Horrors of Malformed Men (Kyofu kikei ningen, 1969)

US Synapse Panik House unrated DVD edition - region all


 

Magnificent Japanese Cult Classic ! Bizarre and almost Experimental Art-Horror and a Crime Mystery after the writings
of the Edgar Allan Poe of Japan - Edogawa Rampo. Directed by the great and fascinating Outsider of Japanese film,
Teruo Ishii
1924 - 2005. Often unhinged and daring he is said to be one of Takashi Miike's big influences.

The film is based mainly on Edogawa Rampo's "The Strange Tale of Panorama Island" and starts with doctor Hirosuke
Hitomi (played by Teruo Yoshida) being in a mental hospital in 1925, under the Taisho era. He escapes in pursuit of
lost memory fragments and a children's song, and he acts as his own doppleganger. He arrives to his father, to the
island of Jogoro, where Jogoro (Tatsumi Hijikata) has created his own paradise, an island with hords of malformed
men. Yes, and Edogawa Rampo's master detective Kogoro Akechi (played by Minoru Ohki) turns up too.

The film is presented in 2.35:1 widescreen with japanese audio mono with english subtitles, region all
Extras:
Audio commentary by film critic and Ishii expert Mark Schilling and a moderator, a text by Jasper Sharp, reversible
sleeve, Malformed Memories - Interviews with i.a. Shinya Tsukamoto who have been inspired a lot by a master
writer and a master director as Edogawa Rampo and Teruo Ishii (22 minutes), Pictures from the Teruo Ishii retrospective
held in Udinese, Italy in 2003 (13 minutes), Introduction to this film by Teruo Ishii himself (3 minutes and 50 seconds),
Trailer, a Poster Gallery and Biographies.

Note December 2022: A very fine DVD edition from US Synapse this was and when i wrote the above review in 2007
i thought that Panik House maybe had bought Synapse. But probably the opposite occurred and Synapse is with
us still today and always releases very high quality editions.
Panik House Entertainment is gone since a decade or so and will forever be considered one of the greatest film
companies ever for their important task of releasing the amazing wonders of Méxican Film in superb editions


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