Sometime after Godzilla‘s victory over Mechagodzilla, a submarine searches for the robots remains in the Okinawan sea, only to be destroyed by some unknown aquatic creature. Interpol launches an investigation into the incident, which leads them to the daughter of a deceased scientist, who tried to control the creature, who he named Titanosaurus. Unbeknownst to the authorities however, not only is the supposedly deceased scientist still alive, he is working for a group of aliens, who have nearly finished the construction of a new Mechagodzilla!
Released in 1975, and directed by Ishirō Honda; Terror of Mechagodzilla is a Japanese monster movie, and the 15th film in the Godzilla series. It’s also the final Godzilla film in the Shōwa era too, and acts as a direct sequel to Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. The film stars Katsuhiko Sasaki, Tomoko Ai, Akihiko Hirata, and Katsumasa Uchida, with Gorô Mutsumi, Tôru Ibuki, Tadao Nakamaru, Kenji Sahara, Ikio Sawamura, and Yasuko Agawa in supporting roles. As the final film in the Shōwa era, it does carry an ironic twist, given that it was directed by the same person (Honda) as the very first Godzilla film, and one of it’s lead actors (Hirata), also played a tragic scientist in the first film too. It’s also rather weird given how the original Godzilla film focussed on him being an unstoppable destructive force of nature against hummanity, where as in this one he acts firmly as hummanity’s champion!
Interesting fact about this film: the original screenplay was written by a female screenwriter called Yukiko Takayama, who had entered it as part of a story contest run by Toho. The screenplay was picked up by assistant producer Kenji Tokoro, and was submitted for approval less than 4 months after Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. It did go through several revisions, and some items had to be cut due to budgetary reasons. Apparently, Ishiro Honda later lamented, not having the opportunity to work with Takayama on any film again, stating that a “woman’s perspective was especially fresh” for the genre.
Terror of Mechagodzilla is something of a hidden gem in the series. Whilst not the best film in the series by a clear margin, it does have a lot of strong merits in it’s favour. The story for a start is very intriguing, as the first monster to be introduced (after the opening credits) is neither Godzilla or Mechagodzilla, but Titanosaurus. This introduction creates this nice flow into what the film is about, as it has an investigative drama like feel, as due to the aquatic creature’s appearance, it takes the characters down the road, that leads them to introducing scientist Dr. Shinzo Mafune, his mysterious daughter Katsura, and the Black Hole Aliens. For quite a while Godzilla isn’t even mentioned, allowing time for the villains to get a decent introduction, and producing moments that would become key towards the film’s ultimate conclusion.
The plot is a strange mix between Romeo and Juliet, and Frankenstein. You have a scientist, who is unknowingly in love with someone who is actually a robot. A robot that is also the control centre for Mechagodzilla, and in order for his defeat, she has to die. So there is this sense of the impossible love angle, with the idea that it cannot be, unless the diabolic robotic monster is allowed to win. A lot of the early stages are simillar in a way to Akira too, in that bad people are having discussions, but you’re not sure about what, but you know something is a miss, until the big reveal. This air of mystery also allows room for additional moments, which are not ruined by a quick explanation, but by a subtle message between characters, such as when a fisherman notes how people have gone missing in the area, to the strange photos on Interpol’s desk.
The film also features some of the era’s best visual effects. From close-ups, to scaling. For instance, you have the moment an alien character walks into the head of Mechagodzilla, and there’s the moment where Titanosaurus is seen swimming around the submarine, or when he ‘allows’ a group of jet fighters to slam into his chest whilst he is in mid-air. The launch bay for Mechagodzilla looks pretty cool too, and his alien salute when he takes off is also a nice detail. The destruction scenes are pretty cool too, especially Titanosaurus’s first attack, and of course Godzilla’s epic arrival. It’s also quite nice to see Mechagodzilla’s head tilted down, as it creates this sinister diabolic look in his eyes.
And to add to all that, the film’s soundtrack (composed by Akira Ifukube) carries the almost perfect piece to set the tone for the entire film, and is heard frequently throughout, giving a very serious, and deeply dark ambience to proceedings. But…whilst the film is definetely a gem, it’s a hidden one, likely due to a large number of issues; most of which take place during the final act. And as the final act is what you are most likely to remember after watching it for the first time, it can make it really hard to remember all the better bits that came before.
Whilst some of the effects are pretty good, there are some which are very lacklustre, with the most obvious being the moments where either Mechagodzilla or Titanosaurus are in the background of the scene, with maybe a mountain or warehouse in front of them. These moments ruin the scaling factor, as both elements are pretty small, and suggest that both monsters have incredibly short legs. Also, much like other Godzilla films from the 1970’s, the film does use stock footage, but thankfully on a much lower scale, and allows Manda to get a brief mention.
You also can’t help but wonder, if Titanosaurus is Godzilla’s ultimate adversary? During the final battle; he kicks Godzilla so hard, Godzilla gains height in mid-flight! He also appears to have found Godzilla’s weak spot: his lips! Attacking his lips, causes Godzilla to go into a catatonic state, and he just stops moving briefly, and even allows Titanosaurus to throw him around, whilst he biting his top lip. In addition to that, Godzilla knows he’s fighting two monsters, but easily forgets Mechagodzilla’s presence, providing Mechagodzilla with an opening for a strong counter attack. Also, I didn’t know Godzilla had the same ability as the classic horror character Candyman (or Joe Hendry), given how a couple of teenagers scream for his help, and he just appears!
The film is meant to be a direct sequel to Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla; but the aliens’ in this film, which are also supposed to be the same ones from the previous film; look nothing like them! They have silver suits yes, but the previous ones didn’t have the cool but camp helmets (or the colourful zips, with hot pink denoting highest rank)! And when one of them dies in this film, he doesn’t turn into a green Ape, like they all did in the previous film. Oh, and whilst we’re on the subject, the Interpol agents are in no way as cool as they were depicted in the previous film either (although I will say, they do drive some really cool cars).
Also, why were the aliens so easily prepared to operate on Katsura, immediately after her first accident? She has an accident, and seconds later, they arrive in scrubs, to take her to surgery. Did they know something, or were just bored and wanted to try on their surgical clothes, and then the accident just happened? And when both Ichinose and Murakoshi escape from a group of alien henchmen, why were the alien henchmen allowed to get changed back into uniform; before being whipped, and executed?
And whilst the film does feature the perfect piece to set the tone; it is used way too often! Almost every other scene carries it, and towards the end, it starts to lose it’s impact! Why couldn’t they have composed something else to complement it? And then there’s the ending! Whilst everyone celebrates the victory, Ichinose mourns the loss of Katsura. But whilst all this is going on, the mood is somewhat ruined, by Godzilla’s big cheeky smile. Yes he won a major battle, but surely, this isn’t the time or place!
Terror of Mechagodzilla is a hidden gem, no doubt. It is hidden quite possibly due to a number of major, and in some cases superior other classics in the series. The problem with Terror of Mechagodzilla is that it does have quite a large number of issues, which have a tendency to happen all at once, and hide the stronger values of the entire experience. But, these are flaws, and almost all natural gemstones have flaws, and in most cases people would have rather have a real flawed one, than a perfectly fake one. The flaws add to the film’s character, and it helps make the more valuable assets, shine ever-more brightly. The last time I saw this film was in the 1990’s, but now I have a stronger level of appreciation for it!
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