When you get movies from the bargain bin, usually there’s a good reason why they were there. But sometimes, you find a gem that you might have not paid full price for in the first place. After buying a bunch of shitty zombie movies, I’ve learned to be wary. Since I made him watch a lot of the same movies, my brother has the same trepidation, but picked this one up for me as it was only a dollar and I’m glad he did.
Miku Kamiya (Nana Asakawa) is on her way to the top with her girl group, Tokyo 27-ku. But during a spat with her two other bandmates, a zombie pops out of the elevator (zombies are common in this world) and bites her, starting a 72-hour countdown before she too, becomes one of the living dead. She escapes custody on her way to the mandatory quarantine before euthanization and seeks the help of a down on his luck investigator, Mitsuo Inuda (Shogen). Together, they must try to find a cure that was hinted at in a tabloid magazine before Miku’s 72 hours are up while dodging other zombies and dogged zombie hunters (also a thing in this world), the most deadly of which, Kisaragi (Sana Hoshimori) is hot on their tail.
TOKYO LIVING DEAD IDOL is a breezy and fun romp through the world of zombies and idols. It’s not particularly scary or gory, and most of the blood is CGI, if that is a thing that turns you off. However, they have some good zombie makeup and a few of the designs later on in the film are pretty cool. It is definitely more on the comedy side of comedy-horror and that’s fine by me, as sometimes you’re just looking for a fun way to kill a Friday night with a few laughs.
The film looks good, with some solid cinematography and tracking shots that you wouldn’t expect in what you assume is a cheapo zombie movie. There’s one great shot by some elevated train tracks that I was really impressed with and it helps keep the film visually interesting so your mind doesn’t start to wander. Even more astonishing are the fights, with some great sword and martial arts choreography that makes you feels like you’re watching a bloodier episode of Power Rangers.
Solid acting from the cast, and they are taking the ludicrous premise seriously and giving it their all. It’s nice they got actual members of an idol group to perform as well, so it helps the immersion. The weakest part of it is honestly the story. Good premise but it feels like it is a little too breakneck at times and they jump from scene to scene. Not a deal-breaker, but it is jarring when they are being chased by zombie killer once minute to hanging out the next. I don’t need much, but a scene showing them hiding (as done in a prior scene) or something blocking the zombie hunters from them would help smooth it out. Since it clocks in at 83 minutes and some of that is credits, I don’t think another minute would have killed them.
There might be some confusion about the idol fans and their dancing (wotagei) if you aren’t familiar with that as well, since they don’t explain that, but since said fans are obsessed and weird, it doesn’t lose too much in translation. To be fair, I only know because it was a plot point in an Ultraman Ginga S episode I watched.
A good time overall and I’m glad I finally sat down to watch it. Check it out.
