Tetsuo II: Body Hammer

A Japanese salaryman’s body begins to slowly transform into a weapon after his son is kidnapped.

A salaryman’s life is thrown into chaos when he is injected with a mysterious substance by a group of thugs who attempt to kidnap his son unsuccessfully. The mysterious potion has given him enormous strength and vitality. When the thugs return to kidnap the boy again with tragic results, the enraged salaryman’s arm transforms into a cannon, killing the assailants.

This is just the beginning however, as he finds himself in a waking nightmare of body horror transformation. From man to metal, metal to weapon.

Curator's Note:

Shin'ya Tsukamoto follows up his cyberpunk cult movie Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) with a film that works as a quasi-remake rather than a direct sequel. Given a bigger budget this time around and delivering a more fleshed-out narrative than the first film, Tsukamoto turns up the face-melting intensity with some truly wild body transformations as he continues to riff on themes of urban alienation and the hell of the modern industrial landscape.

– Spiro Economopoulos (Guest Curator)