Horrors of Malformed Men Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Horrors of Malformed Men Blu-ray Movie Review

The Mirage of Doctor Moreau?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 8, 2018

It might be kind of unavoidably ironic to refer to Horrors of Malformed Men as something of a hybrid, since one of its central conceits is the creation of “combo” species, an element which itself is probably unavoidably reminiscent of such now celebrated (or perhaps at least infamous) cinematic adaptations as Island of Lost Souls and/or The Island of Dr. Moreau. But aside from the kind of science fiction aspect of a mad doctor creating human-animal “crossovers”, as well as other bizarre amalgamations and/or deformities that are perhaps intentionally referencing Tod Browning's Freaks, Horrors of Malformed Men also works in an amnesia angle that may recall (no pun intended) such films as Mirage and Mister Buddwing, where the hero has little to no idea of who he is or what exactly is going on around him, especially in terms of certain conspiratorial aspects that accrue. However, in the time honored tradition of many an “as seen on tv” commercial, but wait, you also get: an “exchange” of sorts of two seemingly identical people, a la venerable enterprises like The Prince and the Pauper. The amnesiac character who turns out to have a rather remarkable resemblance to another person is Hirosuke Hitomi (Teruo Yoshida), who is first seen attempting to avoid some vicious knife attacks from a woman who, along with virtually every other woman in the opening sequence, is inexplicably topless. That opening glut of female nudity may offer the best example of what the back cover of this release mentions as ero-guro, an "erotic grotesque" niche of literature that was a specialty of Edogawa Rampo, whose story Panorama Island Otan provided the inspiration for this film.

Commentator Tom Mes confesses to being a little uncertain as to how to fill the time of the film, since this Blu-ray contains the previously released (and pretty exhaustive) commentary by Mark Schilling, while the insert booklet contains even more analysis by Mes himself, along with other writing by Jasper Sharp and Grady Hendrix. While Mes kind of half jokes about drinking heavily before embarking on the commentary (urging the listener to do the same), and admitting that since the film itself is so weird, it will be okay if his commentary is, too, one of his most insightful comments is almost a throwaway, where he compares the general tone of Horrors of Malformed Men to a dream. I’d add to that analysis that in this particular instance, the film plays like one of those dreams you might have had where you know you’re dreaming, even as some fairly troubling content unfolds, and yet you simply can’t wake yourself up.

There are a number of kind of dreamlike unanswered questions that Horrors of Malformed Men presents, not the least of which is why there’s a cell full of naked women in an insane asylum, and why exactly Hirosuke is in there with them. Of course topless women are a staple of exploitation cinema, and so perhaps don’t actually require an “explanation”, but later weirdnesses like Hirosuke kind of willy nilly adopting a “disguise” of sorts by wearing an eyepatch are just flat out bizarre. Hirosuke is troubled by memories of a haunting lullaby and a cliff by an ocean, though the rest of his memory seems missing in action. When he’s inexplicably attacked by another inmate, he manages to escape (in another rather oddly elided sequence), meeting Hatsuyo (Teruko Yumi) almost immediately, fascinated that she’s singing the same lullaby that has been troubling him.

When Hatsuyo is shockingly killed the next day as she attempts to pass Hirosuke some salient information about the lullaby and the potential birthplace of both Hirosuke and Hatsuyo herself, Hirosuke is kinda sorta framed for murder (this element is briefly alluded to but never really is developed), and hightails it to a coastal region that Hatsuyo had been able to mention before her demise. On the train there, he spies an obituary of a wealthy heir named Genzaburo Komoda, who for all intents and purposes looks exactly like Hirosuke himself, down to and including (in yet another outré plot element) a scar in the shape of a swastika on the bottom of one of his feet.

That leads to an abrupt and frankly kind of unsettling change in tone, when Hirosuke decides to assume the identity of the dead man (kind of magically just finding the guy’s open air casket, where he’s able to steal Komoda’s clothes, enabling the impersonation). He “resurrects” himself in what appears to be the family garden, coming in contact with two buffoonish monks who are evidently there for comedy relief, though the actual humor quotient may be decidedly questionable for some. From then on, Hirosuke “infiltrates” the Komoda family, worrying about having carnal relations with both Komoda’s wife Chioko ((Michiko Obata) and (just for good measure) Komoda’s mistress Shizuko (Yukie Kagawa), lest certain “personal traits” be more readily identifiable than a similar looking face. Kind of hilariously if predictably, Hirosuke doesn’t let his worries get the best of him, and does indulge in the pleasures of the flesh, even as he attempts to bypass dangers accruing due to Hirosuke’s general lack of knowledge about Komoda, as in the fact that Komoda was (unlike Hirosuke) left handed.

