With its extraordinary visual inventiveness Tetsuo: The Iron Man, shot in black and white, broke independent-cinema box-office records in Japan and become an instant cult hit. Its sequel, Tetsuo II: The Body Hammer, is even more compelling. The action in this cyber-hell centres on a happily married man, whose young son is abducted in a shopping centre by psycho skinheads. His body turns into a gun when seized by his own uncontrollable rage. He is confronted by ‘Guy’ who is the leader of the Skinheads. The final battle with its chilling effects highlights the austere precision of Mr. Tsukamoto’s visual effects.In Japan, Tsukamoto has been compared to David Lynch and David Cronenberg, among other things for his fine sense of black humour. Tetsuo II has won several jury-prizes. William Gibson (author of the ‘Necromancer’ series) wrote: ‘The Body Hammer is brilliant, twisted, relentlessly kinetic – every thing we expect from the maker of the cult classic The Iron Man. A masterpiece.’
