Edgar Allan Pooh . . . such as the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, while others including WORLD WAR Z are peopled by fast-moving, gymnastic brain-eaters, there are scads of blob movies in which the title mass skedaddles right along, but sadly THE H-MAN is not one of these. "O.N. John" might have been "Torn between two lovers," but she certainly would have felt even MORE like a fool had she been divvied up among at least a dozen film genres, as is THE H-MAN. Whether you look at this tale as a mob saga, horror flick, musical, police procedural, romantic comedy, pacifist rant, anti-Nuclear plea, exercise in science fiction, ghost story, Asian sex industry expose, maritime myth, post-war anti-American propaganda piece, or something else, viewers cannot deny that THE H-MAN is one mixed up mess, given its leaden pace, ludicrous English voice dubbing, cheesy special effects, pretentious professors, flip-flopping police, idiotic crime lords, kitchen sink plotting, pulled punches, eye-candy teases that lead nowhere, amphibian genocide (putting one in mind of Dolphin Bay), and other incompatible jagged puzzle pieces.

MartinHafer While I am a huge fan of Japanese films, I don't care for giant monster films. While Godzilla and the like have huge followings, seeing a guy running around in a rubber monster suit does nothing for me. Because of this AND the fact that the film was made by Toho Studios (home of 'Zilla) AND the director of many of these films (Ishirô Honda), my expectations were very low. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded and H-MAN turned out to be a decent film--with an interesting plot and decent dubbing (though I would have preferred it to be subtitled).The film begins with some drug dealers stealing some drugs. However, unexpectedly, one of the men suddenly vanishes and all that is left of him is his clothes!! What happened and where he went was a mystery and so far the film reminded me of THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, where in the town the people were missing and all that was left were their clothes and some powder. However, the similarities to this Michael Crichton film/novel seem to end there and it really seems more like a variation on the film THE BLOB (also 1958).The police go on the assumption that the criminal is alive (and naked) somewhere and refuse to consider anything else. So, when a young scientist insists that he knows what happens, they naturally ignore him completely (even though they have no leads). He insists that nuclear testing (THE 1950s cause of all evil in horror films) created a monster that could dissolve people almost instantly but is forced to work on his own. Along the way, he falls for the missing gangster's lady friend and together they both set out to prove it.Eventually, after several folks are dissolved by this evil slime, the cops FINALLY admit that the scientist might just be right! And, in a very radical departure from what they'd been doing, they order the sewers of Tokyo to be flooded with gasoline and ignited to kill the beasts (which, apparently, isn't all that hard to kill--unlike most nuclear mutants). But, the girl is kidnapped and carried into the sewers, so it's up to the studly scientist to come to her rescue and save the city--at the same time (what a guy!!).While a lot of the film is the standard "nuclear slime dissolves the masses" film, it manages to do a good job thanks to better than normal dubbing, a decent story and a monster that isn't nearly as laughable as Godzilla, Rodan or Mothra!! Good old 50s horror entertainment for all.

gdgold333 Alien is suppose to now be the most terrifying Sci-Fi/Horror put out, but for those of us who saw The H-Man as young baby-boomers this one should get first prize.The comments by others who were in elementary school at the time, pretty much says it all about being almost terrorized for weeks by nightmares and parents trying to sooth you before you could fall asleep at night. I still have an occasional dream about being tracked by one of these "liquid creatures". I would hope to see the movie again sometime to "embrace my fear" as an adult. Somethings in the psyche of a young child can hang around for decades, and for movies... this is one of them.If Sony decides to buy up the rights on this one from Toho Productions for a Region 1 DVD release, they would do well to bundle it with the other early and under-rated classics like Rodan and The Mysterians. Unfortunately, as classic as Godzilla releases have been (more than my mind can count), it is time for something more unique and rare which has been passed over. I hope it happens.

partnerfrance Like many other posters, I saw this film as a young boy and it gave me nightmares for weeks (maybe even months)! Luckily, my older brother finally convinced me that the "liquid creature" would not survive a swim from Japan to the United States and I was able to sleep again.I suspect that the modern age's Freddies, Jasons and Leatherfaces would not hold a candle to the effect that this film had on an impressionable youth back then. Perhaps the very fact that the monster had no tangible qualities and could theoretically be any puddle of water you came across was what gave it its fright value.It would certainly be interesting to see how a remake of this would play today.