The Manster

Plot synopsis:
American foreign news correspondent Larry Stanford (Dyneley) has been working out of Japan for the last few years, to the detriment of his marriage. His last assignment before returning to his wife in the United States is an interview with the renowned but reclusive scientist Dr. Robert Suzuki (Tetsu Nakamura), who lives atop a volcanic mountain.
During the brief interview, Dr. Suzuki amiably discusses his work on evolution caused by sporadic cosmic rays in the atmosphere, and professes that he has discovered a method for producing evolutionary change by chemical means.
Suzuki serves Larry a drugged libation, causing him to fall into a deep sleep. Announcing to Tara (Terri Zimmern), his voluptuous assistant, that Larry is the perfect candidate for his latest evolutionary experiments, he injects an unknown substance into Larry's shoulder.
Upon waking, Larry is oblivious to the true situation and accepts Suzuki's invitation to spend the next week vacationing with him around Japan. Over the next few days, Suzuki uses Tara as a beguiling distraction while conditioning Larry with mineral baths and copious amounts of alcohol, exacerbating the pain in Larry's shoulder.
Meanwhile, Larry's estranged wife (played by Dyneley's actual spouse, Jane Hylton) has traveled to Japan to bring him back home with her. When confronted, Larry refuses to leave his new life of women and carousing. After a few drinks that night, Larry examines his painful shoulder to discover that a large eyeball has grown at the spot of Dr. Suzuki's injection.
Becoming aloof and solitary, Larry wanders Tokyo late at night. He murders a woman on the street, a Buddhist monk and a psychiatrist, while slowly changing form, culminating in his growing a second head. Seeking a cure, Larry climbs the volcano to Dr. Suzuki's laboratory where Suzuki has just informed Tara that Larry has become "an entirely new species" and beyond remedy.
Entering the lab, Larry kills Suzuki and sets the building on fire as Tara flees. Larry splits into two completely separate bodies, bringing himself back to normal. The monstrous second body grabs Tara, and throws her into the volcano. As Larry's wife and the police arrive, he pushes the second body into the volcano. Larry, now cured, is taken away by the police, although it remains unclear how much moral or legal responsibility he has for his violent actions. The movie ends as Larry's wife and his friend discuss the good that remains in Larry.

Tags: cult, murder

Review:
Neither reaches the giddy, hallucinogenic heights of PKD's best work, but they are both a cut above your average "monster movie" of the era.'The Manster' concerns a cocky American journalist who befriends a charismatic Japanese scientist.
He thinks he's just letting his hair down after several years of hard work, but doesn't realize that he is the unwitting guinea pig in an ambitious scientific experiment which turns out horribly wrong.Try and see 'The Manster', and if possible make it a double bill with 'The Human Vapour'.
Well, the movie's not *quite* as scary to my jaded sensibilities as it was then, but those scenes still had a kick; the unearthly howling, tearing sounds when the Manster 'separates' still chilled.While it'll never be mistaken for great moviemaking, this film deserves a bigger 'cult' status than it has..
It's very similar to the classic Werewolf in London.An American reporter in Japan is injected with a serum by Dr. Suzuki--who's wife is a mutant creature from another unsuccessful experiment and is in a cage.Rash, then bump, then voila an eye pops out of the Reporter's shoulder.
The murderous thing continues to grow right out of the American reporter's body.This is an American film, filmed on a very low budget in Japan.I'm sure it was the inspiration for all the two headed movies that followed and particuliarly How to Get Ahead in Advertising.
After injecting the reporter against his will, the scientist discovers his serum changes the man into a..." according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.Don't join "The Manster" in progress, as its opening scenes are very striking.
The erotic sight of two young Japanese women bathing is interrupted as mad scientist Tetsu Nakamura (as Robert Suzuki) must immediately deal with his violent brother ("An experiment that didn't work out"), while his wife (another "experiment that didn't work out") screams in her cage Mr. Nakamura takes charge of the situation by killing his brother; then, Peter Dyneley (as Larry Stanford) conveniently shows up; a self-described "brilliant and highly underpaid foreign correspondent", Mr. Dyneley wants to interview Nakamura about his research on "the secrets of evolution".
