A reporter is sent to interview a scientist working in his mountain laboratory. | dG1fME1LaEloTmRPWUk
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00the shadow of a hairy ape-like thing, cut to a doctor climbing up the side of a hill,
00:06enters his cabin laboratory that's built into rock, goes into his weird basement with giant
00:10mushrooms. Seriously, just like Attack of the Mushroom People. Lots of steam and machinery
00:16and plaster of Paris mushroom. He has a one-sided conversation with a hideous creature that was
00:22once a woman. Then another conversation with the hairy murderer. Dr. Suzuki kills the monster
00:28then tosses it into an inferno that rages under the lab. Cut to another guy in jacket and tie
00:34as he hauls ass up the hill. Our lead, American journalist Larry Stanford, arrives at Dr.
00:40Suzuki's cabin for an interview. Larry just came from Tokyo but says he's leaving to bed. Suzuki
00:46asks some very personal questions, sizing Larry up. He asks if he's in good health and if he's
00:50been fucking around while away from the supposed wife of his. Dr. Suzuki gives him a scotch and
00:56roofie, then injects him with the new enzyme he's been working on. We suspect that Larry's
01:03going to get hairy soon. Larry goes back to Tokyo in Tibet, seemingly normal. Suzuki shows up in
01:11Tokyo, Tibet to get Larry hammered, but the theremin music tells us he's actually watching
01:16Larry for some kind of reaction to the new enzyme. Larry stops shaving and starts ignoring the wife's
01:22phone calls. He starts scratching himself a lot. He develops a gross scab on his shoulder that looks
01:27like plaster. Then his hand gets hairy. Soon he's getting powerful impulses to kill. The
01:33monster is a US-Japanese co-production that deserves to be included in the history of body
01:37horror films. It's like Larry's a giant teenager. He's getting surly, he's drinking, and he starts
01:44getting a pimple. But it's a lot worse than a pimple. The effects of Dr. Suzuki's monster juice
01:53cause Larry to hide out at Tara's place, where another fade-out tells us Tara doesn't mind doing
01:58a guy with hairy hands and a gross scab. Bob, let the good times roll, Suzuki is getting excited
02:04because Larry is mutating into what he calls a new species. I don't get the science behind this.
02:12That's it for plot description. The rest is for you to find. The monster is a good example of a
02:17movie that can stick with you, even if it's not high art. It runs on its own silly story logic.
02:22Dr. Suzuki works in a cabin fused with a cave in a volcanic region because it's going to pay off in
02:27the climax. The hokey science behind the enzymes explain a vague talk of distant stars and mutation
02:34that could lead to a new race of non-people. A chase takes place in a cemetery where Larry's
02:40weapon of choice is rocks. Why does the Tokyo PD seem stacked with mostly white Americans?
02:46These sorts of horror movies are suggestive. You remember bits and pieces more than you recall
02:50the particulars of story. The later scenes of Larry's mutation are silly on one hand,
02:56with a rubber appliance bouncing around as Larry runs. But on the other hand, his condition is
03:01genuinely nightmarish. The movie isn't a Cronenberg-like commentary about the human body,
03:07but it's got some real weird moments that'll stick with you, even if none of it makes much
03:11sense. Thanks for stopping by. Drop by again soon. Bye-bye.