is a 1969 Japanese

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by

Teruo Ishii was a Japanese film director best known in the West for his early films in the ''Super Giant'' series, and for his films in the '' ero guro'' ("erotic-grotesque") subgenre of ''pinku eiga'' such as '' Shogun's Joy of Torture'' ( 1968). He also di ...

, who also co-wrote the film. It is based on the novels and by

Edogawa Rampo , better known by the pen name was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery and thriller fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogoro Akechi, who in later books was the lea ...

Plot

Hirosuke (Teruo Yoshida), a medical student with almost no recollection of his past, is trapped in an asylum, despite being perfectly sane. After escaping, and being framed for the murder of a circus girl, he spots the photo of a recently deceased man, Genzaburo Komoda, to whom he bears an uncanny resemblance. By pretending to have been resurrected, Hirosuke assumes the dead man's identity, fooling everyone, including Komoda's widow and mistress. Whilst at the Komoda household, Hirosuke recalls memories that convince him to travel to a nearby island, home of Jogoro, the web-fingered father of Genzaburo. Whilst on the island, Hirosuke not only discovers Jogoro's plans to build his 'ideal community' (by transforming perfectly normal humans into hideous freaks), but also the awful truth behind his own identity.

Cast

Teruo Yoshida Teruo (written: 輝雄, 輝男, 輝夫, 辉夫, 昭雄, 照雄 or 照夫) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese footballer *, Imperial Japanese Navy admiral *, Japanese karateka *, Japanese sumo wres ...

as Hirosuke Hitomi/Genzaburô Komoda * Tatsumi Hijikata as Jogoro *

Yukie Kagawa Yukie is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yukie can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *幸恵, "happiness, blessing/favor" *幸栄, "happiness, prosperous" *幸江, "happiness, ...

as Shizuko *

Teruko Yumi Teruko (written: , , or ) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Empress of Japan * Akai Teruko (赤井輝子, 1514 – 1594), female samurai warrior. *, Japanese princess and artist *, Japanese scientist *, ...

as Hideko/Hatsuyo *

Mitsuko Aoi Mitsuko is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings The name Mitsuko is generally written with the kanji characters 光 and 子 which, when translated into English can mean "light, child" or "shining, child".http://www.20knames.com/femal ...

as Toki Komoda *

Asao Koike was a Japanese actor. He is most famous for playing yakuza roles. He is also known as voice actor. In 1950, he joined the Bungakuza Theatre Company. In 1963, he left the Bungakuza Theatre Company and established the Kumo Theatre Company. He appe ...

Michiko Kobata Michiko is a Japanese given name, used for females. Although written romanized the same way, the Japanese language written forms (kanji, katakana, hiragana) can be different. Common forms include: * 美智子 — "beautiful wise child" * 美 ...

as Chiyoko Komoda * Minoru Ōki as

Kogorô Akechi is a fictional private detective created by Japanese Mystery fiction, mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo. Overview Akechi first appeared in the story in January 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century. Edogawa Ranpo (a pse ...

/Manservant

Release

Home media

On August 28, 2007,

Synapse Films Synapse Films is an American DVD and Blu-ray label, founded in 1997 and specializing in cult horror, science fiction and exploitation films. History Synapse Films was owned and operated by Don May, Jr. and his business partners Jerry Chandler ...

and Panik House gave ''Horrors of Malformed Men'' a mass-market release on region-1

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

Reception

Later reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on , with a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

rating of 7.7/10. Donald Guarisco from

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

praised the film, calling it "a powerful, transgressive work that still packs a punch". Stuart Galbraith IV from

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

wrote, "With its odd mix of absurdist theater, surreal images, taboo-breaking depravity, and commercially driven exploitation, it's all over the stylistic map and not for all tastes, but a fascinating film on many levels". Ian Jane from ''RockShockPop.com'' called it "A genuine holy grail of Japanese genre cinema", commending the film's choreography, cinematography, mood, and use of surreal imagery. Arty Flores from ''HorrorNews.net'' liked the film, commending its bizarre and surreal imagery, while also noting that the film felt dated.

Legacy

The film is considered a precursor to Toei's ventures into the " Pinky violent" style in the early 1970s.

References

Notes

External links

* * * {{Teruo Ishii 1969 films 1969 horror films Films about cannibalism Films based on works by Edogawa Ranpo Films directed by Teruo Ishii Films shot in Japan Incest in film Japanese horror films 1960s Japanese-language films Films based on Japanese novels Films based on multiple works Toei Company films 1960s Japanese films