quietearth [Film Festival 10.19.11] review horror comedy



Year: 2011
Directors: Yûdai Yamaguchi
Writers: Yûdai Yamaguchi & Keita Tokaji
IMDB: link
Review by: quietearth
Rating: 0 out of 10

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Why I insist on seeing films from this low-budget Japanese comedy/gore sub-genre (which I'm going to call J-Horrendous) in the vain hope I'm going to enjoy them is beyond me. Not even the lively festival audience could make this even remotely enjoyable. So I made a promise to myself. I won't see them anymore.

Deadball starts with the main character being goaded by his father. He wants him to throw his fastball without holding back. After rocketing himself into the clouds by some imaginary force of will, he pitches it to his father whose response is disbelief. Then horror. As his father is dying from the impact of the un-catchable ball, our anti-hero promises never to pitch again. While some specious narrative did continue, however poorly, my concentration didn't.

There was a lot of blood. In fact, I think the majority of the film's budget was spent on fake blood. The rest was spent on latex for fake wounds. People die in ridiculous ways or suffer some injury which defies medical plausibility. I'd continue, but the plot doesn't matter as its sole purpose was as the vehicle for the campy humor.

I don't remember when I fell asleep.

I awoke at some point hoping the film would be over, but it wasn't. In fact, the ending was artificially stretched well beyond the breaking point. While those around me enjoyed this fad which is unsurprisingly popular, it's not my bag. This sub-genre will eventually disappear like the grindhouse theater, its repetitive nature forcing its own extinction.

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agentorange (10 years ago) Reply

I was out post-Tokyo Gore Police.

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