Review of Helldriver (2010) by Dean M — 07 Mar 2013

Japanese Splatterhouse director Yoshihiro Nishimura defies you to find a plot in his newest gross-out, HELLDRIVER. An asteroid comes barreling to Earth and crash-lands into Kika's abusive mother, unleashing a deadly virus that turns half of Japan into zombies and sends Kika spiraling into a coma.

When she awakens, she has been fitted with cybergenic enhancements and a chainsword which she must use to destroy the growing legions of the undead before they overrun the living! Though not without its share of unbelievable, jaw-dropping moments of zombie gore, HELLDRIVER quickly proves to be another painfully stupid example of the modern J-Horror trend, where quantity always precedes quality when it comes to exploitation.

Looking for nothing more than to sicken and offend, Nishimura often exceeds his goals once again, packing everything from Zombie Hitler to zombie babies into the film's exhausting runtime. The comic gore just has so little impact when it is taken to such extreme lengths, but then, Nishimura plays to a very specific audience.

In spite of all the random on-screen insanity, we do find a glimmer of hope. HELLDRIVER addresses population concerns, disease control, human rights, and the growing drug problem in digestible terms through this undead allegory.

HELLDRIVER will certainly find its place amongst fans of TOKYO GORE POLICE, ROBOGEISHA, and the like, though mainstream audiences should tread lightly.