A Reel Retro Review: THE WARPED ONES (1960)

With no new films to review for the foreseeable future, Reel Speak’s new feature, Reel Retro Reviews, will randomly review a classic film from the TCM broadcast schedule every Monday. Not just for the sake of filling time, but to hopefully introduce some classic, overlooked, and perhaps forgotten screen gems to those of us who may be unfamiliar or unawares of their existence. 

The 1950’s Japanese novel Season of the Sun by Shintaro Ishihara gave rise to a reckless and carefree expression of youth which became stylized in films in a sub-genre called taiyo zoku, or Sun Tribe. It was a sub-culture that drew comparisons to the rocker and greaser genres that Hollywood was making movies about, such as REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955). One of the prime examples of film from this sub-genre is Koreyoshi Kurahara’s THE WARPED ONES from 1960. 

Akira (Tamio Kawachi), a criminal and jazz fan, along his prostitute girlfriend Yuki (Yuko Chishiro), are arrested for robbing foreigners in a jazz club when they are pointed out by a reporter (Hiroyuki Nagato). Akira meets Masaru (Eiji Go) in jail, and after release, go out on a crime spree where they encounter the reporter and his fiancée and decide to take revenge. 

The early goings of THE WARPED ONES follow the trio as they take on a life of living free by making life miserable for everyone else. They harass people, steal cars, and mow down anyone in their way. Things get complicated when they encounter the reporter and his wife Fumiko (Noriko Matsumoto). They beat the reporter and kidnap Fumiko…who is then raped by Akira. Things get even more complicated when Fumiko eventually tells Akira that she is carrying his child, and that her secret (the rape), is affecting her relationship with her fiancé…and asks a favor of Akira to help. 

It’s a simple, yet twisted plot that is as immoral as it gets. The film is perfectly named, as Akira is basically a two-legged animal, speaking mostly in grunts and screams and looking to hump every woman he encounters. Akira and his friends are portrayed as hedonists, and there is very little reason to care what happens to them. But beyond that, director Koreyoshi Kurahara is working with larger themes; the film is a prime example of how youth can go wrong when lacking education, role models, and moral codes. 

THE WARPED ONES has a very distinct style that is unique to this day. The shooting and editing is packed with whip-pans, freeze frames, and jump cuts…going from steady shots to hand-held camera which gives the film a highly energetic feel; we can see the influence it may have had on filmmakers with names like Scorsese and Tarantino. The film is also backed with jazz music from start to finish, making the ride enjoyable no matter how repulsive the characters act. While it looks great, the film has an odd way of delivering its dialogue. Despite being in its native Japanese language, all the lines appear to be dubbed in post-production. It’s almost as if they weren’t recording dialogue on-set while filming. It’s not uncommon, but here it’s obvious. 

Acting is very good. Tamio Kawachi as Akira is in every scene, and doesn’t let up at all. Yuko Chishiro matches him well, and Noriko Matsumoto, as the rape victim, also does great work. 

By movie’s end, not much changes with our lead characters…but it does give us a twisted finale that matches the nuttiness of the overall story. THE WARPED ONES isn’t a flattering look at youth, but it’s certainly a statement on what can happen when the adults leave the room. 

BOTTOM LINE: See it. 

*

Reel Facts: THE WARPED ONES was released in 1960, but did not play in America until three years later, and it was retitled THE WEIRD LOVE MAKERS with dubbed American dialogue. The film was followed up by BLACK SUN (1964), which featured the same cast and characters.