Matango (1963)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Takeshi Kimura (screenplay)
Shinichi Hoshi (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

11 August 1963 (Japan)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Shipwrecked survivors slowly transform into mushrooms.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Mushroom | Yacht | Radiation | Author

Cast

Akira Kubo	...	Kenji Murai - Professor
Kumi Mizuno	...	Mami Sekiguchi - Singer
Hiroshi Koizumi	...	Naoyuki Sakuta - Skipper
Kenji Sahara	...	Senzô Koyama - Sailor
Hiroshi Tachikawa	...	Etsurô Yoshida - Writer
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Masafumi Kasai - Owner
Miki Yashiro	...	Akiko Sôma - Murai's Lover
Eisei Amamoto	...	Skulking Transitional Matango
Takuzo Kumagaya	...	Doctor (as Jirô Kumagai)
Akio Kusama	...	Police Personnel
Yutaka Oka	...	Doctor
Keisuke Yamada	...	Doctor
Kazuo Higata	...	Police Personnel
Katsumi Tezuka	...	Police Personnel
Haruo Nakajima	...	Matango

Also Known As:

Attack of the Mushroom People (USA) (TV title)
Curse of the Mushroom People
Fungus of Terror
Matango the Fungus of Terror
Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People (USA) (DVD box title)
Matango: Fungus of Terror

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Hachijôjima, Japan

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

The film was nearly banned in Japan due to the fact that the makeup that some of the cast wore as they were turning into mushrooms was very reminiscent of how many people looked after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Kasai shoots at Yoshida and Mami as he chases them off the boat, you can see the bullets ricochet off the ground before he fires a shot.

Movie Connections:

Version of "Suspicion: The Voice in the Night (#1.24)" (1958)

A Masterpiece of creepiness and atmospheric horror

First of all, it takes guts on the part of the filmmakers to make a commercial movie about people turning into giant mushrooms. It's all a big modern morality fable. Once the characters get to the island, we the audience are sucked into a horrific world of constant rain where the only food that grows is fungus. The characters try to resist but most eventually give in to the temptation. This film is very creepy and maintains an atmosphere of dread. Even the final evolution of the mushroom people is convincing enough to keep you wrapped up in it. It starts off slow but give it a chance. It's a beautifully made and memorable little masterpiece of horror that rightfully seems to have been born of nightmares. It's too bad that even in our supposedly enlightened, politically tolerant world that there is no American distributor for the uncut Japanese version of this film. This film is hard to locate but well worth the effort. I even saw the American International Pictures version that is badly dubbed and it is still a powerful and original film. See it at all costs if you are a fan of Japanese horror films.