My fellow IMDb reviewers HumanoidOfFlesh and EVOL666 say that they had trouble following the plot of Japanese body-horror Cyclops because they had no subtitles; I am not surprised since I DID have subtitles and I was still totally confused by what I was watching.
The story, as far as I could fathom, involves the next step in evolution: people born with genetic anomalies to help them adapt to harmful substances in the atmosphere. Most die from these mutations while still in their infancy, but thanks to the work of scientist Keiichi Takozawa, some have survived to adulthood. Doctor Takamori (Kazuhiro Sano), Takozawa's protege, continues to study the next stage in human evolution, his adopted sister Miyuki (Mayumi Hasegawa) being one such mutant. Meanwhile, one-eyed Sonezaki (Kai Atô) tries to prevent Takamori's child from being born (not sure why - just one of the things that confused me about the movie).
For the most part, Cyclops is unremarkable and perplexing stuff; the last fifteen minutes, however, is all-out Japanese craziness, packed with oozing tendrils and mucky appendages. Although I still didn't have a clue what was going on, I'm a sucker for gross-out practical effects and the final quarter of an hour definitely held my interest with its messy mayhem, the fight in a lift between Takamori and Sonezaki being the highlight, the two men's mutated bodies eventually becoming one heaving mass of fleshy confusion in the process.
Not essential viewing for most horror fans, but if you're an admirer of such films as Splatter: Naked Blood, Tetsuo, the Guinea Pig series, or Biotherapy, then it's probably worth 52 minutes of your time.
The story, as far as I could fathom, involves the next step in evolution: people born with genetic anomalies to help them adapt to harmful substances in the atmosphere. Most die from these mutations while still in their infancy, but thanks to the work of scientist Keiichi Takozawa, some have survived to adulthood. Doctor Takamori (Kazuhiro Sano), Takozawa's protege, continues to study the next stage in human evolution, his adopted sister Miyuki (Mayumi Hasegawa) being one such mutant. Meanwhile, one-eyed Sonezaki (Kai Atô) tries to prevent Takamori's child from being born (not sure why - just one of the things that confused me about the movie).
For the most part, Cyclops is unremarkable and perplexing stuff; the last fifteen minutes, however, is all-out Japanese craziness, packed with oozing tendrils and mucky appendages. Although I still didn't have a clue what was going on, I'm a sucker for gross-out practical effects and the final quarter of an hour definitely held my interest with its messy mayhem, the fight in a lift between Takamori and Sonezaki being the highlight, the two men's mutated bodies eventually becoming one heaving mass of fleshy confusion in the process.
Not essential viewing for most horror fans, but if you're an admirer of such films as Splatter: Naked Blood, Tetsuo, the Guinea Pig series, or Biotherapy, then it's probably worth 52 minutes of your time.