Fantastic Fest 2011

This micro-budget movie from Korean filmmaker Oh Young-doo (THE NEIGHBOR ZOMBIE) is a brilliant journey into the bizarre. A martial arts romp, the film’s got everything we look for in an Asian cinema: beautiful girls in states of undress, aliens, sweet ‘70s-style mustaches, killer body parts, sperm demands, etc.

The whole film, shot with a budget under $5,000, has all of the excitement and freshness and young passion of a film like THE EVIL DEAD; it was made by a bunch of kids who clearly spent their youth perfecting elaborate martial art stunts, in much the same way that people like Raimi grew up concocting fake blood recipes. Every frame of this film is steeped in the kind of deep love of genre film that can only come from fanaticism. These kids are good and they know their stuff.

The budgetary limitations are often played as camp, as is the case with the hero’s vigilante disguise; he wears a cheap, totally artificial mustache that is constantly peeling off. This only helps Oh Young-doo and Co. in their reverent send-up of genre; from the imperfections and self-referential moments come a very clear message that these filmmakers are having fun, a quality that all too few films are able (and are brave enough) to portray. In that same spirit of play, they manipulate the images, fool with the editing, and do all sorts of other mischievous filmmaking tricks to keep it moving and light.

INVASION OF ALIEN BIKINI also features what is undoubtedly the first ever romance scene to take place over a game of Jenga. If you’ve ever been turned on by your partner slipping out the middle block with a seductive index finger, you’ll completely understand this movie’s most tender and yet most uncomfortable moment. (Daniel Metz)