December 15th: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

And here we are, the end of an era. Not the end of the full franchise, we’re just about halfway through that. But Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975) is the final film of the Showa era of Godzilla films, an era that lasted over 20 years. And in a nice bookend to the era, Ishiro Honda returns one last time. And if you thought that might mean aliens aren’t involved in the film’s narrative, think again dummy. The film opens with a submarine being attacked by a mysterious undersea creature. Interpol look into this and discover it is a Titanosaurus. This dinosaur had been studied by a scientist for several years but his original ideas had been rebuked, but now Interpol need his help. Visiting his home they are told by his daughter that he is dead, but he is in fact in cahoots with a group of aliens wishing to take over the world. He is working for the aliens as they saved his daughter from dying by turning her in to a cyborg, and in return he is using his technology to control Titanosaurus on the alien’s behalf. The aliens have also received the remains of Mechagodzilla and plan to use both monsters to take control of the earth. Earths only hope is both Interpol and Godzilla.

You may have noticed that my synopsis of this film is much more in depth than for the last couple of films. Well, that would be because this film’s plot, as ridiculous as it can be, is actually somewhat interesting and had me bought in. Yes, it does involve aliens again and I am bored of the whole alien aspect of these films. But with Honda returning it also returns to a bit more of a serious, darker tone, and so I can at least by into the world and atmosphere a little more than the kid friendly films that came prior. Also, a man falls in love with a cyborg who eventually kills themselves. What’s not to love about that ridiculous plot point? The film is also paced really well, giving us monster action as and when it is needed while not going too far with it and making it dull which other films in this franchise can be accused of doing. Genuinely, this is one of the better films of the series so far in terms of having a narrative that hooks you and keeps you interested, regardless of how silly it can be at time.

The film is also shot really well, especially during the kaiju sequences. The fight scenes feel much more dynamic than in previous films and it adds a lot to these sequences. The fact that Mechagodzilla is here again allows for the scenes to also be more creative than two men in suits wrestling, but the addition of Titanosaurus means that we also get that, so we get the best of both worlds. Speaking of Titanosaurus, his design is pretty cool. He is basically a sea dragon, and his design very much shows that and looks cool. And while I mention the film is more serious, Godzilla remains his same goofy self that he has become over the series so far. There is moment where he pops out of the ground to surprise attack Mechagodzilla and then dusts his shoulders straight after. I fully laughed out loud at just how stupid it was but also revelled in it. And then to just get the best of both worlds again, when Godzilla first appears it is really quite cool and foreboding . He is somewhat in shadow, looking like a demon spawn and its great.

As you can probably tell, I quite like this film so would recommend it despite how silly the narrative can be at times. It is nice to leave the Showa era on a higher note than some of the previous films, and we can look back on era of more good films than bad. And as we move into the Heisei era, I am really optimistic that the darker tone that I long for from these films may be delivered on a consistent basis. Please join me to find out.