Kyôfu kikei ningen: Edogawa Rampo zenshû (1969)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Teruo Ishii

Writers:

Teruo Ishii (screenplay) &
Masahiro Kakefuda (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

31 October 1969 (Japan)

Genre:

Mystery | Horror

Plot Keywords:

Identity Swap | Surgeon | Island | Banned Film | Knife

Cast

Teruo Yoshida	...	Hirosuke Hitomi / Genzaburô Komoda
Yukie Kagawa	...	Shizuko
Teruko Yumi	...	Hideko / Hatsuyo
Mitsuko Aoi	...	Toki Komoda
Michiko Kobata	...	Chiyoko Komoda
Yumiko Katayama	...	Female Patient A
Kei Kiyama	...	Kei
Reiko Mikasa	...	Mad Woman
Miki Obana	...	Slashed Woman
Michi Tanaka	...	Kin
Kinko Kato	...	Masseur (as Kinko Katô)
Asano Kanamori	...	Female Patient B
Yôko Koyama	...	Miki
Chiyo Okada	...	Clerk
Mie Hanabusa	...	Mie

Also Known As:

Horror of a Deformed Man (International: English title)
Horrors of Malformed Men (USA) (DVD title)
Kyofu kikei ningen (Japan) (short title)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Japan:R-18 (re-rating) | Japan:(Banned)

Company:

Toei Company

Surreal Japanese take on "Island of Dr. Moreau"

There's more to vintage Japanese cult cinema than Godzilla and his various foes, and "Horrors of Malformed Men" proves that. Its a perfect example of filmmakers taking a ridiculous premise and working with a low budget and managing to create something thats both surreal and creepy. The Japanese seem to have a knack for this, as "Matango" and "The Manster" also accomplished this. And when it comes to imagery thats both bizarre and disturbing, few films manage to pack more than "Horrors of Malformed Men". Its incredibly over-the-top and full of disfigured freaks that are straight out of nightmares. Plus, there's plenty of surreal and dreamlike sequences to please fans of the more out-there examples of vintage horror cinema. While it never reaches the poetic heights that both "Kwaidan" and "Jigoku" did, its certainly more entertaining than either of those two.

The film is far from perfect however. The first half is a setup for the material, and while seedy, its a bit slowly paced and uneventful. Plus, the plot is a bit needlessly complicated, and while its all explained at the end, the film is confusing throughout and may give the viewer a headache in attempting to follow it. Also, the special effects at the end are unintentionally hilarious, ruining the mood of what had been up to this point a compelling story. Still, these are rather minor quibbles, because "Horrors of Malformed Men" is really superb. The direction by Japanese b-film legend Teruo Ishii suits the material well. Don't be fooled though by the DVD cover claiming this is the most notorious Japanese horror film ever made. While it was certainly some pretty wild stuff back in the day, the recent efforts by Takashi Miike and others have completely taken away the edge. Its still a lot of mind bending fun however. (7/10)