Not
exactly what I would call "scary" per se, MATANGO is nonetheless
definitely one of the creepiest films I have ever had the
squirm-inducing pleasure of sitting through. Originally released in the
U.S. under the unfortunate and somewhat-inaccurate title of ATTACK OF
THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE, this was one of a handful of Toho films I'd read
about but somehow missed during my formative years of absorbing and
learning to adore that studio's output. (That's likely because it never
played on the Tri-State area's #1 TV showcase for Toho movies during the
1970's through the early 1980's, the venerable 4:30 MOVIE.) Thankfully,
it's now available uncut and subtitled on DVD and I urge you to check
out this quasi-forgotten gem.
MATANGO tells the shudder-filled story, related by a patient in a Tokyo
psychiatric ward, of a yachtful of hip young revelers — including Toho
regulars Akira Kubo and Kumi Mizuno — whose carefree day on the ocean
becomes a fight for survival after an unexpected squall renders them
lost at sea with the boat's sail and rudder torn off. After drifting for
several days, they end up at a remote, apparently uncharted island. As
they search the island for sustenance, the castaways find fresh water
but no trace of food except for strange mushrooms that cover the place
like fungal barnacles. Erring on the side of caution, the skipper
advises against consuming the mushrooms and the group instead attempts
to survive on turtle eggs and birds in order to conserve their meager
food supplies, a course of action that proves a resounding failure.
Ominously, they also find a wrecked deserted ship festooned with the
mushrooms and, also unfortunately for the characters, they're in a
sci-fi/horror film from Toho Studios' classic period for such flicks, so
they slowly realize that the island was apparently affected by atomic
testing that may have been conducted from the wrecked ship, and the
ubiquitous mushrooms may be the direct result of atomic mutation. It's
also noted that the area's sea birds actively avoid the place...
As the group slowly finds itself on edge due to the hopelessness of
rescue and the encroaching pangs of hunger as their food runs out,
in-fighting begins and some of the group turn to eating the untested
mushrooms out of sheer desperation. It soon becomes apparent that the
mushrooms are addictive and have a euphoric psychedelic effect, and as
that is discovered the fate of the wrecked ship's crew is revealed when
our protagonists encounter a hideously misshapen fusion of man and
mushroom.
You
guessed it: those who consume the mushrooms themselves end up as
creepily-giggling, human-sized fungus monsters, eventually losing all
traces of their former status as representatives of homo sapiens. For
example:
Eventually,
one of the castaways is rescued but what baleful effect has the
experience had upon him? Let's just say that he likely would have been
better off if he'd remained on the island...
Definitely low-key and all about atmosphere rather than straight-up
"BOO!" scares — I swear you can practically smell and feel the thick
mustiness of the fungus — this is perhaps Toho's most unique effort from
that golden period and it deserves more exposure here in the West.
Seriously, check it out.
Poster from the original Japanese theatrical release. 
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