Electric Dragon 80,000v [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

As a parent of four, I highly reccomend buying a copy of this film for your household. Any child who watches this movie and doesn't have a seisure seems to become obsessed with it. I actually get the kids to clean their rooms AND do dishes just by threating them that if they don't do what i ask, they can only watch the film a minimum of two times a day(its only an hour long). Eek,!! and also if I turn it off, the youngest and oldest children will respectivly start to cry.

Its like handcuffs for your kids' brains. Its a wonderful thing.

After he completed his supposed epic Gojoe, Ishii used the remaining funds to create the black and white Electric Dragon 80, 000 volts starring the same actors Asano Tadanobu and Nagase Masatoshi who appeared in the previous film. More like a long, chaotic music video instead of a film, Electric Dragon 80,000 Volts tells the tale of Dragon Eye Morrison whom as a child an electrical bolt from a cable pylon struck. Having part of his brainstem damaged, Morrison is quite animalistic and he possesses the ability to communicate with reptiles. Also, with electricity coursing through his body he is able to control its powerful force. Being primal, Morrison has trouble controlling his feral nature. When he gets into a fight he does not stop bashing his enemy until the foe is unconscious. In order to control his anger Morrison plays the electric guitar at an extraordinarily loud volume. Seemingly content playing his guitar and searching for lost reptiles, Morrison's relatively peaceful life is interrupted when he encounters Thunderbolt Buddha another man who can harness the power of electricity!

Because it is filmed in black and white, it's brevity, and thunderous soundtrack one would be tempted to compare Electric Dragon 80,000 Volts to Tsukamoto Shinya's Tetsuo films. However, in my opinion, Electric Dragon 80,000 Volts is much more entertaining film because of its well-paced action and unique characters. I grew quite tired of watching the continuing metamorphosis of the salaryman. Yet I did not grow bored during Electric Dragon 80,000 Volts, but this might be because Asano Tadanobu is my favorite Japanese actor, heh.

Dragon Eye Morrison hasn't exactly had a normal childhood. We see him as a young boy climbing an electrical tower with some friends telling him he's going to get electrocuted. Sure enough...it happens. After that, he seems to go through electro shock therapy whenever he gets into trouble. It's usually in fights and continues as he gets older. As a result, he's now charged with 80,000 volts of electricity at all times. He has his own version of the therapy that involves him bolting himself to a table. The only way he can deal with being charged with this much electricity is by playing his electric guitar. On top of that though, he's a lizard expert and has quite the collection. When one of his lizards turns up missing and Thunderbolt Buddha steps into the picture, that's when things get even more bizarre.

This movie is beyond weird. It clocks in at a little under 55 minutes. Calling it a film or a movie may be a bit out of place considering the length. The best way to describe it is by saying it's like an extended music video spliced with a live action anime or manga. I was reading up on the film's origin and apparently the director used the leftover funds from a previous film to make this one. Even using two of the main actors from that same film (Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle). While that may be the case, this stands alone as its own film. The film's biggest strength is the way it was shot. It's entirely shot in black and white and its style just seems to bleed off the screen. The most unique shots tend to be when Dragon Eye is playing his guitar as the lighting and perspective are just what you'd expect from someone taking all their frustrations out on a guitar, which tend to be in your face. There's a scene towards the last half of the film though where Thunderbolt Buddha does something to get Dragon Eye's full attention where Dragon Eye is moving through rooms without moving himself. It looks like he's just floating from room to room and it just helps the viewer realize what he's feeling at that particular moment in the film; like it's all some sort of bad dream.

The music may be what makes or breaks the film for the viewer as it tends to walk a thin line between being kinda catchy to just being distorted noise with screaming. The film is loud in every sense of the word. Whenever Dragon Eye starts to play his guitar, it just sounds like a lot of noise. It fit the film as that would make sense if someone was channeling 80,000 volts of electricity through a guitar it would probably sound more like that than something a bit more polished. But if someone wasn't a fan of loud, heavy music then it may affect their judgement of the film.

Electric Dragon 80,000 V is more of a bizarre black and white experiment than anything else. On the bright side, it's original. It's not based off of anything or a remake of anything. It stands on its own two legs and that's saying something these days. Its originality may be its downfall for some viewers though as the manga influences practically flow through every frame surrounding itself with loud, heavy guitar riffs. If you're a fan of previous Tadanobu Asano films or are in the mood for something unique, I'd highly recommend it. I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone though as it may be so bizarre it'd wind up going over a lot of people's heads.

Rating: 7/10

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