REVIEW: Hard Revenge Milly – Bloody Battle (DVD – Cine Asia)

THE MACHINE GIRL, ROBO GEISHA, ICHI THE KILLER, TOKYO GORE POLICE, etc etc etc. It’s little boring now, with each hyper-gory Japanese shock-film aiming to outdo the last, both in terms of onscreen splatter and sheer out-there insanity. There’s only so many times you can see drills come out of someone’s breasts, or a gun come out of someone’s arm – it merely numbs you to something that was once original and more importantly – shocking.

HARD REVENGE MILLY

So Along Came Milly, with her quest for ‘hard’ revenge. She’s been almost killed, and her family slaughtered (which incidentally, is an extreme occurrence which doesn’t sit well with the jokey OTT ludicrousness of the rest of the film), and now she’s on the road in order to extract her vengeance.

She’d obviously been having a girly chat with Rose McGowan – you know what girls are like when they get together, always gossiping about clothes, make-up, shoes, gun-legs etc. What are they like? So equipped with a baffling arsenal of improbable weapons, Milly sets off on her 45 minute adventure to kick some ass. Within the short running time, we’re treated to an opening slaughter, a few horrific (and out-of-place) flashbacks, a bit more slaughter and finally a climactic showdown.

For fans of these ultra-violent action vehicles, HARD REVENGE MILLY won’t disappoint, as all required elements are present, and are particularly well executed despite a small budget. However, for those looking for realism, abandon all hope as this spurting-spectacle is extreme in the utmost. Those that could just about handle KILL BILL aren’t invited to this party, as realism has it’s head blown to smithereens – which in essence, is actually the problem.

For example, at one point Milly comes storming into a building, promptly decapitating a thug – so far, so gory – but then the headless body spins around, and continues aiming and shooting at Milly as she runs around the room. Unfortunately it’s these sort of unrealistic, sensational sequences that feel out of place when compared to some of the more serious, and harrowing instances in the film. It worked in BRAINDEAD for example, but that was because the whole film was completely insane from beginning to end. Still, its juvenile feel will nonetheless fascinate and tickle those that like this sort of thing – and would probably have delighted me, if I hadn’t seen it all before.

Still, it’s remedied to some extent at the conclusion, as we witness the final fight between Milly and some crazy bloke called Jack. The film switches gear slightly and a relatively well-choreographed fist fight can be found in between all the poses and screaming. It’s nothing spectacular but it does its job well enough, and eventually builds to a completely barmy culmination of robotic knives and dissected faces which makes absolutely no sense at all. But remember, it’s meant to be funny and CRAZY – ho ho ho!

HARD REVENGE MILLY: BLOODY BATTLE

Milly’s back again and so are her grue-sprayed shoes – courtesy of even more bloody mayhem and outrageous chaos. This time is a little different though – she’s got a protégé in tow, who is also looking for a bit of hard revenge. The film plays out in much the same way as the first – same running time, same narrative arc, same gun-leg – but manages to improve on its predecessor in a number of ways. Firstly the addition of Haru (her apprentice of sorts) adds a needed character dynamic and fleshes out both roles, but notably Milly’s, which is in stark contrast to the void, faceless vigilante of the first film. The introduction of the double-team also leads to some interesting training sequences and elaborate fight sequences. Which brings us to the next, and most noticeable improvement – the fight choreography.

Whereas HARD REVENGE MILLY’s fight direction had noticeably amateurish elements, BLOODY BATTLE ups the ante in every way and the action sequences are greatly improved through faster, more polished, seamless choreography that lends the film a professional edge that was only glimpsed in the first instalment. Still apart from these developments, BLOODY BATTLE is still very silly and will put off a great deal of viewers looking for serious entertainment.

The Region 2 DVD comes with both films on one disc which is helpful, as they are best watched together as one film – KILL BILL style (only they don’t end up as a 10 hour bore-fest). Special features include two making-of featurettes and a few TV spots and trailers, as well as a showcase of other Cine-Asia releases. The making-ofs are of particular value for those interested in special effects as some of the practical effects on display in both films are rather well done, and seeing how they are done is always fascinating.

Cine Asia brings HARD REVENGE MILLY – BLOODY BATTLE, containing the original HARD REVENGE MILLY and its sequel to DVD in the U.K. April 5, 2010.