964 Pinocchio

964 Pinocchio (ピノキオ√964 (ピノキオ [ルート] 964), literal transliteration: Pinokio√964 (Pinokio [Ruuto] (Rū-to) 964), literal translation: Pinocchio√964 (Pinocchio [Root] 964)), released in the United Kingdom as Screams of Blasphemy, is a 1991 Japanese cyberpunk-horror film directed by Shozin Fukui.

It deals with the theme of brain-modified sex-slaves as well as mental breakdowns in a hallucinogenic thrill-ride.

Plot
964 Pinocchio is a memory-wiped sex-slave cyborg who is disposed of by his owners for failure to maintain an erection. It is unclear in what ways he has been modified beyond having no memory and being unable to communicate.

He is discovered by Himiko, a homeless girl, while wandering aimlessly through the city. Himiko has also been memory-wiped, possibly by the same company that "produced" Pinocchio, but she is fully functional. Himiko spends her days drawing maps of the city, to aid other memory-wiped people.

Himiko takes Pinocchio home and tries to teach him to speak. After much effort, he has a breakthrough and finally becomes aware of his situation. Himiko and Pinocchio kiss and become physically intimate, triggering something in both of them. Pinocchio's body erupts in an inexplicable metamorphosis and it becomes clear that his modifications were much more involved and esoteric than simple memory loss. Lots of blood, pus, and vomiting ensues from both. Himiko's memories eventually return.

Himiko pretends to help Pinocchio post-metamorphosis, but betrays Pinocchio and shackles him to a concrete block. He escapes and runs through the streets as a crowd of terrified onlookers watch. Himiko teams up with Pinnochio's developers to attempt to kill him to put an end to his destructive reign. However, Pinocchio eventually confronts them and kills the head director of the project by disembowelment. Himiko later demands Pinocchio's death, and commands him to "tear off your face", but she instead tears off her own face and reveals her true cybernetic head to Pinocchio. In a blind rage, Pinocchio attacks her and removes her head and attaches it onto his own body. The film concludes as Pinocchio is free from his prolonged agony and the two are hybridized as one.

Production
964 Pinnochio was created on a low-budget using guerrilla-filmmaking techniques, with scenes in Tokyo utilizing real crowds of people rather than professional actors. The team had to get permits for most of the scenes filmed on the streets.

The actress who played Himiko was initially just a crew member until she was cast a week before filming started. She is credited in the movie as Onn-chan, which was a pseudonym created for the film. 964 Pinocchio was the only movie she ever acted in. Due to the limited budget, some improvisations had to be made during filming. Director Shozin Fukui stated in a 2007 interview which was included as a bonus feature in the DVD release of the film that they used an old wheelchair as a makeshift dolly. Both filming and editing took place over the span of 6 months each.

Fukui cited Blade Runner as a big influence for his work.

Release
Unearthed Films released the film on DVD in the United States in 2007.

The film was released in a single edition DVD and in the Cyberpunk Collection alongside Fukui's Rubber's Lover.

964 Pinocchio was re-issued on Blu-Ray on February 7, 2023.

Reception
A HorrorNews.net review states that "its hard to call it a good film. It better to call it a unique film and something different".

A 2022 retrospective article by Collider described it as "an uncommon and unparalleled riff on the timeless fairy-tale".