Dead Sushi

Released by: Millennium Entertainment
Released on: 1/22/2013
Director: Noboru Iguchi
Cast: Rina Takeda, Shigeru Matsuzaki, Kentarí´ Shimazu
Year: 2012
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The Movie:
A pretty young woman, Keiko (Rina Takeda) is mentoring under her father as a sushi chef, an art form that takes years to master. Her father is the best there is, but he's a real hard ass on her mainly because she's not male. Fed up, she runs away and ends up working at an inn, a place with a reputation for the best sushi around. She doesn't fit in there at all, and befriends a kindly old gardener who tells her she has amazing hands. Hands that need to be taken care of and protected. Meanwhile, a young couple getting down to business is surprised by the watchful eye of a homeless guy outside the inn, eating sushi he found on the trash. The boy kicks the snot out of the homeless guy for peeping, but when the sushi is knocked to the ground and thus “disrespected”, the homeless guy responds in kind.

Also meanwhile, group of obnoxious business people show up at the inn for some food and entertainment at the hands of Keiko's new bosses and their sushi master. They seem to think they know sushi and say this place is the best, but Keiko knows better. Her father can sushi the ass off the guy these folks are raving about. Hey, what's the homeless guy doing in the inn? He reveals himself to be more than just a sushi-eating bum, and as a result the sushi comes to life and starts to kill people. Little bundles of rice with a slice of fish sprout fangs and fly around in flocks, devouring flesh like piranhas. They also make squeaky noises too. One of the sushi, made of egg, is teased and bullied by the fish sushi. The little outcast egg sushi befriends the little outcast Keiko, helping her do battle with the carnivorous food and evil business people. And adding to the pool of help, the heroine gains the aid of her gardener friend, who makes it known he's more than just some old gardener.

Silly and stupid from the start, Dead Sushi maintains a high level of hijinks throughout it's playing time, seemingly paying homage to little killer creature features like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and Critters. It totally surrenders to movie cliches and seems to wear that with honor. To say it isn't entertaining isn't fair, because it is entertaining. There's more than enough of violence, plenty of good looking women, and some solid martial arts. There's humor of course, as there has to be with a movie about killer sushi. A lot of the humor falls flat (maybe in translation?), but there's some good physical comedy that comes through just fine. Despite these things it has going for it, the one big kick to the groin it suffers is the stupid man-eating sushi concept. It's so asinine and ridiculous that it becomes a distraction rather than an attraction. Maybe it's a cultural thing being missed by this viewer, but it made the movie far less entertaining than it had the potential to be.

It's tough to say “avoid it”, but also tough to say “recommended”. It's neither. It's something maybe to check out some night when nothing is on, but certainly not something to remotely go out of the way to see.

Video/Audio/Extras:
The disc looks average for a DVD showing something shot digitally. Nice colors, satisfying detail, and black levels that look pretty deep. Skin tones look correct and the image comes across quite clean. It probably looks pretty sweet on Blu-ray. For audio, there's a choice of Japanese 5.1 and English 5.1, with optional English subtitles. There's nothing noteworthy or spectacular about the audio. It sound great, has a seemingly proper balance, and everything appears in order. The rear speakers get some play, but not a whole lot.

Extras-wise there's some stuff to check out. There's an 11-minute “making of” featurette, the trailer for the movie, and an interview with the director and star from the Fantasia Film Festival lasting about 2 and-a-half minutes. Next is “World Premiere Stage Greeting”, also from Fantasia, lasts about 11 minutes and is exactly what it sounds like. Aside from the director and the star talking about the movie, Keiko also gives a kicking demonstration. And lastly is “Dead Sushi Extreme Sushi Eating Contest” is available if you want to watch people eat for 13 minutes. There're better things to do with life, but if that turns you on, give it a play.

The Final Word:
For someone not into the genre of intentionally silly movies, this one may be a bit of a chore. But for some one who likes off-the-wall foolishness, this will probably fit the bill. If you fall into the latter group, and enjoy the offerings from the director of Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead, this seems a good value for the buck.