Half Human
| Half Human | |
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Original Japanese poster
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| Directed by | Ishirō Honda |
| Produced by | Tomoyuki Tanaka |
| Screenplay by | Takeo Murata |
| Story by | Shigeru Kayama |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Masaru Sato |
| Cinematography | Tadashi Iimura |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
Half Human (Jūjin Yuki Otoko (獣人雪男?)) is a tokusatsu film directed by Ishirō Honda in 1955. The film was re-edited and dubbed in English in a 1958 U.S. release version called Half Human.
The Japanese version is told in flashbacks framed by scenes of a reporter questioning the expedition after they have returned from their harrowing ordeal in the mountains.
Five young friends, university students, have come to the Japanese Alps in Nagano during New Year's for a skiing vacation. Among them are Takashi Iijima (Akira Takarada) his girlfriend Machiko Takeno (Momoko Kochi), her elder brother Kiyoshi Takeno (Tadashi Okabe) and their friends Nakada (Sachio Saki) and Kaji.
Rather than the five of them skiing together, Kiyoshi announces that he will follow Kaji to the cabin of a mutual friend named Gen, and then meet the other three at the inn. Takashi, Michiko, and Nakada arrive at the inn, welcomed by the manager Matsui (Akira Sera), who informs them that a blizzard is approaching.
The caretaker tries to telephone the remote cabin, but nobody answers. He tries to hide his concern, but nobody's fooled. While Takashi takes over trying to ring the cabin, Machiko stares out the window into the deepening storm. She catches sight of a shadowy figure shambling toward the lodge. A fur-clad young woman named Chika (Akemi Negishi), who lives in a remote village somewhere deep in the mountains. Chika is none too pleased to see so many visitors in the lodge, since the people of her village shun all contact with outsiders. However, the night is so brutal that she has little choice but to join them if she wants to stay warm. There is still no response from the cabin; and the little group is horrified to hear the sound of an avalanche thundering down a nearby slope. The lodge telephone starts ringing. Machiko runs to the phone; but no sooner has she put it up to her ear when she throws it back down again in horror. Through the earpiece comes the sound of screams, followed by a single gunshot. There is a moment of silence. Takashi picks up the receiver, he hears another agonized scream and the line goes dead. Chika puts her furs back on and slips away, unnoticed by the others.
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Wikipedia