Everything goes to gonzo levels when Hirosuke journeys to an isolated island that has already been seen in a number of really out there interstitials featuring noted butoh dancer Tatsumi Hijikata as the Komoda paterfamilias, a kind of psychedelic (if arguably “bad” trip) Christ figure with webbed hands who frolics among the wave strewn rocks of his island hideaway. The elder Komoda is this film’s “Doctor Moreau”, and the results of his experimentation of course play into the plot proceedings, but perhaps not quite as much as some might expect. Instead, the last third or so of the film gets into an almost hyperventilating “Moishe the Explainer” mode, giving overheated backstories to both Hirosuke and the Komoda clan in general.

Horrors of Malformed Men was evidently met with a certain outrage upon its original release in Japan in 1969, and was quickly withdrawn from circulation. Its relative scarcity has given the film one of those outsized reputations that probably stems at least in part from the fact that few had actually seen it prior to the Synapse DVD release of a few years ago. This may be one of those cases of “the anticipation is greater than the realization”, for there are huge lapses in logic the film offers, along with the aforementioned tonal imbalances that are at least occasionally on display. There is a definite mood that is created, especially courtesy of the brief but really effective dance sequences featuring Hijikata, elements which themselves are not that organically woven into the overall fabric of the film, but which offer some unforgettable moments, nonetheless.

Horrors of Malformed Men Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Horrors of Malformed Men is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. While the back cover of this release touts a transfer culled from the original negative, kind of interestingly the following verbiage found in Arrow's insert booklet is a little more generalist:

Horrors of Malformed Men is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with mono sound.

The film was scanned and restored from the original film and audio elements by Toei Company Ltd. Scanning was undertaken at 2K on a Golden Eye scanner and colour grading was completed on a DaVinci Resolve. Picture restoration was performed using MTI Correct and PF Clean. Some instances of picture and audio damage remain in this presentation, in keeping with the condition of these materials.

This is the second Arrow release I've reviewed recently where Arrow is up front about damage, with the other one being Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji, but this transfer is much cleaner and less afflicted by age related wear and tear than the older samurai film. Horrors of Malformed Men also offers what to my eyes is a substantially more organic viewing experience, with a much more evident and well resolved grain field. That said, the variances in palette here are rather noticeable and I encourage fans to look through the screenshots accompanying this review for some idea of the differences on display. A lot of the film looks nicely warm and natural (see screenshot 2), but large swaths of it look somewhat skewed toward yellow or even green-yellow, something that gives flesh tones a kind of unnatural look at times. The cliffside sequences featuring Hijikata look significantly more ragged than the bulk of the presentation, but the same sequences are repeated throughout the film, which leads me to believe there were probably duplicate elements involved, though the increased grain field and fuzziness almost have a 16mm appearance to them (see screenshot 5). The film kind of inexplicably lapses into black and white on occasion (most of these scenes are flashbacks, but some, like an introductory look at a circus, are not), and black levels and contrast are generally solid in these moments.

Horrors of Malformed Men Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Horrors of Malformed Men features an LPCM Mono track in the original Japanese which does, as indicated above in Arrow's statement about the transfer, show some signs of age related wear and tear. There's slight but noticeable distortion in a number of louder effects, as in the crowd noises in the opening asylum sequence or even the roar of waves in some of the island material. "Basic" elements like dialogue or voiceover make it through the gauntlet without any major issues, and the distortion seems to be related mostly to amplitude and tends to be confined to higher frequencies.

Horrors of Malformed Men Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Tom Mes


• Audio Commentary by Mark Schilling is from the previous Synapse DVD release.


• Masahiro Kakefuda: Malformed Movies (1080p; 13:38) is a newly done interview with the screenwriter.


• Malformed Memories (1080i; 22:56) features Shinya Tsukamoto and Minoru Kawasaki discussing the career of Teruo Ishii.


• Ishii in Italia (1080i; 13:51) features Ishii and Mark Schilling at the Far East Film Festival.


• Original Trailer (1080p; 3:16)


• Image Gallery (1080p)

As usual, Arrow also offers a nicely appointed insert booklet.

Horrors of Malformed Men Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Despite an almost funny succession of explanatory elements that are rolled out in the film's closing act, there may be some viewers who are still left with rather sizable questions about what exactly has been going on in the film. As Mes details in his commentary, there is definitely a dreamlike quality to Horrors of Malformed Men, and as such it's kind of a weird Art House take on horror, rather than an outright horror film. Arrow continues to mine world cinema for some unexpected offerings, and this should certainly appeal to cult collectors who enjoy unusual genre offerings, even if I'd be hard pressed to say exactly what genre this particular film is. Technical merits are generally solid, with some exceptions as noted above, and as usual Arrow has assembled some nice supplements. Recommended.