Nihon bundan: Heru doraibâ (Helldriver) Reviews

Bloody sicko in this Japanese zombie flick I ever seen that made me almost vomit and sometimes closed my eyes on the sicko scenes what zombies were doing.

"Everything is glorious!"

These kind of ultra-violent, chaotic Japanese movies are very tricky. When they work, they're awesome. An amusing, bemusing, exciting mishmash of craziness that gives new meaning to the word "ridiculous". But Helldriver, like so many of these gonzo films, just doesn't quite pull off what it's aiming for.

And that's certainly not for lack of trying. This tale of zombies and chainsaw swords throws everything at the viewer possible, and I have to commend the filmmakers for the sheer levels of WTF they came up with. Zombie women using zombie babies attached by zombie umbilical cords as weapon, truck versus zombie sword fights, and a zombie car are just a few of the insane ideas you'll see on display, here. I can't count the number of times I simply had to shake my head and smile at the fact that someone came up with all of this stuff. There's even a battle near the end that's eerily reminiscent of The Battle of Helm's Deep in The Two Towers, except with way fewer humans and WAY more blood. The inventiveness of Helldriver is the best thing it has going for it, by far.

But amidst all the blood fountains and giant flying zombies made out of smaller zombies, the director and writers forgot to add the entertainment. How a movie can be absolutely insane and so dull at the same time is a mystery, to me.

The plot is non-existent, even for this kind of flick. Our main character has a back-story with an evil mother and uncle that leads to the entire zombie infestation and her transformation into a half-mechanical warrior, but the scenes dealing with that are among the most boring in the entire movie. There are really no likable or interesting characters, either, which would have gone a long way towards making Helldriver easier to enjoy.

It might be worth checking out for the undeniable strangeness of it all, but I still have to say I was more disappointed than pleased with Helldriver.

More over the top antics from Sushi Typhoon. If you're a fan of Machine Girl and RoboGeisha, you'll likely find something to enjoy here.

Yoshihiro Nishimura shows no shame with Helldriver.There isn't much detail to the story, as all the abstractness and over the top fun is just there to be accepted. Heck, the opening title and credits don't appear to at least a third of the way into the film. For what the story has to offer, the 105 minute run time is a bit long. The film indulges in long drawn out gore sequences and blood showers to pass the time between plot movements.The violence dishes out the pain in all manners. Buckets and more buckets of blood shoot into the sky, canvas the floors, and soak the cameras. Sure, it is unrealistic, but that is exactly what this picture goes for. Outrageous violent behavior and over the top deaths. The action is somewhat hindered by shaky closeup camerawork and mediocre CG, but in the grand scheme of things, it is acceptable.To add to the fun, many characters are out of the ordinary, annoying, or just a waste of time. They are also overacted. Yumiko Hara is one of the few that holds herself in check and doesn't get to wild with her character. Eihi Shiina is underused; however she does do a reasonable job.To sum it all up, Helldriver puts a lot of attention on the extreme and not enough on the characters and story. Chainsaw anyone?

Japanese Splatterhouse director Yoshihiro Nishimura defies you to find a plot in his newest gross-out, HELLDRIVER. An asteroid comes barreling to Earth and crash-lands into Kika's abusive mother, unleashing a deadly virus that turns half of Japan into zombies and sends Kika spiraling into a coma. When she awakens, she has been fitted with cybergenic enhancements and a chainsword which she must use to destroy the growing legions of the undead before they overrun the living! Though not without its share of unbelievable, jaw-dropping moments of zombie gore, HELLDRIVER quickly proves to be another painfully stupid example of the modern J-Horror trend, where quantity always precedes quality when it comes to exploitation. Looking for nothing more than to sicken and offend, Nishimura often exceeds his goals once again, packing everything from Zombie Hitler to zombie babies into the film's exhausting runtime. The comic gore just has so little impact when it is taken to such extreme lengths, but then, Nishimura plays to a very specific audience. In spite of all the random on-screen insanity, we do find a glimmer of hope. HELLDRIVER addresses population concerns, disease control, human rights, and the growing drug problem in digestible terms through this undead allegory. HELLDRIVER will certainly find its place amongst fans of TOKYO GORE POLICE, ROBOGEISHA, and the like, though mainstream audiences should tread lightly.

79%

You want chainsaws? They got chainsaws.

Anything goes, in this crazy bloody Japanese zombie (I know, I know) showcase. Thousands of gallons of blood are spilt before the opening credits (which start forty eight minutes in, but still...) and does get a bit tiresome. But in this crazyness called HELLDRIVER, there are pick-n-pull zombie parts, a baby zombie mace, zombie antenna narcotics, a samuri chainsaw sword, truck sword fighting, zombie's rights and a car and jet made of zombies! The only thing missing is the kitchen sink.

An awesomely stupid, over the top extreme, Japanese zombie comedy. I loved it.

Though the opening scene is so ridiculous and entertaining, the rest of the movie is not.

Oh my god no! NO NO NO NO NO!

Non-Sequitur in film form. You know what you are in for when you see a girl with a chainsaw pole dance using a zombies elongated spine and followed by pressure hose arterial spray and heart surgery prompted by random meteorite strike. After that sentence there's little else to say.. you are either in or out at this point.

The most over the top Yoshihiro film yet, and the most awesome.

the gore in this movie was so campy and insanely over the top that you will either love it or hate it. I was entertained from beginning to end. definitely Yoshihiro Nishimuras best splatter flick yet. also any movie that the main title sequence starts 30 min into the movie is OK with me

It doesn't quite live up to its contemporaries in this sub-genre but it's as suitably insane and entertaining as Machine Girl or RoboGeisha. It's so strange seeing Eihi Shiina in this after Audition, but she's still amazing.

Not as funny as robogeisha but a great movie if you want to learn new things about zombies. Such as how much they love the accordion.