Dead Sushi (2012)

Trying to appease her grandfather, an aspiring sushi chef instead takes a job at a high-class hotel where her attitude about how the preparation differs from her training ends up putting her skills to the test when a curse turns the food against humanity and forces her to save everyone.This emerges as an incredibly fun and goofy splatter comedy. Among the better qualities of this one is the fact that there's plenty of fun to be with how it tackles the extreme concept. This one gets a lot of mileage out of sushi preparation and the extreme lengths people go to in order to make it servable to others which is an incredibly goofy and silly concept in general. Focusing on her exacting processes and martial arts training is where this one really goes overboard with the silliness. That carries over into the central premise in that this one is trying to sell the idea that reanimated sushi are capable of going on a rampage from a curse and eating people alive. This is such a goofy idea that it becomes a plausible storyline here with the series of outlandish antics that continually arise here. That provides the film with plenty of strong action, from the opening attack on the couple that starts the curse to the first attacks on the staff at the hotel where the reanimated pieces begin flying around grabbing everyone, there's a sense of fine cheese on display that continually appears to be featured in other aspects. The action is utterly enjoyable, from the sushi going wild on the corporate guides flying around the room and slicing up their bodies in reckless abandon to the individual battles against the creatures inside the hotel where the voracious creatures attack or manage to get put down temporarily to the later action of the ravenous swarms appearing as a group to launch their attacks by embedding themselves into different parts of the body make for a lot of fun as well as funny, cheesy goodness. Even the kung-fu scenes look good, and with the enhancement of the giant fish-headed creature coming into play in the final half, it has a lot to enjoy about its action overall. Combined with the silliness of the comedy and plenty of fine gory ideas present throughout here, this one has enough to hold it up over it's few minor flaws. The main issue here is the atrocious CGI that propels this one forward which is just utterly abysmal in how it handles the creatures. There's a plethora of scenes here that play off the swarm of sushi-shaped globs floating around in mid-air attacking the people, and it never looks even remotely believable. The creatures come off as laughable blobs that barely interact with their surroundings only for a series of ridiculous streaks of blood-splatter to come flying out of wounds they supposedly inflict on everyone. Some of the humor might not be for everyone, as there's a wide realm of body humor and silly sight-gags that might not be suitable or appealing for all audiences.Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Violence, Nudity, Graphic Language and sexual acts.

Witty, original and a little bit stupid. It doesn't matter how many times I see this film, I love it more and more with every viewing. It challenges every concept of a 'good' movie, instead opting for almost slap-stick style comedy coupled with HEAPS of fake blood and strange ways to die at the hands of infected food, not to mention the crude nature of Japan's take on sex appeal. 10/10, I'd recommend this to anyone and everyone - regardless of your taste you're guaranteed to get a laugh out of this. With the exception of a handful of moderately adult moments (and a female chest), this is definitely a film that every generation can have a chuckle at. If you're a fan of sushi, martial arts, Japanese culture, cheesy comedy or cheap gore, you'll have a new favourite by the end of the night.

I must start out by saying that "Dead Sushi" ("Deddo Sushi") is not a movie that will appeal just to anyone. Why? Well, because this movie is very odd, unique and special, it is extreme to the point where it becomes hilarious and ridiculous. But it works out so well, because this Japanese horror/comedy really is good entertainment and a great laugh.In this movie you will find flying sushi, man-eating sushi, sushi nunchaku, a man-tuna, rice-zombies, and other equally bizarre things. The outrageousness of it all is what makes the movie work out so well. The dialogue is equally outrageous, but funny at the same time.The story in "Dead Sushi" is about a Keiko who flees the hard tutoring of her father in the ways of sushi making and martial arts. She runs away from home and ends up taking a job at an old inn run by a married couple. A group of visitors come to stay at the inn, but they carry a secret with them, and once unleashed, the sushi comes to life to wreck havoc on the humans. This time people becomes the food...This particular genre of comedy/horror movies is unique to Japan, and you either love it or hate it - you either get it or you don't. As with other movies in the similar genre, "Samurai Princess", "RoboGeisha", "Tokyo Gore Police", etc. then you are in for extremities in abundance. If you enjoy this particular genre of movies, then "Dead Sushi" is definitely well worth checking out.And with similar movies, you know what kind of acting you are getting right from the very start. It is not award-winning performances, of course, but still, good enough all-round performances and action.

I have to admit – I am not particularly a fan of outlandish Japanese films. Machine Girl, RoboGeisha… I just don't find them entertaining for anything outside of a quick Youtube clip. Yet, I cannot deny that their cultish popularity. As the audience began amassing inside the theatre for the Toronto After Dark Festival screening of Noboru Igushi's Dead Sushi, the excitement was more palpable than for any other film in the very successful Festival in 2012. Groups of all ages huddled in cliques discussing the wonderful array of colors and absurdity that was about to be presented on screen. And of that, they were well quenched quite satisfyingly.Directed by Noboru Iguchi (the aforementioned Machine Girl and RoboGeisha), Dead Sushi is a not so serious action/horror/comedy about Keikio (Rina Takeda) who runs away from home and takes up residence in a quaint inn renowned for its sushi plates.There a couple of laughs, chuckles and head scratching moments that lead us to a former employee from a Pharmaceutical company who has a serum that turns sushi into human flesh hungry monsters. What happens after the serum is given to the sushi dishes is something that needs to be seen to be un-believed. Sushi zombies (or is it zombie sushi?), flying squid and even thousands of baby sushi that come courtesy of two pieces of sushi engaging in some kind of sexual act are all part of the fun.The audience at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival knew exactly what they were about to revel in and they did so with an unwavering glee. They clapped, cheered and laughed and seemed to be having more fun Frank the Tank at a Kegger. We, well, we were mildly entertained more by the audience reaction than anything else. If the same film was given to us as a screener for home, we are not sure we would have gotten past the first few chapters of the DVD let alone laugh along with the prevailing crowd from credit roll to credit roll.It would be hard for us to recommend this film to anyone that is not already a fan of Noboru Igushi's work. It a packed house, you will surely laugh along with the crowd, but would this be a movie you would pull off the DVD shelf on a rainy day. Maybe. Just not us.www.killerreviews.com