You won't believe how bad it is til you see it
I'd read the other peoples reviews. I thought the ones who didn't like this film just missed the point of what it was all about. I mean, I LOVE the "cyber-punk" films. Rubbers Lover is so so delicious, Tetsuo the iron man, was one great image after another, and even Pinnochio 964 while not quite as good as the other two, still had enough of that special "something" to make it a favorite. I always wondered why Body Hammer never had that special, hyphenated slogan, "Cyber-Punk Collection" printed across the top of it's dvd case like the others. I figured by the time Tetsuo 2 had come out there were just too many cyber-punk titles out for this to be in the same group as the "classics".

There was something fishy about this film, but i couldn't put my finger on it. All the arrows pointed to "s**t sandwich", but i couldn't seem to resist the urge to try it for myself and ignore all the others who tried to steer me clear of this absolutly terrible movie- Those people only "think" they know what makes a movie good, i thought. They're just like my sister/best friend/co-worker/pet dog who i lent Iron Man to and couldn't understand the brilliance of that incredible film. I thought Tetsuo The Iron Man was like "a symphony on celluloid". I thought because i could think of such a fancy group of words like "a symphony on celluloid" to describe the first Tetsuo, that there was no way i couldn't enjoy the second one. I thought that guy who said the music sounded like it was from some old 80's videogame was just some jerk who wasn't giving credit where credit was due...

I decided that i had made the decision to buy the first Tetuo on my own- despite a few bad reviews and I'd be damned before i'd listen to some unappreciative people who didn't know a thing about what makes a movie great, stop me from purchasing enjoying this film.

But if your like me, you made your mind up as soon as you found out there was a second Tetsuo, and no matter what anyone else said or wrote, you were going to have to see it for yourself... Well, go ahead and buy it, you're going to have to shell out some greenbacks if you want to see something as bad as this. You know it's kind of like that unfaithful girl who you asked out and thought would be faithful, just to find out she was cheating on you; only difference is, with this film it doesnt take so long to figure out that everyone else was right.

Body Hammer is pure genius
dont listen to the rest of these reviews by people too "alternative" to like the sequel. tetsuo II: body hammer is brilliant. the soundtrack is also incredible.

Delirious sequel to Tetsuo
I don't understand people saying Tetsuo II is a letdown after the original. The original is great, a masterwork to be sure, but I think the sequel is nearly on par with it. Clearly, Tsukamoto started working in a different direction with the sequel. It's not even really a sequel in the traditional sense so much as it vaguely echoes certain themes of the original (edification and deliverance through body modification, liberation through pain - all the stuff Tsukamoto loves).

I think people may feel it doesn't match up to the original because it has such a strong emphasis on flashy editing techniques, as opposed to the flesh/steel zoomorphic collision, something Tsukamoto sometimes gets a little carried away with ("Bullet Ballet" being the extreme example of this) however, there isn't anyone who manipulates film in the same way. This guy is a true genius of the cinema. A total original. No one works in the same general ballpark as him.

The basic plot is fairly thin and vague (another recurring Tsukamoto issue), it involves a mother and father whose son is kidnapped by a bunch of grotesque bodybuilding skinheads. The plot is incidental. With Tsukamoto you simply put the movie in and hold on, letting it wash over you. Not everything makes sense logically, but emotionally it rings true.

Anyway, I loved this as I love all of this guy's films. He is one of the greats and (selfish as I am) I hope he is never DISCOVERED by all the little fanboys, as Takashi Miike was. When directors get discovered their work seems to spin off and become diluted (not that Miike has become totally diluted, but you know what I mean)

Not As Inventive As The First Film, Still Very Fun
Ok, you've heard right, this sequel is not as totally insane as what you will find in the original film. However that doesn't mean that Body Hammer is a total waste of time. It's actually fun, energetic, wacky, subversive like the first but now we have more of a storyline to go along with the visual bravada. I was laughing out loud at some of the action scenes as they were filmed with a truly demented sense of humor.

Perhaps the director recycles too much of the original Tetsuo but this sequel might seem more palatable to a person who is not likely to respond to the avant-garde style of filmmaking exhibited in the first movie. Not to worry though as Body Hammer is in many ways just as crazy and bizzare.

The director, Tsukamoto, here uses color as opposed to black and white in the original and even though this adds it's own twisted element to the work, the color is too faded and the film looks quite grainy to be truly effective.

Body Hammer reminds you even more of a pumped-up anime than the first film which looked more like an underground film project. Regardless, if you're a Tetsuo fan, you simply have to see Tetsuo 2: Body Hammer, the metal mania just wouldn't be complete without it!

Not The Ironman, but worth seeing anyway.
Tetsuo II: Bodyhammer (Shinya Tsukamoto, 1992)

After the weirdness that is Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Tsukamoto returned four years later with its followup, Bodyhammer. But looking at it as a sequel makes no sense, and it's not really a remake. What it really is is left up to you to decide, because I have no idea.

Manga Entertainment's website says Tetuso II is Tsukamoto's answer to Bladerunner and Aliens, but it looks more to me like Tsukamoto's answer to Videodrome (this won't surprise anyone who's seen the original film, or Akira, the end of which these films are a loose continuance). While the original film had no plot whatsoever, this one does. Taniguchi (Tomorowo Taguchi, reprising his role as the Iron Man) and his girlfriend/wife/whatever Kana (Nobu Kanaoka, the woman who "turned" the Iron Man in the original's unforgettable chase scene) have a son, Minori (Keinosuke Tomioka). Minori is, for no reason we can discern at the beginning, kidnapped by a gang of skinheads. He's not really the kind to go in, blow stuff up, and get his kid back; he's really your basic 98-pound weakling. That is, until he discovers new meanings of the term "body modification."

While Bodyhammer is a live action flick, it does seem to have more in common with Akira than did its predecessor, especially during Taniguchi's change scenes; it's as if Tsukamoto spent the four years between films studying Akira so he could frame the shots better. There's also an extremely odd soundtrack, much of which sounds lifted from Tsukamoto's short "Drumstruck" and overlaid with a videogame theme song. (Why this was never turned into videogame is beyond me; you'd think Konami would jump at the idea.) Tsukamoto's direction, editing, and cinematography here is more professional than it is in The Iron Man, but it's still got that feel of being shot with a Super 8 by a couple of high school students. (I rush to say this is not a bad thing.)

There really is no basis of comparison between the two Tetsuo films. Each is equally warped, in its own way, and both are compelling viewing for the discerning gorehound. See both, if you can. *** ½