Review of The Manster (1959) by Justin H — 13 Feb 2013

I have never seen so many white people in Japan. Seriously, every main character that isn't a villain or a villain's accomplice is an occidental in this thing--and it only gets more ridiculous from there.

The evil scientist has literally no solid motivation behind his experiments, the main character is essentially just an overblown caricature of all the stereotypes associated with men of the '50s, all backstory is told in huge lumps of exposition...there's very little that "The Manster" does right, and that is precisely what makes it so gloriously fun. In fact, the only reason I can think of that this hadn't been featured on MST3K is that it drags in a few places--most notably toward the end. When there's a homicidal mutant with goofy prosthetics being chased around by the cops, I shouldn't be sitting here, listening to poorly-executed melodrama!

Despite the occasional stumbling block though, this is one hell of a good film to make fun of. And that's the only reason I've rated it so highly. But if you're looking for something that can stand on its own merits, then what are you doing, looking at a movie called "The Manster" in the first place?