Das Monster von Tokio

So - Are two heads better than one? Well - I guess you'll just have to watch this truly zany, Sci-Fi flick called "The Manster" to find out the answer to that daunting question.

Released in 1962 - The Manster is actually a kinda fun Mad Scientist/Horror movie to watch, providing, of course, that one doesn't take its goofy, far-fetched story at all seriously.

I found The Manster to be one of those outrageously low-budget, fright flicks from that particular era that was so bad that, somehow, it was actually (almost) good.

I think that it was a very wise move on the part of the director, George Breakston, to see to it that news-reporter Larry Stanford's hideous, two-headed transformation was kept partially concealed within the shadows of near-darkness - Otherwise the intended horror of Larry's horrific predicament would've, I'm sure, been completely lost by a string of unintentional laughs.

All-in-all - Even though I would never, ever consider The Manster to be great horror, I still thought that it was a least well-worth one honest viewing.

I saw this thing as a child, for chrissakes, and still vividly remember that darned eye! Since I didn't exactly knew what a movie was (I was a VERY SMALL little runt) and didn't understand a word of English, and though the movie was subtitled in Spanish I didn't yet know how to read, I was absolutely terrified! Were there really people around us who grew eyes on their shoulders, turn into really scary monkeys that split in half, and then each half tried to strangle each other? I don't understand. Is this for REAL!?

It really took me a while to get over that one, I'll tell ya, until I saw The H-Man Monster and the whole stinking nightmare started over again.

Is this for REAL!?

In the early seventies there were two late night horror movie shows where I lived: NIGHTMARE THEATER on channel 7 and SUSPENSE THEATER on channel 8. My dilemma was that both programs were on simultaneously(around midnight on Fridays),and I always had to decide which one I wanted to watch. On one particular Friday I chose the NIGHTMARE THEATER movie, opting to check out the other channel during the commercials. During one of those breaks I switched over just in time to see the infamous "eye-growing-on-the-shoulder" scene. A while later I looked again and saw that eye growing into an entire head! I left it on that channel until the show was over. I have no memory of what the other movie was.

I can't understand why 'The Manster' isn't better known! It's often unfairly lumped in with 'The Incredible Two Headed Transplant' and 'The Thing With Two Heads', but 'The Manster' is much more than a kitschy gigglefest. It is closer to another forgotten Japanese 60s movie, 'The Human Vapour', made around the same time. Both movies use horror/sf trappings to explore questions of identity and what it means to be human Philip K. Dick style. Neither reaches the giddy, hallucinogenic heights of PKD's best work, but they are both a cut above your average "monster movie" of the era.

'The Manster' concerns a cocky American journalist who befriends a charismatic Japanese scientist. The scientist's lifestyle seduces the journalist who goes off the rails and ignores his job, wife and responsibilities. He thinks he's just letting his hair down after several years of hard work, but doesn't realize that he is the unwitting guinea pig in an ambitious scientific experiment which turns out horribly wrong.

Try and see 'The Manster', and if possible make it a double bill with 'The Human Vapour'. You'll see that was a LOT more going on in Japanese fantastic cinema that Godzilla, Mothra, et al. 'The Manster' is a low key, imaginative movie just waiting to be rediscovered!

American reporter Larry Stanford (Peter Dyneley, 'Thunderbirds') has been globe-trotting for a while, and is currently working in Japan. He goes to interview a scientist, Dr. Robert Suzuki (Tetsu Nakamura, "Red Sun"), who almost immediately turns the hapless reporter into the latest guinea pig for his experiments in mutation. Soon, Larry has become a foul-tempered jerk who can't help but cave in to homicidal impulses here and there, as he slowly mutates. His concerned wife (Jane Hylton, "My Brother's Keeper") and friend / colleague (Norman Van Hawley, in his only film appearance) fret over his hostile behaviour.

A mad scientist / cautionary tale in the classic tradition, "The Manster" is delicious fun for people who love a good B flick. The sight of Larry in monstrous form (played by George Wyman ("Battle in Outer Space")) is a true hoot, as he runs around and slaughters people and baffles the police. Larry remains a very entertaining character, for even though he turns into this big jerk, he's not entirely unsympathetic. We know he's a victim of somebody else's machinations. That said, his tirades are often hilarious. The whole cast (including Jerry Ito ("Message from Space") as an obligatory police superintendent) does creditable if not exactly award-worthy work. The effects are a blast; especially cool is that scene where Larry notices an eyeball has appeared on his right shoulder. And that is when this movie really starts to cook. Terri Zimmern (another cast member here making the only feature film appearance of their career) supplies some sex appeal as the assistant to Suzuki who realizes that she has fallen for Larry. Nakamura is solid as the antagonist who is portrayed in an even-handed way: he does express regret late in the game.

If you are anything like this viewer and have a BIG soft spot in your heart for "monster on the loose" programmers, you too will likely find this to be highly engaging entertainment.

Seven out of 10.