Well - I guess you'll just have to watch this truly zany, Sci-Fi flick called "The Manster" to find out the answer to that daunting question.Released in 1962 - The Manster is actually a kinda fun Mad Scientist/Horror movie to watch, providing, of course, that one doesn't take its goofy, far-fetched story at all seriously.I found The Manster to be one of those outrageously low-budget, fright flicks from that particular era that was so bad that, somehow, it was actually (almost) good.I think that it was a very wise move on the part of the director, George Breakston, to see to it that news-reporter Larry Stanford's hideous, two-headed transformation was kept partially concealed within the shadows of near-darkness - Otherwise the intended horror of Larry's horrific predicament would've, I'm sure, been completely lost by a string of unintentional laughs.All-in-all - Even though I would never, ever consider The Manster to be great horror, I still thought that it was a least well-worth one honest viewing..
There were a lot that they showed constantly (mostly the stupid Godzilla films) and this was one of them.I saw it when I was in high school and, like everybody else here, was completely grossed out by the eye in the shoulder scene.
It's about a mad scientist who experiments with mutations; he injects an American journalist with a serum which results in the man turning into....the Manster!
On the other hand it does work as a horror film in that it has some pretty striking and memorable imagery; as well as the Manster and the mutant wife, we also have a fairly explosive finale on top an erupting volcano.
Apparently "getting acquainted with Japanese culture" means binge- drinking, taking numerous public baths and committing adultery with several Geishas, as Larry changes from a hard-working and wife- loving American into a sleazy and obnoxious  Japanese citizen?
"The Manster" is more remarkable and special than the vast majority of 50s Sci-Fi/horror flicks thanks to a few impressive special effects (the eye in the shoulder was copied a number of times) and the bizarre atmosphere of conflicting cultures.
There's some cool moments when Larry is mid-transformation and stumbling around with a second, monstrous head on his shoulders but the film's climax isn't all that exciting.
The pair that played the married couple in the film were actually married in real life, and the actor who played the evil Japanese mad scientist was born, like me, Canadian.
Mad Japanese scientist Dr. Robert Suzuki (Tetsu Nakamura) hopes to create a serum that will advance human evolution, but all efforts so far have been less than successful, earlier attempts having turned his wife and brother (who apparently volunteered for the experiment, making them just as mad as he is) into hideously deformed monsters.Not one to admit defeat, Suzuki—aided by his glamorous assistant Tara (Terri Zimmern)—gives it one last go, drugging and injecting roving US reporter Larry Stanford (Peter Dyneley) without his knowledge.
As his personality becomes more monstrous, so does his appearance: his hand gets hairy, an eyeball appears in his shoulder, and he grows a second head, eventually splitting into two separate beings.A wonderfully subversive storyline and a standout central performance from Dyneley help distinguish The Manster from most of its contemporaries; Stanford's insatiable sexual appetite and violent outbursts, Tara's dubious past (I'm guessing that she used to be a hooker), Dr. Suzuki's callous and calculating approach to his 'work', and the unforgettably surreal transformation from man to beast all go to make this film a genuinely freaky and thoroughly enjoyable ride into darker-than-usual 50s B-movie monster territory.7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb..
Between its obviously limited budget, cheap sets, a cast of no-name American and Japanese actors and some awkward dialog, it's a bit of a wonder that "The Manster" turned out to be such an effective little nightmare.The movie begins with the shocking murders of three Japanese women by a dimly-seen, Yeti-like monster, in a bath house, concluding with the obligatory splash of blood on the shoji, over which the opening credits run.
(Suzuki has a basement laboratory where he grows giant fungi, keeps his insane and hideously deformed wife Emiko -- Toyoko Takechi -- in a cage, and conducts his horrific experiments.) Turns out Kenji is the monster.
Shortly afterward, dull, strait-laced reporter Larry Stanford (Peter Dyneley) shows up on Dr. Suzuki's doorstep to interview the doctor about his oddball theories on evolution.
Dr. Suzuki -- who wants to observe the effects of his latest experiment at first hand -- turns up again and befriends Larry, promising to show him "the real Japan".
Dyneley does a fairly passable job as a hapless guinea pig for Suzuki's mad science, going from nice guy to abusive alcoholic philanderer to monstrous serial killer with an extra head growing out of his shoulder.
But these are only glimpses of the cheesy and over-the-top like "LEAVE ME ALONE!" The rest is just old hat: Frankenstein doctor just wanting to make the world a better place with his mansters; Jekyll and Hyde situation (with a little innuendo thrown in as adultery is at least suggested with the 'geisha'); police in pursuit as the manster goes on, back to Frankenstein monster all over again.
It's got a second head that makes the Zaphod Beeblebrox head in the Hitchhiker's Guide miniseries look like it came from Rick Baker, it's got a climax on a volcano where the split half of the manster is a gorilla (and our hero Larry turns back to normal in a flash!), and it did inspire one of the funniest sequences in the Evil Dead series.
