Tetsuo the Iron man (1988)

Weird, dark and experimental, that is one of the many ways of describing this film.
In 1988, a young Shinya Tsukamoto quit his job at an advertising company in Japan.
With the wages he earned began accumulating a budget to produce his debut film Tetsuo the Iron man. A little film which would jump start his career, making him the most known name in the underground cinema scene and beyond today.
Shot on grainy black and white as it was cheaper than shooting in colour with the most DIY special effects ever put on screen as well, throw in some harsh noises, creative camera work and you have one of the best cult movies to come out of Japan.

A salary man is thrown into a very sticky situation when he runs down a bloke in his car who has a fetish for inserting pieces of metal into his skin, the next day the salary man starts to discover pieces of scrap growing from his body as he slowly turns into a rust covered robot.
That brief synopsis alone will probably make you think of a ridiculous scenario that can only come from someone who has no idea of good film making or experience, that  the story doesn't  really develop and is definitely influenced  by David Lynch's Eraserhead. BUT however  these things are what gives the film its own true identity and charm, Tsukamoto produced the film on a tiny budget without the luxury of huge spending on special effects or actors, and worked around these restrictions with friends from past projects in his film school years and making special effects with a "do it yourself" attitude.
Tsukamoto plays the fetishist and he  feels very evil, his unpredictable character is creepy especially where he randomly stares with wide eyes.

What makes this film stand out is Tsukamoto's message of how industry was slowly taking over a country that didn't want anything to do with western ways, such as mass manufacturing and the manufacturing of technology. The use of having the salaryman turning into a robot feels like a visual metaphor for this message and is pulled off very well, Tsukamoto would later build themes on in his later works such as Bullet Ballet, Tokyo Fist and Kotoko,

It was released theatrically for Japanese audiences in 1988 and a year later for american audiences, but its popularity was mostly passed around word of mouth through midnight screenings, video rentals and  DVD later on.
Overall the film is bizarre and non linear, but is without a doubt a cult classic in Japanese Cinema.
If you're into films created by David Lynch, David Cronenberg or even the work of Katsuhiro Otomo.
I would recommend this film highly.