Fantasia CR: Tokyo Zombie

Welcome to the world of Japanese director Sakichi Sato. If you’ve seen either of Takashi Miike’s films Ichi The Killer or the brilliant Gozu, both of which Sato wrote the screenplays for, you may get a sense that Tokyo Zombie is going to be seriously fucked. Well, yeah it is, but what you won’t be expecting is the optimistic good vibe beating at the center of this oddball buddy flick.

The story centers on two inept but lovable dudes who take on the Tokyo undead with nothing but limited brainpower, an endless enthusiasm for Jui Jitsu and of course the dream of a really great condo! The film races out of the gate with a sense of reckless fun and as the slapstick first half gives way to the introspective second act no subject is off limits. Rape, pedophilia, class wars, the physical and moral disintegration of Tokyo… If Tokyo Zombie is trying to make some kind of statement on contemporary Japanese mores, I don’t even want to think about what that might be.

With an outrageous plot and equally outrageous set design (check out the Tokyo skyline), Tokyo Zombie features a jet-black sense of humor and great on-screen comedic chemistry between the two leads. Tokyo Zombie is a great example of why the Japanese do unrestrained humour better than anyone else.