"Nemesis" A masterpiece of B-grade SF action known only to those in the know! A unique world view created with a “future without a sense of future” and unique action scenes.

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2019.11.29Tetsuya Inagaki

Careful reuse of filming locations from ``Terminator 2: Judgment Day''

Although Nemesis is set in the future in 2027, there are almost no scenes from the future world. Filming locations included sand dunes, a 19th-century prison ruin, an open western set, and a Hawaiian jungle.

Director Pyun has said that the concept is ``Although it is near-future science fiction, the locations that appear are all old-fashioned,'' but to put it simply, this is probably due to budget cuts. In the early 1990s, when CG technology was just beginning to be used, if you wanted to visualize a futuristic design, most of the production costs had to be spent on it. But then you won't be able to take action pictures. Therefore, the strategy was to create a decadent futuristic atmosphere by using open sets and ruins for all the filming locations.

The only sci-fi location is the ruins of the town that appear in the opening gunfight, but this filming location was actually the Kaiser Steel Works, which was used for a futuristic war scene in `` Terminator 2: Judgment Day '' (1991). There was a large amount of debris left behind after being blown up for the filming of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which was reused in Nemesis. This kind of ingenuity regarding filming locations succeeded in giving Nemesis a unique worldview, and it can be said to be a good example of achieving a perfect balance between budget and expression.

In addition, two cameras were used to take quick shots. While filming one scene, another camera is set on standby for the next scene. Once the previous scene had been filmed, the director gave the command to move, and a few minutes later the next scene was being filmed. As a result, the actors were unable to catch up and became confused as to what scene they were performing.

The film also took on the guerilla shooting style unique to low-budget films. Director Pyun had wanted to film at an actual fish market in Los Angeles, but obtaining permits would cost tens of thousands of dollars. Of course I didn't have that kind of money.

``The film crew gathered in the basement bathroom and assembled the disassembled camera equipment on the spot.Then, they communicated via radio from underground and gave cues, and the actors ran through the fish market. After we filmed the actors' performances, we drove away in a waiting car. This was our plan, but the security guards saw through our plan and we were immediately arrested (lol)."

What's more, he suddenly negotiated with an old woman he met on the street to appear in the film, and improvised a very important scene in which she was given a gun and shot and killed a cyborg.

A ``distorted masterpiece'' that emerged after the director was fired

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