“Junk Head” Poster
Director: Takahide Hori
Writer: Takahide Hori
Animator: Takahide Hori
Running Time: 115 min.
By Martin Sandison
Dystopian Science Fiction has a prerequisite to be po-facedly serious in tone and downright depressing at times (see genre stalwarts Blade Runner and Brazil), and it’s about time a movie came along that alters this. Enter Takahide Hori’s Junk Head, a one-man show labour of love that manages to be an endlessly inventive, hilarious entrant in the genre that is refreshingly silly and purely entertaining. Hori has virtually every creative credit on the film, due to the fact it is a stop-motion animation; without doubt one of the best I have ever seen in this style. Sure, the narrative is an extension of a short Hori made in 2014, so it doesn’t hold up very well, but every other aspect of the film is so strong that this is an afterthought.
In the distant future, the human race can extend its lifespan, but at the cost of losing the ability to procreate. The creation of clones to boost the workforce has gone wrong, creating monsters and various other unsavoury creatures. They have rebelled, forcing their creators to banish them to the lower levels of the huge structures where the humans live. A single human is sent to these to find genetic material that will save the race. The film follows this human, in various forms, as he tries to fulfil this mission; encountering many different characters and situations along the way.
The characters, animation and set design are constantly imaginative. Characters range from myriad types of robots, some with human parts, to really creepy-looking monsters. The most interesting, in visual terms, are the females, who are huge and ripped, clad in red, with huge breasts. The various doctors and scientists play like Doctor Who crossed with Hellraiser. Sets such as the endless corridors of the first section of the movie, the lift from level to level and the gas compressor chamber are magnificently created, and take the breath away.
Interestingly, there are a few different languages used in Junk Head, all of them made up, but one sounding like Japanese. There is a Cronenberg/Lynch feel to the film, with body horror elements and surrealistic passages, such as the different forms the monsters morph in to. The cyperpunk genre is also in there, in aesthetic especially, with references to the Japanese style of this genre with movies like Shinya Tsukamoto’s unmatched Tetsuo. These come across especially in the chase scenes, with skewed angles and industrial music. The end action scene contains some nods to the likes of John Woo and Hong Kong action cinema, and is put together with so much love you can’t help but sit back and soak it in.
The movie has its tongue firmly lodged in its cheek. In fact it is one of the most amusing I have seen in the cinema in the past year or so. I was in stitches at the antics of our hero and the strange creatures that either help or hinder him. On reflection, the approach to humour reminded me of Nick Park’s work; especially his short The Wrong Trousers. While Park and his heroes Wallace and Gromit are fixed firmly in the British humour tradition, Hori appropriates this but transplants it in to a dystopian world, and does away with cultural specificity. I would bet that most of anyone (adults only) would find the laughs in Junk Head amusing, as they are so universal. This is also bolstered by a real feel for good characters, not just in design but construction. The first creatures to help our hero are so loveable, hilarious and deep that you can’t help feeling for them, especially in the climactic scene. The juxtaposition of this with lashings of gore and creepiness means the movie isn’t for everyone, but for those who love all of these aspects put together, you’re in for a treat.
The narrative plays as a series of vignettes, and the biggest fault with Junk Head is that it never really gels. Our hero goes from situation to situation, each one seemingly unrelated to the last. Those who prize narrative logic and meaningful payoffs will be disappointed; I, meanwhile, am not one of those types, so I loved the film. There is so much to rediscover in the invention of its construction that I can’t wait to see it again.
Martin Sandison’s Rating: 8.5/10
Watch the Trailer for the feature film below, followed by the 2014 original short for Junk Head 1:
