There’s something oddly heartwarming (for lack of a better word) when two well-respected artists are mutual and semi-secret fans of one another. Yeah, some of the stories are likely pure bullshit, but I enjoy them all the same. At any rate, the surly and reclusive Trent Reznor — during one of his friendlier phases last March — dropped one of his patented “teaser” tweets:

It turns out that Rez and Japanese cult-film director Shinya Tsukamoto are kindred spirits; and, for over twenty years, the filmmaker had been hoping to collaborate with the crown prince of mainstream industrial music. That day has finally arrived, mates.

First, a bit of background about Tsukamoto, whose 1989 film, Tetsuo: The Iron Man is known as a cyberpunk masterpiece and was followed up with a 1992 sequel, Tetsuo II: Body Hammer. Now, I’ve not seen the sequel, but the original Tetsuo was one of the freakiest things I’ve ever seen. The basic story involves an office drone type who gets hit by a car and (miraculously) survives. Unfortunately, his body slowly begins to turn to steel and wire until he’s quite the deadly machine. There’s also a really nasty scene (VERY graphic screencaps available here) where his penis turns into a drill, which, uh, kills his wife during one last, frantic act of copulation. Hate it when that happens…

Needless to say, that scene would cause some to accuse the director of misogyny, but the entire movie is very much dictated by an experimental and avant-garde style that was inspired by cyberpunk masterpieces like Blade Runner. And overall, the dark, impressionistic style and themes of Tetsuo (as well as its sequel) earned Tsukamoto quite the reputation — sort of a Japanese version of David Cronenberg in terms of the body horror sub-genre — and paved the way for the third movie. However, the latest installment will be an English-language sequel (still set in Tokyo) called Tetsuo: The Bullet Man, which has the same setup for the protagonist’s dilemma but is described as a very different tale that becomes, ultimately, “a Hollywood tale of revenge.”

OH yeah, and Reznor has (temporarily?) resurrected Nine Inch Nails to create some appropriate tunage for the soundtrack. Now, you can listen to “Theme For Tetsuo: The Bullet Man” right here.

Tetsuo Imagery: Shinya Tsukamoto on MySpace