It's not easy to keep a thing like that from attracting too much attention.
Having dipped into Mill Creek's "Pure Terror" box set this afternoon for the first time in months (for Monstroid, which lived down to its pitiful IMDb rating), I figured it wouldn't hurt to do so again this evening, especially since I've long been fascinated by The Manster (which also happens to be in the "Nightmare Worlds" set). Directed by George P. Breakston & Kenneth G. Crane, this American-Japanese co-production is a very odd bird indeed, about a scientist (Tetsu Nakamura) working on the secrets of evolution who has no compunction about testing his experimental enzyme on unsuspecting humans. In true horror-movie fashion, though, it opens with a seemingly random scene of a woman being brutally murdered by the shadow of some hairy beast. It's only when it returns to Nakamura's mountain lair that we find out it's the doctor's brother and that he was a volunteer. Not so with the seasoned newspaper reporter (Peter Dyneley) sent to do a profile on Nakamura for some unexplained reason. Realizing he's the perfect test subject, Nakamura slips Dyneley a mickey, then gives him the all-important injection, after which he has to sit back and wait for it to take effect.
Of course, the change doesn't come over Dyneley right away. In fact, he has time to return to Tokyo to bid sayonara to his editor (Van Hawley) and make plans to fly back to the States to be with his semi-estranged wife (Jane Hylton). Nakamura is close behind, though, plying Dyneley with drink, showing him the sights and even getting his lab assistant (Terri Zimmern) to mount a charm offensive. Eventually Hylton shows up and delivers an ultimatum, which goes over about as well as you might expect, especially since it's not long before Dyneley comes down with a severe case of hairy hand which somehow compels him to kill a Buddhist monk. This is soon followed by the old eye on the shoulder gag and the growth of a second head, which isn't the sort of thing one can hide by shoving it in a pocket or wrapping it in gauze. Besides, he's in full-on murderer mode by that point, which makes one wonder just where Nakamura gets off on his evolution trip because it's pretty clear his serum causes his test subjects to go in the opposite direction.