The Secret of the Telegian

Probably one of the creepiest and scariest sci-fi from Toho. A former, vengeful soldier uses a matter-transmitting device to transport himself to his enemies so he could do away with them. A reporter and the detectives get mixed into the plot and they aim to stop this "Teleport Madman" before he continues his killing spree.

This is one of the more dull and dark stories from writer Shinichi Sekizawa, who was known for his more light-hearted and positive screenplays. Jun Fukuda, known for his crime dramas, did well directing. Sei Ikeno's music score was eerie and added suspense to this thriller. With some heart-pounding terror, this movie is not short on believable special effects. Featuring veteran Toho actors Akihiko Hirata, Yoshio Tsuchiya, and Yumi Shirakawa, this movie is a good one to scare away the kids.

Grade B

The Secret of the Telegian is sometimes also known as The Electrically Transmitted Man. It's a sci-fi/horror movie from Japan, and some sources say it's the sequel to movies I watched at some point called The H Man and The Human Vapor. I honestly don't know which order they go in. I also don't know if it matters.

This is, I think, a movie about a serial killer with strange powers, and follows a group of people trying to track the killer down while also doing all they can (i.e., not much) to work out exactly what those powers are. There are some zappy things and also matter being transported - I don't know, it's all a bit dull and muddled.

The Secret of the Telegian tries to have some fun with the whole premise at certain points, but I don't think it pushed hard enough into silly/goofy territory. It also doesn't really work when being taken seriously. It's watchable, and maybe good for some cheap entertainment, especially because there isn't anything offensively bad about it... but I ultimately thought it was just another old-school sci-fi/horror movie.

A creepy film. A soldier teleports himself around with a teleportation device and kills his enemies where ever they try to hide then steals some gold. This realy scared me the first time I saw it when I was 8. I would really like to find a color version of this.

Someone is killing former Imperial soldiers and the prime suspect is a comrade they betrayed and left for dead 14 years earlier. The sci-fi gimmick in this otherwise routine murder mystery is the killer's access to a teleport machine, which allows him to get at the victims and yet seem to have an alibi. The plot doesn't really make a lot of sense* and not much is done with the teleportation angle other than allowing the killer to unexpectedly appear and to occasionally emit a blue aura or flicker mysteriously. Eiji Tsuburaya's special effects are limited but effective (especially the teleportation sequences) and Jun Fukuda's direction is serviceable, although some of the drama is undercut by some cartoonish dubbed-in voices and frequent use of gimmicky Dutch angles. Not as good as the studios earlier sci-fi noir, 1958's 'The H-man' ('Bijo to ekitai ningen') or 1960's 'The First Gas Human' ('Gasu ningen dai 1 gô') but entertaining enough for fans of vintage tokusatsu. *at least in dubbed version I watched.

Strongly influenced by American cinema industry this inventive and well-crafted sci-fi made by Toho on early sixties is a delightful and colorful war story of former soldiers where the Commander and three followers killed a private nationalist and a scientist due they tried hidden a box of gold together with blueprints of war machines in cave after WWII is over, thus fourteen years later the trio of stealers have been received a warning over a revenge about to came.

After the first one has been murder by a small blade, it triggers a panic among the remainder group, including the Police and an investigative reporter as well, turns out that the assassin is actually the former soldier using an advanced device of matter transporter developed by the survivor old scientist, by this the electric killer has a perfect alibi, whereof he has to prove that wasn't at local where the crime carried out.

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 2024 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.