We're Going to Eat You

Time for a little game. What is this film? Martial arts slamfest? Cannibalistic horror? Rowdy political satire? Silly slapstick? Why, naturally 1980's We're Going to Eat You (Tokyo Shock) is all of the above. Director Tsui Hark's second feature, it feels as if he was trying to cram in so many ideas - his own as well as whatever the market appeared to want - that the effect is three or four films mashed together and all the dull bits tossed out. The downside, obviously, is that it doesn't always make complete sense but most of us will take fast, sloppy fun like this over tedious coherence any day. There's an island somewhere near Hong Kong (location vague) where local bandit leader Rolex is on the loose but unknown to outsiders the locals are enthusiastic cannibals who disdain chicken with a gourmand's sniff. The government sends mysterious Agent 999 (martial arts star Norman Chu) to take down the bandit but he gets entangled with a trash-talking small-time thief, local bureaucrats, axe-wielding maniacs and of course villagers who have an inordinate interest in him. It doesn't help that nobody really knows where Rolex the bandit is or would even recognize him if he happened to stumble by. Since the film appears to be set around the 1920s or 30s Agent 999 can't just phone or radio for help though he eventually finds it in the oddest places. Tsui Hark isn't an easy person to pin down but you can see some of the same energy and creativity in We're Going to Eat You that marks most of his films. Though from a Chinese family he was born in Vietnam, moved to Hong Kong when a teenager, studied film at the University of Texas, worked briefly in New York television and by the way helped spark a renaissance in modern Chinese cinema. As a director he's created numerous unforgettable films including Once Upon a Time in China (possibly the best martial arts film ever made), the over-the-top fantasy epic Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain, the acrobatic romance Peking Opera Blues, brooding action films like The Blade and Time and Tide, and one of Jackie Chan's better vehicles Twin Dragons. As a producer Tsui co-founded the Film Workshop studio that gave us such masterpieces as A Chinese Ghost Story, A Better Tomorrow and The Killer. But Tsui's earliest, rawest work hasn't been easy to see, such as the quasi-experimental The Butterfly Murders (1979) and the political nihilism driving one of his best films Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind (1980). This gap has been partially remedied by the US DVD release of We're Going to Eat You. Working with seasoned Hong Kong crews and stuntmen (including acclaimed action director Corey Yuen), Tsui doesn't show any hesitation or inexperience when co-ordinating such scenes as Agent 999 fending off nearly 20 hopping cannibals while confined within the walls of an outdoor slaughterhouse. There's also a clever scene where Agent 999 is suspended by his feet and hands between two trees but still manages to overcome attackers who come at him with an assortment of machetes, axes and hooks. Yes, this isn't a film for the squeamish but recent Hollywood horror has been much more graphic and frequently without any trace of wit. Probably harder for viewers unfamiliar with Hong Kong films is the comedy which can be inventive but is often played very broadly and with a shrill tone. Tsui doesn't have a problem switching from an over-the-top female impersonator with amorous intentions to claiming that governments manipulate food supplies to keep its citizens under control. Still, there's nothing heavy-handed in We're Going to Eat You and if you happen to not like one scene don't worry because something else will be along very quickly. The best thing to say about the DVD is that it makes this film available in a crisp and properly letterboxed transfer that also appears to be uncut. Otherwise, though, it looks like the disc was taken from a sub-standard source with a very noticable amount of dust and speckling, several visible splices and even some shots where a change in color tone indicates that these were taken from a separate print. Certainly Hong Kong studios have never been strong on archiving their films properly so this is likely the best Tokyo Shock could get without spending an inordinate amount of money. At least the subtitles are yellow and removable which is a plus as anybody who's struggled with the usual small white subtitles of Hong Kong releases can testify. There are no extras other than some trailers for other Tokyo Shock releases though a short written piece of background on the film would certainly have been a good choice. Nevertheless, this is a welcome release. For more information about We're Going to Eat You, visit Media Blasters (Tokyo Shock). To order We're Going to Eat You, go to TCM Shopping. by Lang Thompson