Cyclops: Visual Vengeance Collector’s Edition Blu-ray

 If you’re looking for some obscure Japanese horror that crawled out of the darkest corner of the V-Cinema underground, CYCLOPS is exactly the kind of nasty little discovery that makes physical media worth collecting. Originally released in 1987 and directed by Jōji “George” Iida in his feature debut, Cyclops is a lean, mean, roughly 52-minute blast of Japanese body horror that throws mad science, human experimentation, mutant flesh, slimy transformations, and some seriously wild practical effects into one compact package.

The setup is wonderfully twisted. Scientists are experimenting with implanting embryos into human hosts in an attempt to create a new form of life. When one of their subjects dies before giving birth, they go hunting for another victim — accompanied by a hideously deformed, one-eyed mutant that serves as their muscle. From there, things get progressively more disturbing.

 The movie starts out relatively methodical, building its atmosphere and slowly introducing the nightmare lurking underneath the medical experiments. But once Cyclops decides it’s time to let loose, good lord! The practical effects start escalating, the mutations get slimier, the bodies get more grotesque, and eventually you’re watching a full-blown mutant/body-horror freakout that feels like somebody took Cronenberg, dropped him into the Japanese direct-to-video underground, and told him he had about 52 minutes to completely lose his mind, and THAT is the charm of this movie. It’s not polished Hollywood horror, and it’s not trying to be. This is raw, weird, experimental Japanese V-Cinema, and there’s something incredibly satisfying about watching a filmmaker throw everything he has at such a bizarre concept. It’s the kind of movie where the limitations of the production become part of the experience rather than something you need to overlook.

 And visually? Visual Vengeance absolutely knocked this one out of the park. We’re talking about a brand-new 2K transfer from the original 16mm film elements, and unlike some SOV titles where you’re working with battered video sources, Cyclops actually has some beautiful film texture to work with. The result is a presentation that retains the grimy, underground character of the original while giving the movie the kind of upgrade it deserves. But the movie is only HALF the reason to grab this release – check out all the extras that come along with this beast: You’ve got a commentary with Justin Decloux of The Important Cinema Club and Patrick Macias, author of Tokyoscope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion. There’s also a brand-new interview with director Jōji “George” Iida, a video essay on Iida’s films, another video essay covering the Japanese DTV market of the mid-’80s, an image gallery, a Koji Yamamura sketch gallery, and Visual Vengeance trailers, and then they go completely physical-media nerd on us.

 The Collector’s Edition includes a folded mini-poster featuring the original pressbook artwork, a reversible sleeve featuring the original Japanese VHS artwork, VHS stickers, a 16-page The Creation of Cyclops liner-notes booklet, an 8-page A (Short) Horror Trip booklet, and a limited-edition slipcase designed by The Dude. Several of those physical goodies are FIRST PRESSING ONLY, so if you’re a collector, don’t sleep on this one. The other thing that makes this release especially cool? This is the first time Cyclops has been available in North America in any format. Think about that. A bizarre 1987 Japanese splatter film disappears into obscurity for decades, and then Visual Vengeance digs it out of the grave and gives it a brand-new 2K transfer, a loaded special-features package, and a Collector’s Edition that looks like it belongs in a 1980s video store. THAT is physical media preservation.

 Is Cyclops perfect? No. It’s extremely short, incredibly strange, and its deliberately grimy low-budget aesthetic isn’t going to work for everyone. The pacing is patient at first, and this is definitely more about grotesque imagery and atmosphere than traditional scares. But when the practical effects start going, this thing DELIVERS. If you’re into The Fly, Videodrome, Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Society, From Beyond, Guinea Pig, Evil Dead Trap, Tokyo Gore Police, or you just generally enjoy discovering some completely wild international horror you’ve probably never heard of, GET THIS ONE. The movie itself gets a 4/5 from me. The transfer gets 4½/5, while the extras and physical package get 5/5. But more importantly, Cyclops is exactly the kind of release I want to see from labels like Visual Vengeance. They didn’t just give us another Blu-ray. They found a forgotten piece of Japanese underground horror history, restored it from the original film elements, loaded it with archival and new material, and gave collectors a package that actually feels like an EVENT. CYCLOPS isn’t pretty. CYCLOPS isn’t normal. CYCLOPS isn’t for everybody. But if your idea of a good time is watching a 1987 Japanese mad-science splatter movie devolve into a slimy mutant nightmare, this one was BRANDED for you.

Special features include: