Death Tube

Released By: Cinema Epoch
Released On: 10/26/2010
Directed By: Fukuda Youhei
Cast: Shí´ichi Matsuda, Wataru Kaoru, Ishino Atsushi, Tsukamoto Sanae

The Film:

Despite the proverb, it is difficult to not judge a book by its cover. Or a DVD case, for that matter. So, when I found myself staring down at the cover of Death Tube, with the “YouTube” look-a-like logo and the comparison to Saw and Hostel, I was sceptical to say the least. Fortunately, while Death Tube does have a load of similarities to Saw, it has just enough of its own character and originality to make it an enjoyable watch.

The film opens with Inouye, a young man with a wedding in the very near future, on the phone and checking out a website called (you guessed it), DeathTube. Advertised as the “Broadcast Murder Show”, DeathTube features a live decapitation, with online viewer comments scrolling across the screen. Inouye is shocked by the video, and expresses it to be very convincing for a faked death. Not so, says the voice on the other end of the phone, the murders on DeathTube are real, and the site only comes up once in awhile before it disappears again. In the next scene, reminiscent of the Saw films, a man frantically scrambles to solve a puzzle while a clock counts down. Losing interest quickly, Inouye turns back to his wedding invitations and his girlfriend, and misses out on the man's grisly end.

Unfortunately for Inouye, this will not be his last brush with DeathTube. He wakes in a room with a laptop, a Rubik's Cube, a television monitor, and a table full of seemingly unrelated items. Opening the laptop, he sees himself in one of the windows along with a number of other people…with the DeathTube logo on the screen. As they chatter back and forth to one another about the predicament that they're in, all doubts about DeathTube being faked are put to rest when one of the non-believers, refusing to take part in a challenge involving the Rubik's Cube, receives a power drill to the skull. As the splatter from the spray of gore hits the floor, a cartoon bear with a moustache and a tiny fedora pops up onto the screen of the television and explains that the contestants must complete a number of tasks to avoid meeting a similar fate. Fortunately, they'll be able to work cooperatively and use their strengths to complete the challenges.

Despite the liberal borrowing from the Saw franchise, Death Tube stands unique in a few areas. More loyal to the Japanese culture, the eerie character of Jigsaw is replaced by psychopaths in big fluffy bear costumes, giving it the air of an Asian game show. This element adds just enough of a, “What the hell is going on?” atmosphere to keep things interesting. Secondly, the low budget is almost a blessing; you won't find any works of engineering genius by way of the challenges in DeathTube. In the second act of the film, the bear leads the contestants through an obstacle course, in which they must hopscotch, eat a donut off of a string, make their way through the “slippery swamp”, which is a blue plastic sheet covered in water, stack five square building blocks, and then drink a glass of water. The hilarity may be unintentional, but it's there nonetheless. Even a suggested rape scene in which a girl cowers in the corner while a man in a fuzzy bear head mask and a Speedo gyrates suggestively in her direction is enough to bring on the giggles. Joking aside, the characters have a little more depth than your typical horror film, and Fukuda Youhei's direction is fairly solid. These aspects of DeathTube make it easier to overlook the blatant ripoffs of the Saw films, such as “GAME OVER” appearing on the screen when a character is killed off, and the similar score that runs throughout the film.

The major downside to DeathTube is the heavy-handed message that people in the modern world are becoming so desensitized to violence that they will log into a site that features murders, make insensitive comments such as, “Uh oh, Execution time lol!” or, “I'm hungry”, but not bother to report it to the police. As a matter of fact, that point is brought up by the characters in the film time and time again. The hypocrisy of the whole thing is that while it's chastising people for not caring about violence on screen, the low budget and whacky nature of the film have the viewer giggling at wrecking ball decapitations, de-pantsed hula hoop-or-die challenges, and, well, bear head Speedo assaults. Ultimately, though, DeathTube is just a fun film with a take-it-or-leave-it message.

Video/Audio/Extras:

DeathTube is presented in an anamorphic ratio of 1.78:1, and the video is a mixed bag. For the most part, it's clear with minimal artefacts or interlacing, but some of it, such as the web footage, is very hard to decipher. The English subtitles are yellow and fairly legible, however, in scenes with viewer comments running across the screen, the information can get very busy.

The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is more than adequate for this presentation. Clear and concise, the dialogue, effects, and soundtrack are well-balanced.

The Special Features section contains trailers for some other films under the Jolly Roger label, and a still gallery with 14 screen captures from the film.

The Final Word:

For all of its flaws, Death Tube is a fun time with a little arterial spray along the way.