L'Homme H

Although THE H MAN doesn't feature any city stomping monsters, this is one of the best sci fi's from Japan's Toho studios. THE H MAN is an eerie thriller about a mutant blob creature lurking around Tokyo's sewer system and devouring people, leaving only their clothes behind.The blob creature, apparently a mutated human, seems to be out for revenge against a group of Japanese gangsters. It seems to always be lurking around a seedy gangster owned Tokyo strip club and devouring the mobsters. I have heard that the in Japanese version, the H MAN was a gangster exposed to an atomic bomb blast and returns as an H man to get revenge, but this is unclear in the English language version. I also found the films subplot involving Tokyo gangsters interesting in that it shows to westerners the seedier side of Tokyo's night life scene.

The film has one scene that I found pretty rough when I first saw this film as a kid. A scientist explains his theory that atomic radiation can mutate people in H men. In his lab he exposes a frog to radiation and the frog turns into a blob and then proceeds to devour another frog. The process is shown in a clinical and matter-of-fact fashion that I still find disturbing today.

Note: When this film was first released in the USA by Columbia, it was paired with the mostly dull British import THE WOMAN EATER, a film about a woman eating tree. Since both films deal with people being devoured in a rather gross manner, I wonder what effect the films had on the theaters/drive-ins concession stands.

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).

THE H-MAN is a fine, and most rare, blend of film noir and 1950s Japanese science fiction. The film is filled with startling visuals from start to finish. It grabs your attention and rarely lets up. Favorite scenes involve the events inside the derelict ghost ship and all the scenes in the nightclub which abound with the right atmosphere. Stylistic and often startling visually, this is a lot of fun to watch and get into. It does require one to suspend their disbelief quite a bit though.

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

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.