount of the insane energy found in the 16mm films of Shinya Tsukamoto. Starring: Kei Fujiwara, Shinya Tsukamoto, Tomorowo TaguchiĪvailable now from Third Window Films and on VOD