Ork (2022)

directed by Shoma Muto

Japan

45 minutes

4 stars out of 5

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I found out about this short film and immediately decided to watch it, influenced partly by the "limited time only" disclaimer in the film's official YouTube release (here, but it may be taken down by the time you're reading this). Ork is a brand-spanking-new crowdfunded tokusatsu short shot entirely on an iPhone with what sounds like a real revolving-door crew. I mention this because in an interview with the crew, the role of director seems very de-emphasized (there is no mention of Shoma Muto in the description box on YouTube*), and instead the interviewer is speaking to the crew as a whole. They're not sure how many of them there were, "at least thirty" is the number whoever is being interviewed gives, but some people apparently only worked on a few things and then left. This style of filmmaking is really, really interesting to me and I like the idea of a film being worked on as more of a casual collaboration rather than rigidly conforming to studio conventions. I would love to see what this crew does in the future. Above everything you can definitely sense the love they have for what they made.

Unfortunately the English subtitles were somewhat lacking (it seems like subtitling was done very quickly) so I had a bit of trouble following the story. I will probably be talking more about design choices and filming techniques than the plot. There are two central characters, one a lecturer at a university and the other a student of his, who gain the ability, through stones with strange powers, to transform into Ork and Gum. I can't really describe what exactly Ork and Gum are, because in the way of most tokusatsu creatures and henshin heroes, they're wholly original beings that don't look like anything else. There is a theme of trying to change the future and also trying to change the past as well; one of the characters is hell-bent on bringing back his deceased wife and the other is using his newfound power to transform into Ork to fight against a future he was shown in which Gum kills his childhood friend.

All the stuff that makes a really great tokusatsu experience is here: Good suits, really good choreography, and a strong story-to-action balance. What this feels like is the pilot episode of something. It felt like we were being introduced to characters whose abilities we would eventually get to see used in other battles. The transformations and Ork and Gum's powers are really matter-of-fact, which is something I liked a lot. The whole thing is set in extremely dreary, mundane urban environments - courtyards outside buildings where it looks like it just rained, random woods, rooftops, just these incongruous locations that create a very visually striking effect when combined with the slightly whimsical design of the two fighters. The fact that Ork and Gum's design is not over-the-top is also crucial here. I love how their costumes are simple but also fantastical at the same time. There's a perfect level of fantasy mixed in with reality throughout this whole film - not just with the two main characters, but also with their various attacks and the witch/her familiar who controls the stones. It doesn't feel jarring against the background of everyday city life. It gives you that clandestine, exciting feeling like you've stepped just a little to the left of reality and found something hidden and new. 

All in all this is just a really great tokusatsu film. I have a review of The Great Buddha Arrival that I may or may not ever post publicly where I talk a little bit about how exciting it is to see new tokusatsu being made, because the genre is aging and the fact that people are still incredibly invested in it is very heartening. Ork is what I mean when I say things like that. I almost put this in with the next Indie Kaiju Roundup post I'm planning, but decided that in spite of its short running time, it deserves its own post. Forgive me if I've gotten any facts wrong about it too, here; I can't find much information on it in English.

*edit: I've just found out Shoma Muto is responsible for the designs of the Trigger Dark Giants in Ultraman Trigger, as well as some storyboarding for more recent Kamen Rider, so that is very neat!