Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Mutant Girls Squad Blu-ray Movie Review

Kill Bill. Then kill everyone else.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 18, 2012

Have you ever wondered what might happen if Quentin Tarantino decided to make something along the lines of an X-Men movie, only with women and transformed through the blood soaked lens of a Japanese splatter film? Well, wonder no more. Mutant Girls Squad is here in all its gory glory, reveling in the sort of ridiculously hyperbolic action that has made this genre a solid favorite amongst those who can’t help but laugh at the sight of severed limbs, bifurcated skulls and lots and lots (and lots) of blood spewing forth from hacked arteries, almost always squirting over the camera’s point of view and eventually drenching the proceedings in red gooey slime. This is the sort of “film” (probably a way too high-falutin’ term for a project like this) where the three lead actresses are introduced in the credits sequence as they decimate various bad guys, with a variety of dicing and slicing that leaves heads cut in two, hands removed from their attendant arms, and, again, lots and lots (and lots) of blood spewing forth, enveloping the camera lens but at least providing a nice solid color backdrop for the names of the actresses. This kind of fare is not for the faint of heart nor for those with squeamish stomachs or sensitive sensibilities, but for those with a certain kind of sense of humor (and you know who you are), Mutant Girls Squad is a ridiculously silly piece of blood soaked entertainment that features some of the most bizarre sights imaginable, including such never to be forgotten moments as one girl “farting” a chainsaw out of her derriere and another displaying swords that erupt from her bosom’s nipples. If you’re not laughing at those descriptions, chances are Mutant Girls Squad is definitely not going to be your cup of tea. If, on the other hand, you’re at least moderately intrigued, you may in fact end up having a surprisingly good time watching the insane shenanigans of this movie.

The main character of Mutant Girls Squad is sweet natured about to be 16 year old Rin (Yumi Sugimoto), a shy, introspective lass who is unfortunately the object of some pretty bad teasing at her all girls’ school. Rin has been experiencing some unusual arm pain as the film gets underway, and there some none too subtle hinting that her weirdly happy parents know what’s going on, but aren’t quite ready to tell her. After a day of horrible teasing at school ends with Rin being knocked unconscious, she awakens in a weird lab room, strapped to a bed and about to be anesthetized by one of those doctors who only shows up in movies like this: she’s gorgeous but evil looking, in stiletto heels and with killer legs she crosses provocatively as she prepares the syringe. Suddenly Rin is overcome by immense increased strength and is able to easily break the bonds that are holding her captive (slicing off the doctor’s ear in the process, just for extra blood quotient).

Rin next shows up at her home, where her parents are there at the ready with a birthday cake to surprise their daughter on her sixteenth birthday. They also have another little surprise up their sleeves (or under their shirts, as the case may be): they reveal to Rin that they are both mutants, and I won’t spoil what they show to the poor girl to prove their point. Let’s just say that if you ever had a nightmare where Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors mated with one of your breasts (or even with some of your privates), you will be prepared for the outrageous sights you’ll get to behold in this sequence. Almost before Rin can react to the news that her impending arm pain is obviously the onset of her own mutant transformation, the family is burst in on by a coterie of manic police state types, all firing machine guns willy-nilly and trying to decimate Rin and her parents.

Rin’s trials don’t end there, of course. She escapes the death and destruction of her home environment only to wreak havoc on a shopping region, where a troll like shopping mall impresario (evidently female, but sounding male) insists that her henchmen capture Rin so that she can be killed, skinned and stuffed as a display to attract customers. That sets Rin off on a killing spree herself, aided and abetted by her new “Wolverine”-esque hand, which is able to cut through just about everything with which it comes into contact. Finally after that hyperbolic sequence Rin meets a bunch of other mutants who are mentored by a cross dressing samurai named Kisaragi (Mutant Girls’ co-director Tak Sakaguchi). Kisaragi is helping train this small assemblage of mutant girls in an attempt to seek revenge on the human species, which is just as intent on ridding the world of the mutant scourge.

