Scissor Dick (Naoyuki Tomomatsu, 2018)

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Guro Taku
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Scissor Dick (Naoyuki Tomomatsu, 2018)

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Naoyuki Tomomatsu's new film will have its world premiere as part of the Toyko Thunderbolt Filmfestival on April 7th. I followed this thing's production pretty extensively via Tomomatsu's twitter and there really wasn't any aspect that wasn't entertaining. The production was entirely crowdfunded because nobody wanted to give the poor guy any money to direct anything like this. Eventually only 2.1 million yen (about $20.000) of the targeted 2.5 million was scraped together (with perks including anything from DVDs, mention in the credits to a pool party in Osaka with the female cast) but that didn't deter this absolute madman and he started filming anyway, collecting the missing amount later at an event where early footage was screened. One of the biggest regrets of my life is that I wasn't able to throw some money at this due to how horrenduously difficult it is to transfer money to Japan. It is only this way that I learned that apparently the Japanese bank system and the one we have in Europe are totally incompatible.

Anyway, here's the trailer for what I am sure will be the movie event of 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-MgQcG-xoA

Tomomatsu's films have been full of crappy CGI blood for so long I expected this to be the case again here but despite the seriously low budget the effects look to be practical.
Last edited by Guro Taku on 26 Oct 2023, 15:23, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Scissor Dick (Naoyuki Tomomatsu, 2018)

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I'm getting a bit too old for these kind of films, especially ones with no budget, but I do admit being slightly excited for this, for the sheer passion and stubborness that comes thru from that trailer...

And I admit laughing when I read "Scissor Dick (Naoyuki Tomomatsu, 2018)" :lol: God bless him.
Guro Taku wrote: 25 Mar 2018, 15:03 It is only this way that I learned that apparently the Japanese bank system and the one we have in Europe are totally incompatible.
I could complain about Japanese banks all night... like when I opened an account in Japan Post Bank, and 90 minutes later (yes, it takes 90 minutes to open a basic bank account) when all was done I ask how can I transfer money to my account from (my own account) abroad. They told me I can't, they don't accept money from abroad. THE FUCK :rage: It's a bank for Christ's sake. And a postal office too. The two most global industries in the world!
Guro Taku
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Re: Scissor Dick (Naoyuki Tomomatsu, 2018)

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DVD release from Albatros on March 2nd 2019:

Image

I'm still waiting for an explanation why this wasn't Japan's submission for the Best Foreign Picture Oscar, by the way!
Last edited by Guro Taku on 26 Oct 2023, 15:21, edited 1 time in total.
Guro Taku
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Re: Scissor Dick (Naoyuki Tomomatsu, 2018)

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This will be getting an US release from Error4444:

Image

This isn't even in my top 10 of Tomomatsu's best films (my review) but it's still bound to take unprepared viewers on a pretty wild ride. I'm hoping for some decent special features and at any rate a physical BD release will be an upgrade from the Japanese DVD - though a HD version was available as digital VOD in Japan as well. And I already feel sorry for whoever has to subtitle the endless incel rants this flick presents as voice-over narration! :lol:
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Re: Scissor Dick (Naoyuki Tomomatsu, 2018)

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Guro Taku wrote: 26 Oct 2023, 15:17 This isn't even in my top 10 of Tomomatsu's best films
You cannot possibly write that and not expect me to ask what is Tomomatsu films TOP 10? :lol:
Guro Taku
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Re: Scissor Dick (Naoyuki Tomomatsu, 2018)

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Order may be subject to change but something along those lines:

1.) Ballads / バラードに抱かれて (1993)
Tomomatsu's debut feature film was a gay pink flick produced by ENK about a video store worker who discovers a bizarre snuff tape starring his ex-lover... who tragically died in a motorbike accident. Disturbing imagery abounds but there's some genuine emotion in there as well. I wish this wasn't available exclusively on VHS because it played a "Gay Films for Women" event in Osaka years ago and the footage in the trailer they released looked stunning compared to what we have to make do with.

2.) Eat the Schoolgirl / コギャル喰い 大阪テレクラ篇 (1997)
In a lot of ways the "straight" counterpart to Ballads, with equally gnarly sex and violence. If you've only ever watched the Dutch DVD from Japan Shock beware that the English subtitles on that release are entirely made up and have nothing to do with what's actually being said by anyone. I got in an internet fight with them about once.

