THE MANSTER (1960)
Directors: George P. Breakston and Kenneth G. Crane
Retromedia

Made during the golden age of United Artists horror and sci-fi, THE MANSTER is a schlocky two-headed monster picture that pre-dates other more popular ones by more than ten years (THE INCREDIBLE 2-HEADED TRANSPLANT, THE THING WITH TWO HEADS). Shot in English in Japan as a U.S./Japan co-production, viewing this one late at night is a great way to kill 72 minutes.

THE MANSTER concerns American journalist Larry Stanford (Peter Dyneley) who visits a reclusive scientist, Dr. Robert Suzuki (Japanese sci-fi film regular Tetsu Nakamura) for an interview in Japan. The scientist seduces Stanford with booze and bathing geisha girls, and he's soon ignoring his wife, his job and all other responsibilities. Suzuki actually has intentions on using the American as a guinea pig, injecting him with a serum that causes an eye to grow from his shoulder. Soon, the eye turns into an ugly head, and a two headed monster in a Columbo raincoat is terrorizing Japan.

THE MANSTER is a memorable piece of junk, since many kids saw this on TV in the 60s and 70s when it aired as part of a UA package of scare flicks. Seeing a guy with a blinking eye on his shoulder, then a ghastly second head, then an actual body split (the second head becomes a furry ape) made this pretty unforgettable. The film is talky at times, but the last few minutes are insane. There's also the added bonus of Suzuki's horrifying mutant wife being kept in a cage. Jane Hylton (CIRCUS OF HORRORS) plays the American's wife and Jerry Ito from MOTHRA plays a police superintendent.

A public domain favorite that was once given a legitimate laserdisc release (as part of a UA horror box set), THE MANSTER makes its DVD debut from Retromedia. The full frame, black & white image looks pretty good, with only minor print damage at the beginning and during reel changes. There is some grain, but the overall image is very sharp with nice contrast. The mono audio is fairly clear with no noticeable problems. No trailer is included (it originally played on a double bill with HORROR CHAMBER OF DR. FAUSTUS aka EYES WITHOUT A FACE), but there is a brief still gallery. (George R. Reis)

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