The Manster (1959)

An American reporter in Japan is sent to interview an eccentric Japanese scientist working on bizarre experiments in his mountain laboratory. When the doctor realizes that the hapless ... See full summary »

Directors:

George P. Breakston, Kenneth G. Crane

Writers:

George P. Breakston (story), William J. Sheldon

Stars:

Peter Dyneley, Jane Hylton, Tetsu Nakamura

Cast

Cast overview:
Peter Dyneley	...	Larry Stanford
Jane Hylton	...	Linda Stanford
Tetsu Nakamura	...	Dr. Robert Suzuki (as Satoshi Nakamura)
Terri Zimmern	...	Tara
Norman Van Hawley	...	Ian Matthews (as Van Hawley)
Jerry Ito	...	Police Supt. Aida
Toyoko Takechi	...	Emiko Suzuki
Kenzo Kuroki	...	Genji Suzuki
Alan Tarlton	...	Dr. H.B. Jennsen
Shinpei Takagi	...	Temple Priest
George Wyman	...	Monster

Storyline

An American reporter in Japan is sent to interview an eccentric Japanese scientist working on bizarre experiments in his mountain laboratory. When the doctor realizes that the hapless correspondent is the perfect subject for his next experiment, he drugs the unfortunate man and injects him with a serum that gradually transforms him into a hideous, two-headed monster.

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Plot Keywords:

experiment | japan | monster | sexy saxophone music | smoking | 

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Taglines:

Half-Man, Half-Monster!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nightmare

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lopert Pictures Corporation, Shaw-Breakston Enterprises, United Artists of Japan

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness pays homage to this film. When Ash has swallowed one of his little dopplegangers, he grows an eye on his right shoulder, which results in him splitting into two beings; Good Ash and Evil Ash. In this film, the reporter is injected with a serum and later develops an eye, which grows into a head, resulting in him splitting into a good being and an evil one.

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Goofs

Misspelled word in opening credits. "From an original story..." reads "From an ORIGNAL story..."

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Connections

Featured in Elvira's Movie Macabre: The Manster (2011)

User Reviews

Crazy, dark and twisted monster fun.

Mad Japanese scientist Dr. Robert Suzuki (Tetsu Nakamura) hopes to create a serum that will advance human evolution, but all efforts so far have been less than successful, earlier attempts having turned his wife and brother (who apparently volunteered for the experiment, making them just as mad as he is) into hideously deformed monsters.

Not one to admit defeat, Suzuki—aided by his glamorous assistant Tara (Terri Zimmern)—gives it one last go, drugging and injecting roving US reporter Larry Stanford (Peter Dyneley) without his knowledge. The serum takes effect gradually, Larry becoming progressively more wild and uncontrollable, first succumbing to the pleasures of booze and geisha girls, but eventually turning to murder. As his personality becomes more monstrous, so does his appearance: his hand gets hairy, an eyeball appears in his shoulder, and he grows a second head, eventually splitting into two separate beings.

A wonderfully subversive storyline and a standout central performance from Dyneley help distinguish The Manster from most of its contemporaries; Stanford's insatiable sexual appetite and violent outbursts, Tara's dubious past (I'm guessing that she used to be a hooker), Dr. Suzuki's callous and calculating approach to his 'work', and the unforgettably surreal transformation from man to beast all go to make this film a genuinely freaky and thoroughly enjoyable ride into darker-than-usual 50s B-movie monster territory.

7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.