“Rise of the Machine Girls” is a dystopian action film set in the year 20XX and directed by Noboru Iguchi and Yūya Nakaizumi. The film tells the story of two schoolgirls, Ami and Maki, whose lives take a dramatic turn when they are drawn into a brutal gang war. After Ami’s sister is killed by the feared motorbike gang “The Machine Girls”, Ami and Maki decide to take revenge and join the Machine Girls.
“Rise of the Machine Girls” is known for its crazy ideas and bloody violence. The film plays with the genres of action film, science fiction and exploitation cinema. It often crosses the boundaries of good taste and offers the viewer a mixture of absurd characters, exaggerated scenes of violence and surreal elements.
One of the film’s mad ideas is the depiction of the machine girls themselves. These are artificial creatures, half human and half machine, with superhuman abilities and weapons that they can shoot out of their bodies. They are a mixture of cyborgs and superheroines who know no mercy in their mania for destruction. Their brutal actions are often enhanced by bloody splatter effects that leave the viewer with a mixture of revulsion and fascination.
Another element of the film is the portrayal of violence as an outlet for the oppressed. Ami and Maki become symbols of resistance against the ruling powers and use their physical and technological abilities to take revenge. In the process, violence is not glorified, but presented as a reaction to the injustice of society. The film questions whether violence can be a legitimate means of resistance and how far one may go to achieve one’s goals.