3.) Rape Zombie 1-5 / レイプゾンビ 1-5 (2012-2014)
The most ambitious project of Tomomatsu's career. I have no idea if this was always planned as a cinematic universe or if he made it up has he went along and success (the first part apparently sold 100.000 DVDs) led to demand for sequels. Doesn't matter because somehow it works. The kind of sprawling epic that'd need hundreds of millions of dollars to do "properly" is here attempted with just a few hundred thousand. A zombie apocalypse, warring factions in the ruins of Japan, mad scientists and... time travel! In addition to what you'd expect from the title, obviously.

4.) Future Century Amazons / 未来世紀アマゾネス & Future Warrior Amazons / 未来戦士アマゾネス (2017)
In many ways similar to the Rape Zombie series, this duology tries (and mostly succeeds) to pack an insane amount of world-building into its two entries. After radical feminists cause the apocalypse, only a few functioning cities remain. Men are hunted for food, heterosexual intercourse is now illegal and artificial insemination is required for survival. Since the last mad scientist got assassinated, a new doctor is recruited for that purpose. She causes quite a stir when she arrives in town with her husband (!) in tow. There's also a tentacle monster.

5.) Innocent Noir / イノセント・ノワール (2013)
Tomomatsu's return to gay-themed pink cinema after almost 20 years. The story of a hitman and a barkeeper and their doomed romance. A serious gut-punch of an ending that manages to shock even though you see the outcome in the opening scene.

6.) Bite Me If You Love Me / 君はゾンビに恋してる (2011)
A hilarious and genuinely sweet horror comedy about a horror-obsessed girl who turns her boyfriend into a zombie because of her love for Romero and Fulci. Later her zombie boyfriend has to fight a fat, sweaty Japanese Jason Vorhees. There's even a Bollywood style musical scene.

7.) Wagamama Sensation / わがまま旋風(センセーション) (1995)
Tomomatsu's second film for ENK and quite possibly the most restrained work of his career. No wacky voice-overs, no over-the-top violence, just a well made drama about a man who tried to be a straight family man but ends up returning to his queer theater acting roots.

8.) A Single Rose / 一輪の薔薇 (2008)
A similar set-up to Wagamama Sensation as a middle-aged salaryman who lives a "straight" life definitely 100% accidentally ends up drinking at a gay bar one night and meets a guy who's looks identical to someone he had an affair with as a young man. Flashbacks to which time are shown in a gorgeous 8mm home movie style. Gay ass-eating and the discussion of Gundam movies, what's not to love?

9.) At the Mercy of the Darkness: Ayano's Bizarre Delusions / 闇のまにまに 人妻・彩乃の不貞な妄想 (2009)
The titular Ayano is married to a comically mean piece of shit and starts suffering from increasingly disturbing halluciantions. Kind of felt like Tomomatsu trying to recapture that Eat the Schoolgirl magic and while he only partially succeeds it's still an effective bit of exploitation filmmaking.

10.) Tie: Red Sword / 本当はエロいグリム童話 レッド・スウォード (2012) or Sex & Onmyoji / 本当はエロい日本の裏伝奇 泡姫陰陽 (2012)
Two entries into Tomomatsu's "本当はエロい" series. Both tons of absurd fun.
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Re: Scissor Dick (Naoyuki Tomomatsu, 2018)

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Much appreciated! Though I'm not sure I'm up to the challenge :lol:

I have seen Bite Me If You Love Me, though. That was an amusing little movie.
Guro Taku
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Re: Scissor Dick (Naoyuki Tomomatsu, 2018)

Post by Guro Taku »

Guro Taku wrote: 26 Oct 2023, 15:17I'm hoping for some decent special features...
-An Interview w/ Director, Naoyuki Tomomatsu [23 mins.]
-An Interview w/ Actress, Sasa Handa [14 mins.]
-Introductions by Naoyuki Tomomatsu & Sasa Handa [1 min.]
-Chatting w/ Naoyuki Tomomatsu & Sasa Handa [1min.]
-UFO Short Film by Naoyuki Tomomatsu [14 mins.]
-Splatterpunk Paradise: A Video Essay by Matthew Roe [38 mins.]
-Tomomatsu Trailer Show [14 mins.]

Not too shabby, actually! The Japanese DVD only came with a trailer and the short film (勅使河原UFO), so I assume the interviews are new. Should be entertaining. I wonder if the "Tomomatsu Trailer Show" indicates they'll release more of his films?

Pre-orders are live as of today at: https://error4444.bigcartel.com/
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