Reporter, Larry Stanford (Peter Dyneley) arrives to get the scoop on Suzuki's work.
An American reporter in Japan meets with an elusive Japanese scientist who has crazed (well he is kind of mad) theories about chemically changing evolution.
Drugging the American, he invites him to vacation around Japan - but then weird things start happening - like GROWING AN EYE ON HIS SHOULDER!
Two Ugly Heads Aren't Better Than One. Mad scientist Tetsu Nakamura has a couple of failed experiments on his brother and wife turning them into mutants while studying evolution.
The scientist feels the reporter would make the perfect subject for his most diabolical of experiments which turns the reporter into a two-headed creature - a killer.This one is a little bit above average on the 1950's horror b-films - they really went all out for the film.
While watching there were some things that I noticed:*There's a white person cast as a Japanese.*The discussions between the reporter and scientist border on a bromance.*The song played on the instrument in that one scene sounds like a blues song.And then of course the eye reminded me of "Army of Darkness".
Until tonight, I hadn't seen this movie in more than 35 years--and all I remembered were three things:  the title, the "separation," and that the "separation" scared the s**t out of me.Well, so much for time.It's still a fun horror movie--a variation on Jekyll and Hyde (and the Wolfman, which is also a J&H variant).But I don't recall the "separation" (I keep putting it in quotes so those of you who know the film will know what scene I'm talking about, without spoiling it for others) taking place behind a tree--I remembered it happened in the a forest, though.
An American reporter in Japan is sent to interview an eccentric Japanese scientist working on bizarre experiments in his mountain laboratory.I thought I had seen this film before, but after watching it tonight I know I never did.
Yes, The Manster - a movie about an American journalist being unwittingly used by a Japanese scientist for experimentation that changes his physical appearance by first adding an eye to his shoulder and later creating a whole separate head to it.
Paul Dyneley plays Larry Stanford, a 35 (though looks like 45)year old reporter in Japan on the verge of returning home to Mrs. Stanford.
What transpires from there is seeing Dyneley get progressively grouchy whilst becoming quite the rogue; Dr. Suzuki opens his mind to the Geisha experience and soon Larry is bathing, flirting, and whatever else he puts his mind to with pretty Geishas and, in particular, one girl - the lovely, beautiful assistant to Dr. Suzuki - Tara.
He even kills and burns his own brother- a yeti looking thing- after he escapes one night.When Larry, an American foreign correspondent, comes to investigate the Doctor's work, he gets drugged.
While he is passed out, the Doctor injects him with an enzyme that will cause him to mutate, both physically and psychologically- changing him into a psychopathic "manster".His hand first turns into a monster hand, and he starts to get the overwhelming urge to kill people.After murdering a monk, Larry starts to go crazy.
And this soon sprouts into a second beastial head.Monster Larry is now forced to go on the lam, with the cops chasing him- and that's pretty much how the rest of the movie goes.
While the Americans act like they are their saviours- taking a position of moral authority (both thematically, and in the work-related positions they hold), and using that to dominate their Japanese inferiors.This film is most notable for the homage it receives from Sam Raimi in Army of Darkness- when Ash gets an eye on his shoulder; Evil Ash's head pops out and the two eventually split apart.
The scene so well remembered by so many (who usually don't remember the film's title) is when the eyeball appears growing out of the horrified man's shoulder.Later a head sprouts.This film is perhaps the first of the two headed monster movies.
A reporter goes to Japan and sees mad scientists' Dr. Suzuki (prior to inventing the car I suppose)wife is a mutant being kept in a cage.
Suzuki injects the report however and soon an eye grows out of the reporter's shoulder, then a head and then....well it's pretty silly stuff of course, but...
Then he discovers an "eye" growing in his shoulder, then a new head, and eventually, he's off on a rampage, killing Buddhist priests and geishas and policemen and whoever else is in his way (he's an equal opportunity monster.) Eventually he is cornered by the police in the scientist's lair, he actually pulls himself in half, and his monstrous half drags the scientist into the volcano (you knew there had to be a volcano) and his geisha girlfriend falls in after him.
It's always interesting to hear what others think we sound like to them.My guess is that Dyneley and Hylton signed on for The Manster to get a nice free Japanese trip.
The result is the growth of a second head and weird personality changes.Strange American Japanese co-production is the sort of thing that only a deranged mind might come up with.
