Gezora, Ganime, Kameba: Kessen! Nankai no daikaijû (1970)

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Siskoid
The oddly-titled Space Amoeba (AKA Yog: Monster from Space) is a very good example of why I hate American dubs. I've seen enough Ishirō Honda monster spectaculars to know what they feel like, and there's something about the English dubs on monster movies of this era that makes them seem dumber than they actually are. But beggars can't be choosers and I indeed did watch the American version. I can only hope the Japanese dialog isn't as insipid, though I know it's probably not stellar. This one starts with an unmanned probe returning to Earth with an unwanted passenger aboard. The cast visits an island near where it fell to scout it for tourism potential, but also to investigate monster legends, so it's not clear whether there were always giant beasts there, or if the aliens are making them, or perhaps just controlling them. The main monster, an elephantine cuttlefish, is really rather sweet with its googly eyes and conical head, so I have some affection for it. The other monsters are okay, but their battle has too many close-ups to really stand out. Honda uncharacteristically missed the mark there. But I do like the basic plot, and "Gezora" would probably make my top 5 one-off kaiju, so I'll give the film's problems a quick gloss over. 4 years 4 months ago