The mere fact that it was banned in Japan was enough to make me want to seek out Horrors of Malformed Men. After all, it was made in the country that gave the world the Guinea Pig movies, pinku eiga, bukkake, hentai, and umpteen other acts of perversion that I don't even know the name for. If this film was considered unsuitable for viewing by its own people, what deviant treats could it possibly hold?
Well, not much really. Whilst there is plenty of nudity, a touch of blood, and a smattering of sex (non-explicit), there is nothing that could be really be described as particularly 'shocking', particularly by today's standards. My guess is that the film's central theme of physical deformity and dis-figuration touched a very sensitive nerve in a country that was still suffering from the effects of a nuclear attack, which resulted in its suppression.
Still, even without any extreme depravity on display, director Teruo Ishii's trippy flick is worth a watch if bizarre cinema is your cup of tea. Dreamlike, creepy and just downright weird, Horrors of Malformed Men contains plenty of startling imagery and a crazy narrative that is difficult to describe. But I'll give it a go...
Hirosuke (Teruo Yoshida) , a medical student with almost no recollection of his past, is trapped in an asylum, despite being perfectly sane. After escaping from the loony bin, 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 (both of whom he gets jiggy with).
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 (who we first see making awkward movements amongst some rocks, and then performing a freakishly slow walk towards the camera, which eerily reminded me of Sadako from Ringu).
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.
Throw in a pair of Siamese twins (consisting of both sexes), some gold-painted dancers performing a hilarious routine, a perverted transvestite who plots with Genzaburo's mistress to inherit the Komoda fortune, an undercover detective, a woman who is forced to eat crabs off the rotting body of her lover, some accidental incest, and a finalé featuring a firework display that scatters body parts through the air, and you have one hell of a strange film.
6.5, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.
Well, not much really. Whilst there is plenty of nudity, a touch of blood, and a smattering of sex (non-explicit), there is nothing that could be really be described as particularly 'shocking', particularly by today's standards. My guess is that the film's central theme of physical deformity and dis-figuration touched a very sensitive nerve in a country that was still suffering from the effects of a nuclear attack, which resulted in its suppression.
Still, even without any extreme depravity on display, director Teruo Ishii's trippy flick is worth a watch if bizarre cinema is your cup of tea. Dreamlike, creepy and just downright weird, Horrors of Malformed Men contains plenty of startling imagery and a crazy narrative that is difficult to describe. But I'll give it a go...
Hirosuke (Teruo Yoshida) , a medical student with almost no recollection of his past, is trapped in an asylum, despite being perfectly sane. After escaping from the loony bin, 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 (both of whom he gets jiggy with).
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 (who we first see making awkward movements amongst some rocks, and then performing a freakishly slow walk towards the camera, which eerily reminded me of Sadako from Ringu).
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.
Throw in a pair of Siamese twins (consisting of both sexes), some gold-painted dancers performing a hilarious routine, a perverted transvestite who plots with Genzaburo's mistress to inherit the Komoda fortune, an undercover detective, a woman who is forced to eat crabs off the rotting body of her lover, some accidental incest, and a finalé featuring a firework display that scatters body parts through the air, and you have one hell of a strange film.
6.5, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.