If you see a woman force her husband to bury his mother up to her neck, then proceed to punt her head a mile into the air, you’re probably watching a Japanese horror movie. In this specific case, it’s Tokyo Zombie, a wacky farce by Sakichi Satô based on a manga of the same name. And it’s good, in that awesomely quirky kind of way.
Your premise is this: two clownish rejects of society, the afro-dashed Fujio (Tadanobu Asano) and his impromptu balding sensei Mitsuo (Show Aikawa) who practice jujitsu together on their lunch breaks are harassed by their boss to such extremes that Fujio inadvertently kills him. In the center of Tokyo is a mountainous trash heap the locals dub “Black Fuji” where not only is refuse and discarded appliances dumped, but also dead bodies and industrial waste.
Of course, our protagonists are left with no option but to get rid of their abusive boss’ corpse by doing the apropos thing and burying him in Black Fuji. Herewith sets up our story as the discarded bodies suddenly come to life from regeneration by the toxic desecration. When Fujio spots a teacher from his past who molested him as a youngster and who is also getting rid of a dead body, Fujio attacks his violator by brutally spanking him with a shovel and leaving the sleazeball to his fate. In this case, with his pants removed and a girl zombie crawling out of Black Fuji, the slimy perv requests service despite her “not being his type.” Of course, you can guess what this schmuck’s fate is one she chomps down. There is a price for necrophilia, folks…
According to the movie, zombies must devour human flesh or else suffer hellish pain. Fujio and Mitsuo decide to go north and escape to Russia because, for whatever bizarre reason, it represents some abstract ideal of manliness to them. During a supply stop, Mitsuo is bitten by a zombie as he rescues Yoko (Okuda Erika) and throws himself into a river.
Fast forward five years and Tokyo, completely overrun by zombies, has died. A few wealthy survivors have cordoned off a small area of the city and have erected a large pyramid, where they live and entertain themselves by rounding up lower-class (IE poor) survivors and forcing them to fight zombies in a gladiator stadium. Fujio has married Yoko and become a champion zombie fighter. Unfortunately, he isn’t very popular because he finishes off the zombies too quickly and thus can’t bring home enough money to support his family. Eventually, Fujio is forced to face off with his best friend and mentor.
The script sets zombies into dumbfounded motion where they routinely trip and fall (trust me, you laugh every time) and at one point in Tokyo Zombie’s most gut-busting gag, they stalk our cast to a bridge and why seldom few have thought of this before, instead of being deterred by the waters below, the zombies start diving in comedic fashion into the drink, much to the horrified chagrin of Fujio, who can’t swim, for the record.
Though the gore is tamed down the longer the movie winds and the pacing is relegated to insult gags between Fujio and his new extended family, there’s still something appealing to this quirky film. Tokyo Zombie is sharp-looking and appreciative of all that has come before it.
Tokyo Zombie’s deeper strategy is carefully reflected in, namely, how it sneakily wants us to care even while the movie’s sophomoric nihilism would suggest that caring is for squares. In this sense, Satô allows the movie, and therefore the audience, to be cynical and sentimental—take your pick. This is a mixture that some viewers are bound to be put off by while others, just as inevitably, are going to find it refreshing and appealing. So while its free and easy ways and the resultant lack of focus undermines Tokyo Zombie as impacting entertainment … they also make it one of the more interesting zombie films of recent years.