A Japanese horror film currently available at Netflix is getting positive reviews, as it is a live-action adaptation of Homunculus, a popular manga series. This sci-fi movie is definitely worth watching, as the story stems from an ancient surgical method called trepanation. What makes Homunculus even more appealing to international audiences, is that the dialogues have been dubbed in English.

Released last April 2021, which even if based on a manga series by Hideo Yamamoto, those who have seen the movie appreciate how director Takashi Shimizu created a movie version with an unpredictable ending.

Homunculus Horror Movie Storyline

The lead character, Susumu Nokoshi, is a homeless 34-year old man who used to work as a top executive of a Japan-based foreign financial company. The other character is a medical student named Manabu Ito, who has been going around the area where homeless people live, looking for volunteers for a medical treatment that uses trepanation. .

Although Susumu at first refused to become one, the car which he uses as temporary shelter was towed away by park authorities. Desperate about his living conditions, Susumu eventually gave in to Ito’s trepanation experiment in exchange for 700,000 yen.

Trepanation by the way is an ancient medical process thaut involves the drilling of a hole in the skull. The purpose of which is to ease the pressure of blood build up caused by poor circulation. In the movie, Ito’s trepanation experiment aims to prove that the surgery will also allow a person to have a deeper visualization of certain distorted appearances occurring in the human mind.

Apparently, that is what happened to Susumu, as the operation enabled him to mentally communicate with other people. Unfortunately, Susumu became connected with people who have a dark side, which is basically how the horrors of the movie Homunculus, unfolds.