Horrors of Malformed Men (1969): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1969, Horrors of Malformed Men is a horror and mystery film directed by Teruo Ishii, running about 99 minutes.

What it’s about. Hirosuke, a medical student with almost no recollection of his past, is trapped in an asylum, despite being perfectly sane. After escaping from the loony bin, and being framed for the murder of a circus girl, he spots the photo of a recently deceased man, Genzaburo Komoda, to whom he bears an uncanny resemblance. By pretending to have been resurrected, Hirosuke assumes the dead man's identity, fooling everyone, including Komoda's widow and mistress. Whilst at the Komoda household, Hirosuke recalls memories that convince him to travel to a nearby island, home of Jogoro, the web-fingered father of Genzaburo. Whilst on the island, Hirosuke not only discovers Jogoro's plans to build his 'ideal community' (by transforming perfectly normal humans into hideous freaks), but also the awful truth behind his own identity.

Who’s in it. Horrors of Malformed Men stars Teruo Yoshida as Hirosuke Hitomi / Genzaburô Komoda, Yukie Kagawa as Shizuko, Teruko Yumi as Hideko / Hatsuyo and Mitsuko Aoi as Toki Komoda, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.8/10, Horrors of Malformed Men has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. In US you can rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Horrors of Malformed Men page.

If you liked it. Fans of Horrors of Malformed Men tend to enjoy Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, The Shining and Alien.