Based on the 1926 novel "The Strange Tale of Panorama Island" by Edogawa Rampo--the so-called Edgar Allan Poe of Japan--as well as at least two Rampo short stories, "The Human Chair" (1925) and "The Walker in the Attic" (also 1925), and also conflating Rampo's most famous detective character, Kogoro Akechi, the 1969 film "Horrors of Malformed Men" obviously has a lot of ground to cover. The picture was cowritten by its director, genre favorite Teruo Ishii, an old fan of Rampo's work in boys' detective magazines in the 1920s, and so shocked and scandalized viewers upon its initial release that it has been a sort of taboo product ever since; indeed, the film has never been made available for home viewing in Japan! I suppose that given its central theme of willful and calculated human mutations, coming a scant 25 years after the atomic denouement of WW2, this feeling can be understandable. Still, for viewers today, the film will probably come as a genuine stunner. In it, a medical student named Hitomi (an appealing performance by handsome Teruo Yoshida) escapes from a mental institution in the year 1925 (although it could just as easily be yesterday, based on what the viewer sees), with only a dim knowledge of who he is, or why a child's lullaby keeps repeating itself in his mind, or why he keeps seeing visions of a mysterious-looking seacoast. His lot worsens when he is falsely accused of knifing a young girl (in a scene strangely reminiscent of a similar one in "North by Northwest"), and while on the run, and desperately searching for that bit of seacoast on Honshu's 800-mile-long northern shore (!), notices the obituary for a man who he exactly resembles. He pretends to be that dead man, resurrected back to life, and ultimately goes to the island sanctuary of his look-alike's father, a Dr. Moreau type of character. And once on that island, things start to get REALLY strange!Shot on the Noto Peninsula, "Horrors of Malformed Men" is a film of impressive natural beauty and, once on that darn island, dreamlike surrealism. Indeed, the film would have been a natural back in the early '70s among the midnight-feature stoner crowd. It is easily as "trippy" as Alejandro Jodorowsky's "El Topo," a favorite back then amongst that crowd, as well as Jess Franco's "Succubus," Jaromil Jires' "Valerie and Her Week of Wonders" and Michel Lemoine's "Seven Women for Satan" (all films that SHOULD have been on the midnight circuit back when)...but unlike these films, and amazingly, its wild and crazy plot makes absolute, perfect sense by the picture's conclusion! In a final summation, events are explained at a clip that rivals the rat-a-tat explications in "The Big Sleep," accompanied by monotinted flashback sequences. And, oh, is this film a strange one! Among the film's many bits of weirdness are that freaky insane asylum opening; a snake decapitation; a 1/2 goat, 1/2 girl creature; a human torch sconce; a psychedelic, Cirque du Soleil-style dance number (put on for no apparent reason other than to flabbergast the viewer) performed by a gaggle of the island freaks; silver-painted women; a male/female Siamese twin combo; the eating of live crabs (and lots of them!); incest; the old poison-down-the-string trick (which viewers may recall from the 007 blowout "You Only Live Twice"); freeze frames; and other assorted mishegas. In the film's single most arresting image, perhaps, Jagoro Kimodo, the creator of the island monstrosities, capers along the seashore, the waves crashing behind him. Kimodo is played in the film by Tatsumi Hijikata, the founder of the Butoh style of dance, and the stylized, spiderlike way that he scuttles along here is like something you may have never seen before. Featuring exquisite camera work from Shigeru Akatsuka and a freaky-deaky score by Masao Yagi, and concluding with a beautifully symbolic fireworks/sunset display, "Horrors of Malformed Men" is a film that should linger long in the memory. Far from just another Dr. Moreau rip-off, it is a genuine work of cinematic art, a minor masterpiece, and should prove a real find for the jaded horror buff. It is presented here on a great-looking DVD from Synapse, loaded with "extras." In the most interesting, directors Shinya Tsukamoto and Minoru Kawasaki discuss the influence that Ishii and Rampo have had on their own work, while in another, we see Ishii himself--"the King of Cult"--present the film at the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy in 2003 (two years before his death). A most generous DVD package, of a film that must be seen to be believed....

Words cannot describe how wonderfully entertaining this movie was. I rented it, knowing it was just my kind of flick, even my boyfriend who has a very contrasting taste in movies from me immediately recognized it's potential and our decision was made. The part where he dances on the rocks on the island is the best, I took my camera out and recorded a ghetto taping of it to show to others in case I never come across it again. The eating crabs thing was definitely the grossest, the ending was kinda screwed up I never expected Toki to still love him, that part I donno if I like or not. Hahaha and when they said they were going to explode in the sky like fireworks, I didn't know they meant literally! HAHAHAHA.

This infamous Japenese cult flick unfortunately doesn't live up to its lofty reputation. It has some worthy moments, but only a few in what is otherwise a painfully boring and poorly made affair. The confusing story involves a medical student searching for his origins based on the few memories he has from his childhood. He makes his way to the coast of the Japan Sea, where he discovers an obituary for a man who looks exactly like him. He then pretends to be the dead man resurrected, and eventually is brought to an island not far away where the dead man's father is purportedly conducting odd experiments on human beings. The entire story up to here is confusing, uninvolving, and honestly pretty stupid. Only when the protagonist arrives on the island with the titular malformed men does it contain a shred of interest. But only a shred. The mad scientist on the island, kind of the Japanese version of Dr. Moreau, is mutating human beings into freaks. These people, played by circus performers, are dressed in weird costumes and covered with icky makeup. Supposedly the film was meant to reflect the effects of an atomic bomb. I'm not really that sure that was meant, since I don't think any radiation poisoning resulted in a person turning silver. This seems to be where some of the film's fans find substance in the thing, but, really, that half-assed commentary isn't even close to as good as the half-assed commentary in the original Gojira, or, even more appropriate to this conversation, another Ishiro Honda film, Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People, which was made six years earlier than Horrors of Malformed Men. The malformed men are pretty cool, I must admit, but their appearance and participation in the film takes up around ten minutes of this 100 minute film, one tenth, by my estimation. I couldn't forgive the first half of the movie. And even moreso I can't forgive what comes after this, where the mad doctor tells his story in a prolonged, monochromatic flashback. I guess I should be thankful, because the stuff I couldn't understand about the plot earlier in the movie is explicated in such detail that I wanted to rip my hair out. But at least I finally got the plot. And worse, after the doctor has his ten minute flashback, another character has another ten minute flashback. The story is patently ridiculous, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It could have been fun, but it isn't. It's a crushing bore! It does end on a hilarious bit, but nothing could have saved this movie.

Wow, this is a must have for Japanese horror fans, and can you believe it, banned for all those years. Outstanding story involving a man finding his way back to his origins, which include his Father making malformed men, and ladies. My favorite, the goat women. This is quite a gruesome horror film from 1969 or so, that got banned in Japan, and therefore restricted everywhere. Don't worry, it's available now, and you need to see it, before it disappears again. Great DVD too, as it contains a commentary from some historians that will bore you to death. It did me at least, but nothing could damage my affection for this excellent shocker for the times. You thought your Father had problems, wait until you meet this dude. I like this one, it is decadent, gruesome, and has some naked girls. And should I forget, a pretty shocking depiction of the result of malformed men. Yes, Malformed Men, you have been warned.