By Karolina Gruschka
Released within just over a month of each other earlier this year in Japan, Attack on Titan Parts 1 and 2 are based on a popular Manga and Anime series of the same title. Originally unaware of this (I never have developed a thorough appetite for drawn formats of story telling), I entered the screening at Abertoir Horror Film Festival 2015 without any former knowledge or expectations. Consequently, I am writing this review without referring to the source material and instead, discussing Attack on Titan as a stand-alone.
For over 100 years people have been living in peace behind three massive consecutive walls, constructed to keep out humanity’s common enemy, Titans: colossal humanoid beings that mangle (and perform Ozzy’s ‘bat trick’ on) whoever they get their hands on. The story centres around three close friends – rebellious Eren, kind-hearted Armin and reserved Mikasa – who live in the rural and peripheral area of the haven. One sunny afternoon, whilst contemplating what the world is like behind the great wall, the three teens witness up-close how their supposedly safe sanctuary transforms into a cage trap as a hyper-gargantuan Titan breaks through the outer wall, paving the way for more Titans to invade the outer lands and massacre its inhabitants. With no choice other than to abandon the farmland and retreat behind the commercial wall, a state of emergency is declared and government-led scout troops formed with the mission to re-seal the wall as resources are running low. Two years and several calamitous missions later, it is the turn of our protagonists to sign up for service. Equipped with the last remainder of explosives they are part of a small group of rookies that bear the heavy burden of being humanity’s last hope….
The first film is essentially a gory and action packed kaiju, directed by tokusatsu specialist Shinji Higuchi, whereas the Second part unravels the philosophical concepts and dark truths behind the world our protagonists are existing in; or as my friend Todd would say “Kill Bill vs. Talk Bill”. The moment the Titans break through the wall and start attacking people is awe-inspiring and should ideally be watched on a big screen to intensify the effect (We watched it on a massive canvas in a theatre auditorium!). I do not get easily scared, but there was something very disconcerting about the Titans that had me on the edge of the seat. I believe it is the melange of the highly familiar – they basically look like human beings – with the abnormal (magnified, no reproductive organs, without conscience, regenerative) and threatening body (naked, repulsive, brute) that generates this uncanny, abject aesthetic.
For the plain reason that Attack on Titan part 1 offers plenty of gory scenes involving those creatures, I did prefer it originally to part 2. Yet having rewatched both parts in a commercial cinema more recently, my opinion was flipped by 180 degrees, maybe due to the physical context (horror film festival vs mainstream cinema) or the fact that the initial WOW factor had settled a little to make room for a less superficial appreciation. In particular, it is part 2 which reveals interesting concepts such as class division, the surpression of free thought and advancement, megalomaniacal governments and their manipulative propaganda, mass panic, living vs surviving, utopia, you are what you eat, the dark and lonely path of revenge, revolt and terrorism. Sometimes the reiteration of bigger ideas in films can seem a bit patronizing, but in the case of Attack on Titan I found it rather engaging.
There is, however, not only maim and destruction; Attack on Titan has also some moments of comic relief through characters such as the weaponry obsessed Hange and constantly hungry Sasha (I could so identify with her).
I gave Attack on Titan a full rating and overall the films had a high attendance and scored 4.27 out of 5 at the Abertoir Horror Film Festival 2015. Go and watch it on the big screen while you still can!