Horrors of Malformed Men (1969)

After escaping from an insane asylum, a medical student assumes the identity of a mysterious dead man, who appeared to be his doppelganger, and gets lured to a sinister island ruled by a mad scientist and his malformed men.

Director:

Teruo Ishii

Writers:

Teruo Ishii (screenplay), Masahiro Kakefuda (screenplay)

Stars:

Teruo Yoshida, Yukie Kagawa, Teruko Yumi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Teruo Yoshida	...	Hirosuke Hitomi / Genzaburô Komoda (plays two parts)
Yukie Kagawa	...	Shizuko
Teruko Yumi	...	Hideko / Hatsuyo (plays two parts)
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
Yoshiko Katô	...	Masseur
Asano Kanamori	...	Female Patient B
Yôko Koyama	...	Miki
Chiyo Okada	...	Clerk
Mie Hanabusa	...	Mie

Storyline

After escaping from an insane asylum, a young medical student takes on the identity of a dead man to discover the true identity of a man whose picture he saw in a newspaper--who is his exact double. His investigation leads him to a remote island where he discovers a sinister laboratory where a crazed scientist is performing gruesome experiments on live humans--and that his own family has a connection to the scientist.

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Plot Keywords:

insanity | sepia tinted scene | brother sister incest | nudity | masseuse | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Malformed Memories (2007)

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Soundtracks

Utsukushiki Tennen (aka: Beautiful Nature)
Composed by Hozumi Tanaka
Circus music

User Reviews

Bizarre

"Horrors of Malformed Men" is a truly bizarre Japanese horror flick that reminded me far more often of Jodorowsky than of anything in the supernatural genre.

If it has any other similarity, it's with avant-garde dance, as the movie often looks like a stage performance someone filmed from the front row.

The plot, if it can be said to have one, is a mess. A man is somehow in the female cell of an insane asylum, where all of the women are young, beautiful, and topless. He has no idea who he is. He realises that he is the spitting image of a recently deceased man, and so travels to that man's home and pretends to be him. On an island near-by, the titular "malformed men" reside.

The movie doesn't feel scary or suspenseful, but I don't think it means to be. Instead, it is a series of extravagant and strange set pieces, with much nudity, elaborate costumes, body paint, and kitsch.

Unfortunately, there's not enough of a plot - or a plot easy enough to follow - to keep your attention in between these admittedly quite impressive sequences. I found myself wanting the movie to end quicker than it did.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

31 October 1969 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Horrors of Malformed Men

Filming Locations:

Noto, Ishikawa, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toei Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1