Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack (Takayuki Hirao, 2012)

Based on the work of one of Japan’s most prominent horror manga authors, Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack proves incapable of living up to expectations.

Adapted from Junji Ito’s manga, Gyo tells the story of a modern-day Japan attacked by poisonous fish with mechanical legs, converting the population into organic masses excreting putrid gas, as they make their way inland.

Director Takayuki Hirao hopelessly tries to capture Ito’s pathos and creep and rarely succeeds, a difficult feat for sure. The whole thing feels like it’s working too hard. At moments, Ito’s visceral style bleeds through the thick narrative but those moments are few and far between.

The voice direction is horrendous. The actors never seem to believe the incredible events happening around them, or at least believe that they’re working in a movie worth the effort. The animation quality is laughable; ‘dirty animation’ would have enhanced Ito’s work, but here the animation and CGI actually divert attention from the story.

Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack drifts far from its original source. It is a cheap, unimaginative attempt at embodying Ito’s storytelling in film. And, it just may be one of the worst films of 2012.

More info on IMDB