MUTANT GIRL SQUAD DVD Review

Rin (Yumi Sugimoto) has just turned sixteen, she is constantly bullied at school and is belittled by her joyfully overbearing parents. All this changes in the blink of an eye however when she is pushed to breaking point and her hand transforms into a deformed but deadly claw. Her parents inform her that she is a 'Hiruko' a type of mutant that is hunted and hated by normal humans. It is not long before her family is attacked and Rin flees, abusing her new found strength by going on a shameless killing spree. She is captured and trained by the antiheroes of this movie, a sect of the Hiruko and three girls that take her in as their own but also have their own special 'powers' such as breast swords and ass chainsaws. Together they try to conquer Japan and claim it for the Hiruko.







In reading the above synopsis again, the premise of this film still sounds so bizarre and original that surely it must make for some decent entertainment. Sadly this is far from the case. Three relatively talented directors joined forces to create Mutant Girl Squad, the questionably disgusting Noboru Iguchi (Robo-Geisha), the undeniably disgusting Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police) and the action fiend Tak Sakaguchi (the mindless but excellent Versus). They actually make cameos in the film and must have enjoyed working together and coming up with such a bizarre premise. Working on the film certainly looked like more fun than actually watching it.

Mutant Girl Squad has all the elements of a mindless thrill ride but the execution and overuse of extremely original but unsettling slaughter and really lame slapstick comedy began to take its toll. There is a big fan base for Iguchi and his work, and he is definitely an interesting talent. Other directorial efforts from him have been similarly original and bizarre but had something that Mutant Girl Squad seems to lack.

Perhaps it is the case of 'too many cooks spoil the broth' as there were three directors involved. Trying not to read into such a silly film, it can only be stated that Mutant Girl Squad drowns in its own excess. Worryingly there is an off putting fetishistic quality to the mutant creations that is cringe worthy. Is a chainsaw protruding from a cute girls behind really that funny? It is more a combination of strange and perverse and only elicits a shake of the head. Likewise with the perversion of extreme violence, shocking and original quickly turns to boring and turgid and there is nowhere else to go, and indeed watching Mutant Girl Squad feels like a digression.

Reflecting the immense silliness of the film, the plot, narrative and pacing is fine and the paper thin plot carries the film to its conclusion,

Mutant Girl Squad is a terribly strange film, and quite a bitter disappointment, considering the canon of Iguchi's work and particularly Sakaguchi's involvement the expectations were a little higher but the only result is a bad taste from this uniquely awful production.

Extras on the DVD were a light fare and include two trailers and a short film which is a spin-off from the feature titled 'Yoshie Zero'. This short film was probably better than Mutant Girl Squad itself, as it was short, condensed and to-the-point, and this concept of extreme violence and bizarre humor works a lot better as a short.

The transfer was excellent, for a DVD this film looks great, despite the incredibly poor (intentional?) CGI and effects.