Horrors of Malformed Men – Arrow Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 1969
Director: Teruo Ishii
Writers: Teruo Ishii, Masahiro Kakefuda
Cast: Teruo Yoshida, Yukie Kagawa, Teruko Yumi, Mitsuko Aoi, Michiko Kobata

Release Date: September 17th, 2018 (UK), September 18th, 2018 (USA)
Approximate running time: 99 Minutes 14 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 18 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £24.99 (UK), $39.95 (USA)

"Medical student Hirosuke Hitomi slips out of the asylum in which he has been wrongfully confined and stealthily assumes the identity of a recently deceased nobleman with whom he bears an uncanny resemblance. Hirosuke eases his way into the nobleman's household and his dead double's marital bed. But as long-repressed memories begin to bubble to the surface, he soon finds himself drawn to a remote isle where he is confronted by a mad scientist and his malformed men, and discovers the key that will unlock some long-suppressed mysteries of his own." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "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."

Horrors of Malformed Men comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 35.6 GB

Feature: 27.3 GB

The source used for this transfer is in good shape. And though some source damage remains, it is never too intrusive. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and black levels are strong throughout, compression is solid, and the image always looks organic.

Audio: 3.75/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. In the booklet included with this release, it mentions some audio damage that remains as part of this release's presentation. That said, despite some distortion issues and other imperfections, the result is a very good track that should not ruin your enjoyment of Horrors of Malformed Men. Dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise things sound good.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (stills, advertisement, poster), a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 16 seconds, LPCM mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival featurette titled Ishii in Italia (13 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese and English with removable English subtitles),an archival interview with filmmakers Shinya Tsukamoto and Minoru Kawasaki titled Malformed Memories (22 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an interview with Toei exploitation movie screenwriter Masahiro Kakefuda titled Malformed Movies (13 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival audio commentary with Japanese cinema expert and film critic Mark Schilling, an audio commentary with Japanese cinema expert and film critic Tom Mes, reversible cover art, and a 40-page booklet (limited to first pressing) with cast & crew information, an essay titled Horrors of Malformed Men written by Jasper Sharp, an essay titled Once Upon a Time in Japan: Teruo Ishii written by Tom Mes, an essay titled Remembering Edogawa Ranpo written by Grady Hendrix and information about the transfer.

Summary:

Hirosuke is a medical student who is forced to flee from the law after he breaks out of jail. While on the run, he sees an article in the newspaper about a man who has recently passed away and who oddly looks just like him. Hirosuke, wanting to solve the mystery of where he came from and why he looks like a dead man, assumes the dead man’s identity. Will uncovering the secrets from his past bring him closer to this part of Hirosuke’s life, or will discovering the truth unlock Pandora’s box of problems?

Teruo Ishii (Blind Woman’s Curse, Bohachi Bushido: Clan of the Forgotten Eight) was a renegade director whose films often defied their genre conventions, and in some instances, he created new genre clichés in the process. His rarely seen outside of Japan films from 1969, Horrors of Malformed Men, are pure Teruo Ishii at the top of their game with their nightmarish images, many of which will also haunt you with their striking beauty. The Horror of Malformed Men was adapted from Edogawa Ranpo’s 1932 novel The Strange Tale of Panorama Island. Two other possible influences for Horrors of Malformed Men are Tod Browning’s Freaks, a story about deformed circus performers, and H.G. Welles The Island of Dr. Moreau, a story about a scientist who experiments with animals and humans trying to make one entity.

After a bizarre dream-like opening, most of the first half of Horrors of Malformed Men is your typical straight-forward tale about mystery. Once Hirosuke assumes Genzaburou’s identity, the film really starts to get good, and for those who are patient, the final act is as close as anyone has come to capturing hell on Earth. One of the film's strongest assets is its ambiguity about what is real and what is fantasy.

One of the more memorable images is the scene with the man with the deformed hands popping in and out of frame with waves crashing in the background. Hajime Kaburagi’s (Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter) brilliant score is moody and menacing, as it adds layers to the film's dark and often bleak subject matter. The acting is solid all around, with Teruo Yoshida in the lead dual roles of Hirosuke and Genzaburou, elevating not only his performance but that of all those around him.

Ultimately, Horrors of Malformed Men is not a film that you will easily digest or forget anytime soon after watching it. If you are a fan of surreal cinema, which pushes the envelope with its shocking and grotesque imagery, then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Horrors of Malformed Men ASAP.

Horrors of Malformed Men gets an excellent release from Arrow Video that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and a wealth of informative extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer