Distruggete D.C. 59: Da base spaziale a Hong Kong

Turner Classic Movies broadcast Goke at 2AM, October 03, 2006 in a gorgeous, widescreen, sub-titled print. It's great that they were able to secure a print of this quality. There are many questions, few answers, in the allegorical script. The last of the J-horrors produced late in the decade, the pulp sci-fi magazine elements are presented in searing colors and psychedelic effects, giving this film an unforgettable visual impact. Great looking women are a major plus. Injecting an anti-war, anti-Viet Nam stance throughout the entire film took a lot of nerve and must have damaged its theatrical distribution with US exhibitors. The movie producers at the Sci-Fi channel should carefully study this film.

Goke has this great, rare exploitation look of the 60's. With extreme bright colours like orange, red and yellow. Great sounds of cheap ass spaceships sending out information to those who has a twisted mind, and venerable for their wicked master plan. Namely to take over the world again. The real cool thing of this cheap thrill flick is the message underneath. In fact the aliens want to make clear to us that taking over the world isn't that difficult. Cause we people are bound to destroy each other. We are building for the kill and the only thing the invaders have to do is to sit and wait till each and one of those humans are dead. Of course in Goke are some people who don't give up and try to fight the aliens. Only for them to find out that this guy and girl are all alone on planet earth. Goke take you all the way. Spaceships, weird landscapes psychocolors weird sound effects, enough action packed scenes and classic shots of spaceship invaders attacking the world. I love this Movie deeply!!!!!!!!!!!

This isn't one of those typical rubber suit movies where a giant beast smashes everything in sight while being shot at by toy airplanes. This is a slick, well-done horror/sci-fi that blends many elements and does it well.

There's some vampires, people's minds being taken over, driven insane, killing each other, invading aliens with sinister plots, and a lot of innocents in peril. This is the stuff of a good horror flick. The movie opens with a UFO sighting, and a plane being knocked out of the sky and forced to crash land in the wilderness. From there, evil starts to infect the survivors of the airplane, and a desperate battle for survival is on. All levels of conflict ensue: characters against each other, the environment, and even themselves.

A lost gem of the horror/sci-fi genre, worth seeing.

This was another film I had long been intrigued by via a solitary still from it in a horror-film tome of my father's; it's also proof that the Japanese could make adult-oriented horror just as well back in the day (and not merely kiddie stuff like the "Godzilla" films – one of which, incidentally, followed this viewing). Intriguingly, the Janus logo which preceded the opening titles suggests this may be forthcoming on DVD from Criterion (I haven't yet purchased the other cult Japanese horror they've released, JIGOKU [1960], due to the defective first pressing of that film's disc; having watched GOKE, I wonder whether I should take the plunge now…hoping that I end up with a corrected copy).

Admittedly, the plot of the film isn't all that original: the English title, obviously, implies a certain kinship with Don Siegel's 1956 classic – while the gelatinous alien which possesses the human body through the face(!) is also redolent of THE BLOB (1958); but maybe its influences actually came from European genre efforts – as a matter of fact, two Italian films I've just watched have a good deal in common with it, namely CALTIKI, THE IMMORTAL MONSTER (1959; the oozing creature, again) and PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (1965; the remote setting, the 'body snatcher' element, the vivid color scheme and even the final apocalyptic revelation)! Besides, the fact that the narrative revolves around a handful of passengers from a crashed plane also brings to mind the oft-used 'hazardous situation' plot line of classic Hollywood films such as FIVE CAME BACK (1939), STAGECOACH (1939) and the like; under pressure of hunger, thirst, isolation and the imminent threat of alien takeover, all the basic natures of the various characters come to the boil – leading most of them inexorably towards their doom!

This mish-mash of elements ensures a stylish and entertaining ride – but it's all filtered through the innately weird sensibilities of Japanese cinema (not to mention the country's first-hand experience of nuclear fall-out, which unmistakably pre-occupied most of their sci-fi entries), giving it a distinctive creepiness; the final reel – peppered with red-tinted newsreel footage of devastation and violence – has the two lone survivors finally reaching civilization, only to be met with a less than comforting sight.

Thanks to Quentin Tarantino homaging 'Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell's blood red sky in 'Kill Bill: Vol. 1' I can finally get to see this obscurity on DVD in Japanese with English subtitles, instead of a badly dubbed fading old VHS tape. Yay! Okay, this is a b-grade movie and the effects are pretty lousy (especially the plane crash sequence), but to say it's a bad movie is far from the truth. For me it's the perfect example of a low budget horror movie transcending its limitations, coming up with something surprisingly creepy and surreal (See also William Castle's 'The Tingler', Herk Harvey's 'Carnival Of Souls', Coffin Joe's 'At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul',etc.) The opening is terrific - a plane flies through an eerie red sky and birds throw themselves at the windows in sheer terror. There's a suspected bomb on board and the plane crashes after sighting a UFO. On the ground the survivors are initially worried about the basics, like water and rescue, plus the presence of a suspected assassin, but pretty soon they also have to contend with a bizarre alien invasion! Like I said, many of the special effects are cheesy, but they're still effective. The acting is generally quite good, the alien will freak you out, and there's several interesting references to the Vietnam war, which was unexpected and gave the movie quite a unique background (can you remember any American SF movies of the 1960s even MENTIONING Vietnam?). I highly recommend 'Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell' to all horror fans who treasure the offbeat and the unusual. Hopefully this overlooked movie will now reach a larger audience. QT, I salute you!