6.6/10
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68 user 40 critic

Matango (1963)

| Drama, Horror, Mystery | 11 August 1963 (Japan)
Matango Poster
Shipwrecked survivors slowly transform into mushrooms.

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(screenplay), (adaptation) | 2 more credits »

Stars:

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Akira Kubo ...
Kumi Mizuno ...
Hiroshi Koizumi ...
Kenji Sahara ...
Hiroshi Tachikawa ...
Yoshio Tsuchiya ...
Miki Yashiro ...
...
Skulking Transitional Matango
Takuzô Kumagai ...
Doctor (as Jirô Kumagai)
Akio Kusama ...
Police Personnel
Yutaka Oka ...
Doctor
Keisuke Yamada ...
Doctor
Kazuo Hinata ...
Police Personnel
...
Police Personnel
...
Matango
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Storyline

A group of pleasure-seeking young people are stranded on a mysterious island when their boat crashes. One by one they succumb to the lure of the deadly mushrooms. Written by Steve Hill <[email protected]>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

island | mushroom | yacht | radiation | h.p. lovecraft | See All (28) »

Taglines:

Attack of the Mushroom People

Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Certificate:

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Parents Guide:

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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

11 August 1963 (Japan)  »

Also Known As:

Curse of the Mushroom People  »

Filming Locations:

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Company Credits

Production Co:

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was nearly banned in Japan due to the fact that the makeup that some of the cast wore as they were turning into mushrooms was very reminiscent of how many people looked after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. See more »

Goofs

When Kasai shoots at Yoshida and Mami as he chases them off the boat, you can see the bullets ricochet off the ground before he fires a shot. See more »

Crazy Credits

The opening credits of the Japanese version are on animated sails. See more »

Connections

References La ronde (1950) See more »

Soundtracks

(untitled)
Performed by Kumi Mizuno
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User Reviews

 
If you are in the mood for a bizarre, imaginative, nightmarish fantasy, see this film.
22 January 2002 | by – See all my reviews

I have noticed that many of the commentators in this forum have stated that this film gave them nightmares. No wonder. This film based on William Hope Hodgson's novel "The Voice in the Night", has a plot that is so bizarre that it could only have been inspired by someone's nightmares. The premise of intelligent fungus luring people to eat them and then the people slowly turn to "mushroom people" is so nightmarishly creepy that I can't imagine that Hodgson (or anyone else) could of dreamed this idea up when he was wide awake.

MATANGO (aka ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE) is a surprisingly low key atmospheric Japanese horror fantasy. The film is a bit slowly paced at times and too much time is spent on the castaways bickering amongst themselves. There are some elements that I suspect were better developed in the novel. One scene has the two female castaways hearing the voices of dead relatives trying to lure them into the rainforest. This never occurs again and leads nowhere. I'm sure the stuff about nuclear experiments was not in Hodgson's novel. However, the art direction is excellent, the music creepy and the final sequence memorable. Overall, the boys at Toho did a good job.

I don't care what the Medvids think of this film, or the pseudo hip MST3K crowd thinks either, your old pal jim says, see this one.
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