O Monstro da Bomba H

The early Toho Japanese imports took themselves seriously and so did American kids, who flocked to see THE H-MAN, RODAN, THE MYSTERIANS, and BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE (despite the dubbed dialogue) during this period.

In my town, the first 50 customers at the box office received an "H-Man" premium -- to this day I don't know what that item was -- green Silly Putty?

An action figure?

The H-Man "himself" was a green (in some cases blue -- the Eastmancolor prints I've seen to date leave some doubt, but he looked green in the "previews" in 1958) blob that ran under its own power through sewer grates, up walls, and under doors to attack people by running up their bodies and melting them down inside their clothes, leaving nothing but a mystery. In fact, the plot is superficially a mystery/crime drama with some silly and cursory science behind the H-Man, but as these films go, THE H-MAN was a minor sensation -- the movie was not too long, dark and moody, with plenty of reasonably convincing effects to recommend it. This was "The Blob" without the teenagers, and the scenes of people dissolving were fairly sensational and pretty scary for its day -- folks being deflated like balloons and melted into puddles of suds.

The theater in my town announced the coming attraction in the lobby by featuring an "actual H-Man victim" on display -- which was a toupee lying on top of a crumpled man's suit, with a pair of shoes underneath. Crude, but effective...

I saw this when it was first released in 1958 in Sydney. The theatre was a very large and cold cinema. The atmosphere of the environs only added to the atmosphere of the film. I was six at the time but I can still remember it fairly vividly today - nearly forty years later. It gave me nightmares for weeks.

I always thought this was the movie that the Blob was based on although the release dates seem to be fairly close. This by far was the better movie of the two. I have seen this once again in my older years and it still resurrects memories of those childhood nightmares.

I would love to be able to obtain a copy of the film but it seems these days no-one seems to know of it.

Be sure to watch for the really creepy flashback sequence wherein the title creature is first discovered by sailors exploring an abandoned ship. The film's photography and special effects deserve a nod also. Those with a soft spot for blob movies are urged to also check out the Steve McQueen film of that name (released the same year), as well as Hammer Films' "X the Unknown" (1956).

Toho are known for dark gritty movies (Usually about Samurai or the struggles of Japanese life) and goofy giant monster films (Godzilla). That is why this came as so much of a surprise to me as it isn't either.

While the west the same year made The Blob (1958) Toho made their own liquid monster movie and truth be told it's not at all bad and makes me wish Toho had done more horror.

What struck me immediatly was how amazing everything looks, sure it doesn't have the usual incredible writing of Toho and lacks the direction of Kurosawa but it looks a couple of decades ahead of its time. Seriously, I'm blown away.

It tells the story of the police looking for a missing man and during the investigation coming across a mysterious liquid creature whose very touch dissolves its prey.

Though the movie isn't outstanding it makes up for it in enough areas to be more than watchable.

Genuinely creepy and unnerving in places, the H-Man is deserving of any horror fans time.

The Good:

Looks incredible for its time

The Bad:

Cast are pretty below par

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Microphones are overrated

Before putting your jacket around a woman dip it in sewage first

Like many other posters, I saw this film as a young boy and it gave me nightmares for weeks (maybe even months)! Luckily, my older brother finally convinced me that the "liquid creature" would not survive a swim from Japan to the United States and I was able to sleep again.

I suspect that the modern age's Freddies, Jasons and Leatherfaces would not hold a candle to the effect that this film had on an impressionable youth back then. Perhaps the very fact that the monster had no tangible qualities and could theoretically be any puddle of water you came across was what gave it its fright value.

It would certainly be interesting to see how a remake of this would play today.