Synopsis
The movie 964 Pinocchio (1991) is a Japanese cyberpunk-horror film directed by Shozin Fukui. The film deals with the theme of brain-modified sex-slaves as well as mental breakdowns in a hallucinogenic thrill-ride. The plot revolves around a memory-wiped sex-slave cyborg named Pinocchio 964 who is thrown out by his owners for failure to maintain an erection. He is discovered by Himiko, a homeless girl, while wandering aimlessly through the city. Himiko has also been memory-wiped, possibly by the same company that “produced” Pinocchio, but she is fully functional. Himiko spends her days drawing maps of the city to aid other memory-wiped people. Himiko takes Pinocchio home and tries to teach him to speak. After much effort, he has a breakthrough and finally becomes aware of his situation. At this point, his body erupts in an inexplicable metamorphosis, and it becomes clear that his modifications were much more involved and esoteric than simple memory loss. Himiko betrays Pinocchio and shackles him to a concrete block. He escapes and runs through the streets as a crowd of terrified onlookers watch. Pinocchio confronts the people who wiped his memory and kills them.
The movie 964 Pinocchio (1991) is a surreal and disturbing film that explores themes of identity, memory, and sexuality in a dystopian future. The film’s hallucinogenic visuals and bizarre narrative make it a challenging watch for some viewers.
Cast
- Haji Suzuki
- Onn-chan
- Kyoko Hara
- Koji Kita
- Kôji Ôtsubo
- Rakumaro San’yûtei
- Kôta Mori
- Tomio Watanabe
- Anri Hayashi
- Kyôko Irohani
- Michiko Harada
- Yûko Fujiwara
- Yoshimitsu Takada
- Naoshi Goda
- Takahiro Hosoya
- Ranko
- Aaron William David Progosh
- John McNair
Trivia
The movie 964 Pinocchio (1991) was created on a low budget using guerrilla-filmmaking techniques, with scenes in Tokyo utilizing real crowds of people rather than professional actors [1]. Both filming and editing took place over the span of six months each [1]. The film was released on DVD in the United States in 2007 by Unearthed Films [3]. It was re-issued on Blu-Ray on February 7th, 2023 [1].
Reviews
A HorrorNews.net review states that “it’s hard to call it a good film. It better to call it a unique film and something different” [2]. A retrospective article by Collider described it as “an uncommon and unparalleled riff on the timeless fairy-tale” [1].
Citations
1: “‘964 Pinocchio’ Remains the Most Distinctive (and Disturbing) Adaptation of the Fairy-Tale Classic”. Collider. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
Cody Meirick on October 27, 2023