88 Films: Detonation! Violent Riders (1975) - Reviewed

Images courtesy of 88 Films

Teruo Ishii was one of Japan’s most prolific provocateurs in terms of pushing the envelope of graphic violence and/or sex onscreen, ranging from the ero-guro (erotic grotesque) to the Tokusatsu serial, dubbed by Japan as its very own ‘The King of Cult’.  While his work was often characterized by outlandishly over-the-top vistas with lush visuals ala Shogun’s Joy of Torture, Orgies of Edo, Inferno of Torture and Horrors of Malformed Men, Ishii’s work spread to other subgenres you wouldn’t think at first glance would be from the iconoclastic provocateur such as the Abashiri Prison trilogy and for a brief period of time a number of Bōsōzoku or biker films.  Stemming from the youth subculture dubbed ‘reckless driving group’ which emerged in the postwar 1950s as a countercultural movement of WWII veterans taking out their adrenaline on building and driving the motor vehicle, it spawned at least three iterations from Ishii including today’s 88 Films limited edition Japanarchy series with 1975’s Detonation! Violent Riders.

 
Iwaki (Koichi Iwaki of Takashi Miike’s Yakuza Demon) is a motorcycle enthusiast and mechanic hoping one day to race in the big leagues before getting swept up in the Bōsōzoku biker gang subculture when he crosses paths with sultry seductress Mayumi (Junko Matsudaira of Bullet Train) the lover of Red Rose Gang leader Mitsuda (Yusuke Natsu of Stray Cat Rock: Beat ’71).  While fending off the anarchist speed demons bent on raising Hell upon the Japanese populace including but not limited to disrupting traffic and evading local law enforcement, Iwaki despite Mayumi’s come-ons sets his sights on innocent pretty girl Michiko (Tomoko Ai of Terror of Mechagodzilla) whenever he can get around her overprotective older brother Tsugami (Sonny Chiba).  However, things are complicated when the nefarious and libidinous Mitsuda redirects his attention towards unassuming Michiko, threatening to drive Iwaki into a maelstrom of retaliatory violence and deadly highway chases.

 
Co-written by Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon screenwriter Isao Matsumoto with breezy dynamic frequently Dutch-angled camerawork by Bullet Train and The Threat cinematographer Yoshikazu Yamazawa that threatens to throw you the viewer off of the motorcyclist’s backseat and an arrestingly punkish score by Everything Goes Wrong composer Keitaro Miho, Detonation! Violent Riders is a bracingly brutal, white-knuckled action-crime shocker that’s both funky cool and viciously abrasive.  Carrying over the director’s trademark carnality and physical injury to the screen including but not limited to graphic nudity, a topless dance party, sexual assault and murder, it is every bit as volatile and electrically charged as anything in the provocateur’s extensive and multifaceted oeuvre.  Offering an unlikely turn from Sonny Chiba in the supporting role of an elder brother looking out for his sister’s best interests, a weathered and layered role for Koichi Iwaki as the film’s conflicted hero and heavy lifting from Tomoko Ai as a good girl on the cusp of being swept into an underworld of biker gang violence.

 
Limited to 4,000 copies with a numbered golden OBI slip, Detonation! Violent Riders comes to blu-ray disc via 88 Films’ Japanarchy sublabel stacked to the gills with extras.  Featuring a newly commissioned original essay by The Movie Sleuth’s very own Michelle Kisner, the deluxe set comes with reversible sleeve art, an audio commentary by Ashley Darrow and Jonathan Greenaway as well as a new video essay by Nathan Stuart, 88 Films’ disc release presented in the scope aspect ratio of 2.35:1 looks and sounds splendid with more than enough additional features to play around with.  Those new to the Bōsōzoku as well as Teruo Ishii’s work are in for a bumpy, knee and hand scraping ride with some rip roaring biker chase sequences that have to be seen to be believed while those more than familiar with the provocateur’s shenanigans will find more than plenty to enjoy here in an altogether different facet of the Japanese crime film.

--Andrew Kotwicki