Matango

Matango, also known as Fungus of Terror, Curse of the Mushroom People and Attack of the Mushroom People, is a 1963 Japanese tokusatsu movie. It was directed by Ishirō Honda, and written by Takeshi Kimura based on the story "The Voice in the Night" by William Hope Hodgson. Special effects were by Eiji Tsuburaya. The movie has developed a cult audience over the years, partly due to its bleakness and unusual themes, particularly when compared to other Japanese fantasy and science fiction films of the same period. The film was never released in mainstream American theaters, but probably did have limited exhibition in Japanese-American communities on the West Coast in its original language. The film did have limited release in the UK under its Matango name. When it was released by American International Pictures in 1965, it was directly syndicated on 16mm color film to television as a TV-movie bearing the title Attack of the Mushroom People.