Nightmare Fuel moments from Shin Kamen Rider.
Unmarked spoilers below.
The film
- The Action Prologue illustrates just how nightmarish SHOCKER is. The very first thing shown on screen (after the film age rating icons rotate in and out of view) are up-close shots of truck tires turning at full speed, directly toward the audience. A few more camera shots in, it's clear that two people on a motorcycle are trying to escape these two trucks side-by-side, with a spider web of all things strung up between said trucks. There's no explanation for why SHOCKER's doing it like this; they're just coming after their quarry, and they will allow nothing to get in their way. It says something that the film saves the identification of the organization for after the end of its first arc.
- The wide shot of the highway during the opening chase, with Hongo and Ruriko driving past two barricading police cars and the Organization's trucks just plowing through them, with no one else present. Without a word of dialogue, the film shows that, against SHOCKER, no one can help you.
- Batta/Grasshopper Augment's (Takeshi Hongo's Aug form) first appearance and following No-Holds-Barred Beatdown shows that, though he later chooses to become the Kamen Rider, he's still one of SHOCKER's Kaijin. Instead of the Kamen Rider theme playing as the grasshopper mutant is shown onscreen, in a shot that is eerily similar to that found in Episode 1, a foreboding Drone of Dread plays instead. He jumps down from the ridge all the way to the ground, then starts attacking the Low-Class Members that are surrounding Ruriko. Immediately, he grabs two of them by their heads and smashes them into the ground, blood spurting everywhere. Batta makes quick work of the mook army, dispatching each one with a single blow.
- Not helped by Kumo Aug's reaction to seeing Batta Aug. It's not an exclamation of "YOU!" that the Man Spider yelled in Episode 1. Instead, Kumo Aug is delighted to see that Batta Aug's "upgrade operation" was for the most part a success, nevermind that he's escaped.
- The reveal of the Body Horror that the protagonist suffers. In the abandoned house, Batta Aug is in a bathroom with a mirror, starring at his reflection.Batta Aug: I hear wind. Why do I hear wind coming from inside of me? [flashes back to his "fight" against the Low-Class Members] Did I kill them? No... My body reacted on its own. I don't get it. I killed those people. So why am I so calm...?!
- Quietly freaked out by how…not freaked-out he is after killing the Low-Class Members earlier, he pulls off one of his gloves to reveal a mutated human hand. The skin on the hand is green with some hexagonal patterns in the palm, his fingers are segmented and spiked at the joints, and the back of his hand is withdrawn that the bones of his hand are showing underneath. Eventually, he opens his helmet in a way that makes it look like the mask is opening its mouth, and he gets a good look at his mutated face (this page's image). Fortunately, he has retained most of his human features, but the obvious wrongness of what has been changed is made more apparent: bulging veins, and eyes with reddened sclerae and red irises.
- What adds to the creepiness of SHOCKER's augmentations here is how the filmmakers achieved this. VFX breakdown videos reveal that Takeshi Hongo's/Batta Aug's mutant features were applied over Sosuke Ikematsu's face and hands, without the use of facial makeup and with Ikematsu wearing a blue glove that was replaced in post. This somehow adds to the uncanniness that both Hongo and the audience feel about his newfound mutant-cyborg nature.
- Befitting the interpretation of "Shin" in the title as "True", the scene pays homage to one of Shotaro Ishinomori's more horror-oriented pieces of artwork for Kamen Rider.
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- How Kumo Aug finds Hongo, Ruriko, and Professor Midorikawa. During the Action Prologue, as Ruriko was scrambling away from the fighting, there was a shot of one of Kumo Aug's spider-shaped drones running up her boot. When another drone appears in the middle of the trio, Ruriko falls to the ground, where a bunch of the drones crawl out of her jacket, presumably knocking her unconscious. Then Kumo Aug drops from the ceiling, grabs the professor, and restrains Hongo against the wall with his webbing.
- Atop Uoguchi Dam, Takeshi Hongo's constant shaking, combined with his inhuman stillness as Batta Aug/Kamen Rider, results in a very subtle Demonic Head Shake effect.
- How this version of SHOCKER was created. In the original TV show, the organization was created by a bunch of former Nazis. In this film, Ruriko reveals that SHOCKER was created in Japan, at the direction of a powerful AI that has determined that to fulfill the organization's goals, happiness for humanity can only come from subjugation. And it did so because the man who oversaw the development and creation of the AI and its agents J and K, an unnamed billionaire, asked the AI to "find happiness for humanity" before taking his own life…leaving the AI to interpret his will in a cold, compassionless manner.
- "I", the AI in question, represented by a black screen of flashing white patterns. Sure, it's basically a room full of computers, but that visual representation of I's digital nature underlines how not human it is—including its purely logical reasoning that led to SHOCKER's current form. In a way, it's much like Arsenal Gear and its artificial intelligence GW: things man was never meant to create.
- The presentation of this exposition is especially effective, Ruriko's monologue being accompanied by the ominous "I.J.K." track, made up of pounding drums, a mournful violin, and chanting. The strange camera angles and rapid-fire editing for the flashback scenes adds to the surreal quality of the sequence, especially when several grotesquely stylized images representing humans in suffering flash across the screen while Ruriko explains SHOCKER's motives.
- All in all, SHOCKER isn't just a Nebulous Criminal Conspiracy. It's also a Cult, offering happiness to those in despair in exchange for their humanity and fanatical loyalty.