Kisaragi’s plans reveal him to be something of a megalomaniac, although some of Rin’s mutant girlfriends, including Rei (Yuko Takayama) and Yoshie (Suzuka Morita) don’t seem to mind, at least not initially, and happily go about decimating humans right and left at Kisaragi’s nefarious command. Rin starts to question the wisdom of killing innocent humans, and that sets up the final act of Mutant Girls Squad, where Kisaragi and his minions square off against Rin and the mutants she has recruited to the kinder, gentler side of limb removal. Mutant Girls Squad delivers everything fans of this weird little genre have come to expect, and for those tuned into the movie’s very real comic sensibilities, there actually is a fair degree of fun to be had here. But just like some people find Tarantino too arch for his own good, those same sorts will probably watch Mutant Girls Squad either with disbelief or outright disgust. That old adage goes “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, but perhaps “splatter” is an even more individually appreciated thing to behold, so to speak, and how you feel about copious amounts of body parts flying around the screen with trails of blood in their wake will probably make up a large amount of how you end up reacting to Mutant Girls Squad.

Mutant Girls Squad Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mutant Girls Squad is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Though the credits don't provide any technical information and online data is pretty sketchy on this release, this certainly has the look of having been shot digitally on HD video (if any of our extremely knowledgeable readers knows, please pass the info on to me and I can update the review). As a result, this has the shiny smooth surface look of digital video, without much texture or depth, but with often amazing clarity. A lot of the film has been tweaked in post with weird filtering, so several sequences are drenched in yellow or blue, and as a result fine object detail all but disappears. In segments with more normal lighting and/or filtering (normal being a decidedly relative term in an outing like Mutant Girls Squad), fine detail actually pops quite vividly. Contrast has also been pushed in several sequences, giving objects an effulgent glow and again robbing the image of at least a little fine detail. Black levels are generally consistent, though in a couple of sequences they're on the milky side, perhaps because of tweaking in post. Generally, this is a sharp (if very smooth) looking presentation that offers some extremely vivid colors (especially with regard to the omnipresent reds) and excellent sharpness and clarity.

Mutant Girls Squad Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mutant Girls Squad's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix (in the original Japanese) is about as over the top as the film itself. Immersion is consistent and overwhelming at times, with huge bursts of LFE and blasts of crazy sound effects erupting from the surround channels. The overall mix here is very busy at times and is further bolstered by a thumping J-pop score that is very impressive on the low end. Dialogue is cleanly and clearly presented, and is occasionally nicely directional, but it's the crazy quilt of sound effects that really makes this soundtrack so much fun to listen to. For the record, there is also a standard Dolby Digital 2.0 mix included, and it's really rather surprisingly boisterous itself, with some really good low end.

Mutant Girls Squad Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Opening Day (1080i 28:25) captures the festivities at the film's premiere at the Theater N in Shibuya, Tokyo on May 22, 2010, as well as a same day gala held at the Cinema Rosa in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. There's also a small segment from May 25, 2010 at the Theater N in Shibuya, Tokyo as well.


• Interviews include Yumi Sumigoto (1080i; 4:06), Yuko Takayama (1080i; 2:49), Suzuka Morita (1080i; 2:50) and Directors Tak Sakaguchi (1080i; 3:14), Noburo Iguchi (1080i; 7:16) and Yoshiro Nishimura (1080i; 6:27).


• Making Of (1080i; 29:01) starts out in February 2010, showing the film being shot and then proceeds through the requisite interview and film clip segments.


• Spin Off Short "Yoshie Zero" (HD; 16:49) features Kisaragi explaining various elements about the film.

Mutant Girls Squad Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm not a particularly rabid fan of this genre, but I have to admit I laughed myself silly throughout Mutant Girls Squad. How can you not love the sight of a bad guy's head being split in half, revealing the two hemispheres of his brain pulsating slightly in the twilight, as huge amounts of blood spurt everywhere? Well, okay, some of you probably will be quite capable of not loving sights like that, but for those with perhaps slightly skewed senses of humor, this film (yep, I'll even use that term) is a lot of fun, albeit crazy, uninhibited fun full of absolute carnage. Despite the fact that the film was divided into three chapters shot by each of its co-directors, there's a certain manic consistency to the proceedings here. This Blu-ray offers nice (if bloody) looking video, great audio and some decent supplements. Recommended.