Its central plot revolves an obnoxious American journalist Larry Stanford played by Peter Dyneley who travels to Japan to interview scientist Dr. Robert Suzuki played by Tetsu Nakamura.
American reporter visits Japanese Mad Scientist with lovely assistant.
Dyneley had good back-up too from Satoshi Nakamura as the deceptively smooth Dr.Suzuki and the stunningly beautiful Terri Zimmern as the doctor's assistant and Larry's temptress Tara (who was this stunning actress?
Not a bad little mad scientist/monster film..
The Manster is set in Japan where an American named Larry Stanford (Peter Dyneley) works as a foreign news correspondent, Stanford is invited to interview a Japanese scientist named Dr. Robert Suzuki (Tetsu Nakamura) in his mountain top laboratory.
While there Suzuki drugs Stanford's drink & injects him with an experimental serum he has been working on, at first Larry seems fine but soon changes as he becomes aggressive, hateful & rather unpleasant.
As a two headed freak Stanford goes on a killing spree but realises that his only hope is to go back to Suzuki & try to get him to reverse the horrifying transformation...This American & Japanese co-production was directed by George P.
Crane (also credited as editor) who manage to turn in a pretty decent little mad scientist monster film that is far better than many similar efforts from the same period.
For it relatively brief 72 minute duration (brief when compared to some of today's two & a half hour marathon's anyway) The Manster is pretty effective, it's a strange film for the period as although it deals with horrible experiments which lead to a monster that kills people the script has an entire cultural subtext as it follows an American in Japan & there are plenty of way the script can be interpreted with Japan & it's culture 'infecting' Stanford & the scene at the end in which the brutish part of him that is brought out by the serum detaches itself & is destroyed (along with his Japanese lover) after which Stanford returns to 'normal' could be considered a racist attempt at making a point that Japan is evil & the aspects of it & it's culture infected Stanford & his salvation at the end is when this Japanese part of him is weeded out & destroyed.
The Manster in feel & tone is closer to a Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde split personality story rather than a two-headed monster film & you sort of sense the makers had lofty ambitions.
There are some good scenes here with the infamous eyeball in the shoulder a particular stand-out & even the two-headed monster at the end looks alright although the hairy beast thing looks rubbish & there's also a disfigured woman that Suzuki keeps locked up.
The acting is alright, no-one is terrible but no-one is brilliant either.The Manster is a pretty good late 50's black and white sci-fi horror film that tries to make a point about culture, adultery & controlling the evil inside us that is actually more fun when it's a straight monster film rather than a soap opera styled moral drama.
Reclusive scientist Dr. Robert Suzuki (nicely played by Satoshi Nakamura) uses his experimental serum to transform arrogant American reporter Larry Stanford (a solid performance by Peter Dyneley) into a hideous and murderous two-headed monster.
***SPOILERS*** When American foreign news reporter Larry Stanford, Peter Dyneley, came to interview renowned Japaneses genetic scientist Dr. Robert Suzuki,Tetsu Nakamura,he didn't quite realize what he was getting himself into.
What's even worse Larry starts to get violent fits that in the end leads to him going out at night and killing anyone that he comes in contact with!It's Dr.Suzuki's way to keep Larry in line and under his control by having his pretty assistant Tara, Terri Zimmern, get romantically involved with him.
That despite threats by Dr.Suzuki of sending Tara back to where she came, and from where he rescued her, to the underground white slavery trade.Larry who's has't been feeling that well since Dr.Suzuki drugged him soon gets even worse when he notices an eye that later turned into a head growing out of his right shoulder!
This turns Larry into an uncontrollable homicidal maniac and whatever he did before, in murdering innocent people on the streets of Tokyo, is child's play to what he's soon to do next in the movie!Surprisingly good acting that you'd never expect in a film of this type makes the silly storyline far more believable then it would have been.
American reporter Larry Stanford (Peter Dyneley) is on assignment in Tokyo to interview a crazed scientist Dr. Suzuki (Tetsu Nakamura), who is experimenting with mutations.
Finally-a horror/sci-fi film that makes Ed Wood's movies seem good!.
The only scenes I remember are 1) An eye on his shoulder, 2) he grows a second head and 3) He drops a Japanese babe in a kimono into a volcano.Although this was filmed in Japan, I'm not even entirely sure that babe was Japanese or not, now that I've seen it again.
(Obviously written by people who have no idea what Evolution is or how it works.) He also becomes kind of a jerk, cheating on his wife, living a wild life, not doing his job and eventually turning into a badly filmed two-headed monster.Bad lighting, bad make up, bad acting.