- Koumori/Bat Aug. The top biochemistry specialist in SHOCKER, he has engineered a "perfect virus" and plans to spread it across the planet. The virus allows him to kill anyone infected with it at will, at any time.
- He demonstrates it with a bunch of what appears to be clones of Ruriko, complete with her jacket. Koumori has them applaud for an uncomfortably long time before killing them all at once.
- How Sasori/Scorpion Aug dies. At first, it looks like the government forces aren't doing much good against the Mooks' riot shields and Sasori's indulgent killing. But soon, more forces arrive, eliminating Sasori's army. While Sasori looks like she's going to pile up more bodies, we then cut to Tachibana and Taki's truck, where they're impassively watching Sasori being killed. Since the camera is on the government people, the audience can only hear the sadistic Aug being Killed Offscreen.
- Hachi/Wasp Aug. She has taken control of an entire town, turning them into her slaves. As soon as Takeshi and Ruriko are in town, she has a bunch of civilians march behind them, all blank-faced. She later sends them after the heroes, knowing they wouldn't dare do the citizens any harm.
- As soon as Ruriko and Hongo are in town to find Hachi Aug, we watch as the duo are followed by a slowly growing group of townsfolk, making no noise or expression. When the duo stops once Hongo notices them, the people all stop immediately and just...stand there. Then the camera cranes upward to show that the townsfolk all in rows. Good God, is that a creepy sight to behold.
- Later, as Hiromi explains her plans, we see another shot of her enslaved townsfolk, this time in a hexagonal formation, much like a hive.
- Before he ends the battle against Hachi Aug, Kamen Rider screams before he engages his Rider Kick. It's the first time we've ever heard Hongo scream as loudly as that in the film. Fortunately, he's well-aware that his mask is overriding his restraint and instead directs his kick against the building roof before taking it off.Kamen Rider: HACHI AUG! Say your prayers.
- Chou Aug's ability to take people's Prana from them—specifically, the Prana sequence that serve as a person's soul. Not even a squad of special forces stand a chance against an Aug like this, unlike with Sasori Aug.
- Hayato Ichimonji, also known as Batta Aug-02, initially the Evil Doppelgänger to Kamen Rider, is a blood-chilling mirror of what Takeshi could have become if SHOCKER had had its way with his mind. Under the control of the organization, Batta Aug-02 attacks Kamen Rider with intent to destroy him, noting that his target is holding back and exploiting it, eventually leading to the rogue Augment's leg getting broken. If not for Ruriko's intervention, the story would have ended then and there.
- Just the way Batta Aug-02 simply…stands there, observing Kamen Rider's holding back, gives the impression of a robot taking in data.Batta Aug-02: [rough translation] Ho-ho… Even with the mask on, you hold back your fighting with willpower… or, is that your kindness showing? [Kamen Rider doesn't answer] Hmm, I don't hate kind folks. But there's a thin line between kindness and weakness.
- There's also Ichimonji's introduction in the scene immediately following Kumo Aug's defeat, standing in complete silence while Ichiro alludes to developing his own means of combating the rogue Batta Augment.
- The famous "henshin" phrase, a staple of the franchise that was first introduced by Ichimonji himself in the original TV show, is twisted and Played for Horror here instead. A Scare Chord and Drone of Dread kicks in the moment Ichimonji activates his belt and strikes his signature pose, altering what was originally the heroic introduction of the second Kamen Rider into the establishment of a formidable new enemy for Hongo, who knows that he's outmatched without the ability to respire Prana within Ichiro's lair. If Ichimonji hadn't decided to give Hongo a chance to fill up on Prana, the Kamen Rider would have been in big trouble.
- As Kamen Rider is left prone on the ground, leg snapped, Batta Aug-02's slow walk toward him is interrupted by Ruriko stepping into his path. He slows to a halt, telling her to move aside. But Ruriko instead steps up to him and sets her hands on his mask, starting the "pariphalyzation" of SHOCKER's brainwashing over Batta Aug-02. Up to that point, it feels like he could forcibly remove her from his path, despite making absolutely no move to do so. It's almost a relief when the "pariphalyzation" begins, rendering Batta Aug-02 in shock as his brainwashing is broken.
- Just the way Batta Aug-02 simply…stands there, observing Kamen Rider's holding back, gives the impression of a robot taking in data.
- The SHOCKER Riders. They are the logical conclusion of both Hongo and Ichimonji breaking free of SHOCKER: new Batta Augments who have no trace of their humanity or free will. And there are eleven of them waiting for Hongo to show up.
- Hongo is able to yank off one of their masks. Underneath is a mutilated face that is by far the worst example of SHOCKER's human augmentations in the film, with glowing compound eyes that match up with the masks' compound eyes.
- It gets even worse due Rewatch Bonus; one of the documents Tachibana and Taki hand to Ruriko regarding SHOCKER mentions that 11 elementary school children that were on bug hunting were kidnapped and possibly brainwashed by SHOCKER, and the fact that there's exactly 11 SHOCKER Riders gives the grim implication that they used to be those children.
- The Final Battle against Ichirou Midorikawa/Chou Augment-01 sees the Kamen Riders suffer Blood from the Mouth when their opponent deals some nasty blows to them. Since their Rider helmets are still on, blood spurts out from the "mouths" of the masks. On top of Chou no-selling their Double Rider Kick, this shows just how powerful Chou Augment-01 is compared to every other Aug in the film.
