Horrors of Malformed Men

This intense Japanese horror film earned quite a reputation by being banned from public viewing for several years. That said, this reputation should not be taken lightly as Horrors Of Malformed Men is a powerful, transgressive work that still packs a punch. The storyline was stitched together from several stories by Japanese horror legend Edogawa Rampo and this gives the script a certain delirium as it hurtles from one bizarre plot twist to another. Writer/director Teruo Ishii lives up the madness of his source material by giving it a stylized approach, adding color-tinting to flashback sequences and using performance-art dancers to perform as the malformed men of the title. These unusual tactics work thanks to both the director's confident sense of style and inspired performances from the cast: Teruo Yoshida delivers a straight-faced turn as the hero that provides an anchor that the viewer can relate to amidst all the strange sights while Tatsumi Hijikata creates an unforgettable villain, mixing an effortless intensity with an unusual physicality derived from his performance-art dance training. The only real flaw with Horrors Of Malformed Men is that its pacing lags slightly around the midpoint but Ishii makes up for that with a mind-bending final half hour that piles on bizarre visuals and climaxes with an barrage of outrageous plot twists and secret revelations that will leave even the most hardened cult film fans slackjawed. Needless to say, the finished film isn't for all tastes but fans of bizarre cult cinema owe it to themselves to see Horrors Of Malformed Men at least once so they can see the extremes of what vintage Japanese cinema has to offer. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide