I first discovered the talented Mr. Aikawa through Takashi Miike's uber-bizarro yakuza flick Dead or Alive, and I've been hooked on the man's work ever since. If forced to choose, Miike's masterpiece Gozu is probably my favorite Aikawa film thus far. However, if Tokyo Zombie is any indication of what's to come, Japanese filmmakers have merely scratched the surface of the Aikawa's inherent greatness. Of course, if you doubt my words, your computer shall self-destruct within the hour. Sorry about that, but it's out of my hands now.
Playing like a mix of Dumb and Dumber, Land of the Dead, and any number of those countless Van Damme tournament pictures, Sakichi Sato's insanely hilarious adaptation of Yusaku Hanakuma's manga will surely pull you into Aikawa's fanbase if you're not already a hardcore card-carrying member. But to say that Sho is the only reason to watch this film would be selling it short. Filled with Miike-esque humor, Jujitsu madness, and a conclusion that's as goofy as anything you've ever seen, Tokyo Zombie could be one the greatest Jujitsu/zombie apocalypse movies in the history of cinema.
After getting busted for goofing off at work, lovable morons Fujio (the always enjoyable Tadanobu Asano) and Mitsuo (Aikawa) are forced to murder their high-strung boss Ujimoto, whose abusive nature is threatening his wimpy employees' well-being. Like everyone else in Tokyo with a body to stash, they take his rotting corpse to Black Fuji, a mountainous black mound of garbage the people of this sprawling city use to dispose of their undesirables. Though some use it to ditch unwanted household appliances and dirty magazines, most use it to hide the bodies of the recently deceased.
Unfortunately, the toxic combination of solid waste and human flesh has reached its boiling point, causing the dead to rise from their shallow graves. It doesn't take long for these Tokyo zombies to infest the country, sending our bumbling buddies on a road trip to Russia. Why Russia, you ask? Because Russia is manly, of course!
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