This is an unusual film because it's a Japanese-American co-production. Unlike a few films from American-International Films (such as the American version of GODZILLA), this one really did feature an all-star cast--not a few scenes with American actors that were added later.
Now considering THE MANSTER is about a two-headed murderous freak, it's actually a pretty good two-headed murderous freak film!! Sadly, however, the best parts of the film all occur before the second head starts to form. From this latter portion on, the film drops greatly in quality--mostly because there wasn't much reason to make this crazed American two-headed--he was handling his murderous rampage just fine without it!
The film starts with a crazy Japanese scientist working in a tiny lab next to a volcano. When an American reporter visits to ask him about his research, the doctor does what any mad scientist would do--drug the guy and inject him with an evolutionary serum while he's sleeping. At first, the reporter seemed fine but later in the film his personality began to change. No longer was he a nice guy but was evolving into a selfish jerk. Instead of returning home to his wife in America, he stays in Japan to have an affair and drink like a fish. The film handled this all in a rather frank manner. Everyone who knows him is concerned--this just isn't his usual personality. Little do they know that he's slowly evolving into a freak with murderous impulses. Over a period of just a few days, he kills about a dozen folks--just for the heck of it! As I said before, all this is actually very well handled and convincing.
The acting job of the American (Peter Dyneley) as well as the rest of the cast was good. Sadly, the film makers couldn't leave good enough alone. This Jeckyl and Hyde-like idea worked so well. When suddenly he developed an eye on his shoulder, it really got pretty silly. A bit later, when a 3/4 size ape-like head sprouted, it got ridiculous. At the end of the film when he split into two beings, I was laughing because it was so dopey.
Also, very oddly, once he split in two, the evil side was killed but what happened to the rest of him? This was never explained and it looks like about two minutes more of the film was needed to wrap everything up right. After all, he was nabbed by the police and it didn't look as if they knew the truth. Did they let him go? Did he survive? Was he put on trial for mass murder? This seemed like an important thing to consider.
By the way, Peter Dyneley sounded and looked a bit like Alan Ladd circa 1959. May attention and see if you think there's a resemblance.
Now considering THE MANSTER is about a two-headed murderous freak, it's actually a pretty good two-headed murderous freak film!! Sadly, however, the best parts of the film all occur before the second head starts to form. From this latter portion on, the film drops greatly in quality--mostly because there wasn't much reason to make this crazed American two-headed--he was handling his murderous rampage just fine without it!
The film starts with a crazy Japanese scientist working in a tiny lab next to a volcano. When an American reporter visits to ask him about his research, the doctor does what any mad scientist would do--drug the guy and inject him with an evolutionary serum while he's sleeping. At first, the reporter seemed fine but later in the film his personality began to change. No longer was he a nice guy but was evolving into a selfish jerk. Instead of returning home to his wife in America, he stays in Japan to have an affair and drink like a fish. The film handled this all in a rather frank manner. Everyone who knows him is concerned--this just isn't his usual personality. Little do they know that he's slowly evolving into a freak with murderous impulses. Over a period of just a few days, he kills about a dozen folks--just for the heck of it! As I said before, all this is actually very well handled and convincing.
The acting job of the American (Peter Dyneley) as well as the rest of the cast was good. Sadly, the film makers couldn't leave good enough alone. This Jeckyl and Hyde-like idea worked so well. When suddenly he developed an eye on his shoulder, it really got pretty silly. A bit later, when a 3/4 size ape-like head sprouted, it got ridiculous. At the end of the film when he split into two beings, I was laughing because it was so dopey.
Also, very oddly, once he split in two, the evil side was killed but what happened to the rest of him? This was never explained and it looks like about two minutes more of the film was needed to wrap everything up right. After all, he was nabbed by the police and it didn't look as if they knew the truth. Did they let him go? Did he survive? Was he put on trial for mass murder? This seemed like an important thing to consider.
By the way, Peter Dyneley sounded and looked a bit like Alan Ladd circa 1959. May attention and see if you think there's a resemblance.