Gezora, Ganime, Kameba: Kessen! Nankai no daikaijû

Alien plague is spread onto a pacific island by a space capsule that crashes and creates monsters out of normal creatures. Gezora, a giant squid; Gamine, a humungous crab; and Kameba, a huge turtle; all attack the island, fight each other, and sure trample alot of huts. Goofy, with silly special effects and more bad dubbing.

The enjoyment that you derive out of this movie is directly proportional to what your expectations are. I'm a big fan of Honda's work, he's made some of the very best giant monster (not just limited to Japanese kaiju) movies ever made - this is not one of them. It's really pretty bad - not Jun Fukuda bad, mind you, but in the world of Ishiro Honda's works it's quite the stinker.

And yet... It's somehow great. What makes it truly great can essentially be summed up in one word. Gezora. Gezora is a giant squid, or an octopus, or perhaps a cuttlefish, or... It really doesn't matter what Gezora is supposed to be, just know that (unlike the giant octopus from "King Kong vs. Godzilla") Gezora is not a slimy creature that flutters and unfurls itself along the ground like an octopus probably would if it could actually move outside of the water. No, my friends, Gezora is rubbery looking and he walks. Let's say that again so that the utter ridiculousness of it can sink in:

Gezora WALKS. On tentacles.

You see, they didn't have access to high-tech animatronics and kaiju films have always had an aversion to stop-motion animation, so, as was custom - it's a guy in a suit. But how does a guy in a suit impersonate the flowing movement of an octopus/squid/cuttlefish on land, you ask?

He doesn't. He walks around, dragging and swinging tentacles with reckless abandon. That, if for no other reason, is why this movie must be seen to be appreciated. Gezora is, by far, my favorite bad kaiju. Yes, even better and far more ridiculous than King Seesar. This may be difficult to believe, but he's even sillier (and more lovable) than Guiron - knife-headed foe of Gamera. You, too, will love Gezora if you just give him a chance - and that chance has arrived as of today, for "Space Amoeba" has been released on DVD.

Huzzah!

For some reason, I remembered this flick more than many other kaiju eiga (giant monster movies) from the same period. In fact, I even have an original "Yog" poster on my wall right next to one for "The Green Slime".

The film is set on a remote tropical island that is being looked at as the possible home of a luxury tourist resort. Funky photographer Kudo (wearing a floppy hat) and his adorable female companion are there to take pictures and check in with some other company personnel on the island. Dr. Mida is there to study marine evolution. And then there is the suspicious acting Obata, who claims to be an anthropologist but is actually an industrial spy.

There is another visitor to the island and this one came from a lot farther than Tokyo. The misty blue space creature Yog (an "astro-quasar" he is called) has fallen to Earth on a space capsule and is now busy turning harmless animals into giant monsters. First of these fearsome freaks is the weird octo-squid Gezora, a plastic-eyed giant that uses its tentacles to walk (stagger is a better word) on land! Gezora sets about killing people and destroying the native huts, but Kudo and pals find a way to defeat the beast.

The only problem is, Yog just jumps to another giant monster. Ganime, a giant crab, is next and then comes Kameba, a titanic tortoise who could give Gamera a run for his money. Not only that, but Yog also takes control of Obata and uses him to sabotage the human's plans.

It's a sticky pickle but the Earthmen find a secret weakness of Yog's that they can use to attack the space monster. Another key to Yog's defeat is Obata...can his mind be turned against the Monster from Space?

The movie is fun and exciting if you're not too demanding. You see plenty of the monsters and even a nasty battle between Ganime and Kameba. Call me nuts, but I thought dialog and acting were a lot better here than other period kaiju films. The characters had more personality...especially Kudo, played by Akira Kubo...and I kind of liked the way every tied together.

Some may be disappointed that no cities get destroyed, but if you're looking for a Japanese monster mash with a bit of a difference, "Yog" will satisfy your craving!!!

A sparkly-blue blob of light from outer space with the ability to take over and mutate/enlarge a host arrives on Earth. Soon, denizens of a tropical island are threatened by a stupendous squid, a colossal crab, and a titanic turtle. Eventually, the space creature takes over a human, allowing it to gloatingly communicate its nefarious plans of world conquest. An aversion to porpoises and bats yields a clue to the invader's weakness, and plans are made to fight back. Daikaiju-sized plot inconsistencies aside, this is a pretty good Toho monster opus. The tentacled monster ('Gezora') is a nicely done example of suit-mation - yes, we all know that there is an actor within, but the creature still looks good and, for an '60's film, is well integrated into the live footage. The turtle ('Kamoebas') is a little weaker in execution but the giant mutant crab ('Ganimes') is excellent - better (IMO) than the shrimp-based kaiju "Ebirah" ("Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster" 1966). I watched an adequately dubbed English version of the film, so can't comment on the acting or original script, but generally liked the portrayal of the characters (especially the 'natives', who, unlike most stereotypical peaceful islanders, were the ones who kept showing up with more and bigger guns). Directed by Toho's best known kaiju wrangler (Ishiro Honda) and with music by Akira Ifukube, the film has the look and sound of a Showa-era Godzilla outing and is an entertaining time-passer for anyone willing to suspend their disbelief long enough to fear for the lives of the intrepid islanders, who are all that stand between us and extinction. A must see for people concerned with their 'kaiju-life lists', as the three featured monsters are essentially one-offs in the Toho corral: ('Kamoebas' has a bit part as a washed-ashore corpse in "Godzilla: Tokyo S. O. S." (2003), 'Gezora' is briefly glimpsed in the opening montage of "Godzilla: Final Wars" (2004), and 'Ganimes' never again surfaces (despite being a nicely executed giant crab outfit)).

This is certainly not one of Ishiro Honda's better efforts; but it does kind of work. Some would-be alien invaders hitch a ride on a probe returning to the Earth that lands on a Pacific atoll. They set about creating supersized monsters bent on humanity's destruction so they can take over the world. Nothing new so far, nor indeed anywhere really, as a team of human hoteliers and local islanders try to fight off this threat. The visual effects are OK - the monsters; explosions and acting are low budget, but together keep this fun yarn moving along fine. The dubbing actors are way over the top and the music grates but it's still just about worth watching - for some reason really bad Japanese films of this genre are not as bad as anyone else's!