Drag Me To Hell (2009)

Yet another review from the crypt, this for Raimi's best film in ages...

It’s been almost 20 (!) long years since Sam Raimi waded into the genre pool with his last horror offering, 1993’s Army of Darkness. The film was the second, and most likely final, sequel to the Evil Dead film series, the trilogy which put Raimi’s name high up on the list of horror’s most beloved directors. After its release, everyone was wondering what kind of new horrors he would have in store for fans. However, rather than sticking to his low-budget roots, Raimi expanding into cinema with non-genre offering such as The Quick and the Dead (a much better film than it’s given credit for being), A Simple Plan (a well-received, and rightfully so, crime drama), For the Love of the Game (for the love of God, why?) and The Gift (a decent, if not bland, thriller). Fans, though weary of his output, held out hope for another masterpiece of horror. And then the announcement came that he would be directing Spider-Man. This was, in essence, the nail in his horror coffin, since once most low-budget directors go big (I’m looking at you, Peter Jackson) they don’t tend to revert back to relying on practical FX and smaller budgets. The Spider-Man film series has kept Raimi busy for the better part of the last decade, so when it was announced that he was taking a much-needed break to direct a low-budget horror film, well, needless to say, his longtime fans were frothing at the mouth. No, it wasn’t going to be the oft-discussed Evil Dead 4 (a project which, frankly, is past its expiration date), but an original piece written by Sam and his brother, and longtime collaborator, Ivan. The finished product, Drag Me To Hell, is a fun little horror flick, but there are some obstacles that keep it from being the low-budget jewel so many were hoping for.

Christine (Alison Lohman) is a loan officer at WilshirePacific Bank, where she’s hoping to snag the newly-opened Assistant Manager’s position. When an old gypsy woman comes in to get a third extension on her mortgage, Christine’s boss, Mr. Jacks (David Paymer), tells her that an assistant manager has to make the tough decisions, so it’s her call. Knowing that her promotion may ride on her choice, she decides to deny to old woman her extension, even though she will lose her house. After work, the two have an all-out catfight in a parking lot, culminating in the old gypsy placing a curse on Christine. As told to her by a local soothsayer, Rham, the curse causes the recipient to be tormented for 3 days, after which the ground is opened up and they are literally dragged to Hell. Christine, and her boyfriend, Clay (Justin Long), now have to find a way to undo the curse before she suffers that very fate.

The film’s trailers don’t do a whole lot to make it look like anything other than a generic horror flick, but fans of Raimi’s prior films will know this is likely to be anything but. Raimi is known to combine horror and slapstick comedy, a trademark in full effect here. That’s both a blessing and a curse, since many scenes that should be terrifying end up as slightly campy due to the humor. This isn’t necessarily a slight on the film, but I think that there should have been a stronger undercurrent of terror running throughout the picture. A few gags are repeated once too often, especially the possessed handkerchief. Yes, you read that right. It worked once, but it doesn’t do much the second time it pops up. My biggest complaint has to be the overuse of shoddy CGI. I had hoped Raimi would use almost 100% practical effects here, since he’s known for having some of the best in his films, but many of the intended scares were diluted by the poor computer renderings. That fact left me dismayed since I had hoped to get some spectacular gross-out set pieces, only to find haphazard computer work. I will say, though, that what practical effects are shown on-screen are rightfully nasty and definitely got the audience hooting and hollering.

I wasn’t entirely sold on Alison Lohman in this role. She does a reasonably good job, but she often has an uneasy delivery to her lines that tended to throw me off. I can’t complain too much, however, since the lead was originally intended to go to Ellen Page, she of (the worse fucking film of 2007) Juno fame. Her inclusion here would have kept me from seeing the film at all. I loathe her on so many levels. But I digress… Lohman does seem to be sleepwalking a bit here, but as I said, she does well enough that I’m not going to complain much.

One actor who always shines, in my opinion, is Justin Long. Even though it’s a slight stretch casting him as a college psychology professor (I don’t know, maybe my mental image is of someone who looks a bit more distinguished, or like Dr. Weil), the guy can still hold a film together. He was one of the highlights in Jeepers Creepers, but I’ve found his best work to be in comedy. He’s got some serious chops in that department. See Zack and Miri Make a Porno and you’ll know what I mean. Though he doesn’t have a whole lot to do here aside from acting concerned, and providing a major plot point at the end, his presence is still a plus for the film.

Here’s something I rarely notice in films today: sound design. Drag Me To Hell has some of the most incredible sound I’ve heard in a theater in a long time. It’s abrasive, unnerving, tormenting and VERY FUCKING LOUD.. I doubt this is going to win an Oscar or anything, though it should, but the sound design here alone is worth the price of admission. I’m sure it’ll sound sweet as hell on a decent home theater system, but don’t wait for the Blu-ray to come out. This is definitely something you need to experience in a theater. Raimi has always had a penchant for creative use of sound, Evil Dead II is a perfect example of this, but the uninitiated will be in for quite the auditory treat.

I’m recommending you see this, but it’s a mild recommendation. I really wanted to be blown away by this movie, but some of my minor quibbles keep it from being a full-blown return to form for Sam Raimi. For one, the torment Christine goes through for 3 days isn’t nearly as tormenting as I had anticipated. Truth be told, it’s rather tame. There are some worthy practical FX on display, but for every one of them there’s any equally appalling CGI monstrosity that sucks you right out of the action. I will say this, though: the ending has some balls, and those are in short supply these days. Don’t let the PG-13 rating dissuade you here. Anyone familiar with Raimi’s films knows that he has a tendency to use multi-colored oozes and puss in lieu of traditional red blood, and there’s no need for nudity here, so an R-rating isn’t required. Many great horror films haven’t been R-rated, not that this is great, but it’s simply not an issue for this particular flick. Summer could use a few good scares, so go see it to diversify your summer viewing schedule.

Trick 'r Treat (2007)

Here's one I wrote about 5 years ago, but I love this film so much I wanted to get this out there...

Ah, Halloween… my favorite time of the year. It isn't so much the festivities taking place that excites me as it's the feeling in the air once October comes. That palpable sensation you get seeing jack-o-lanterns grimly lit faces, kids trick-or-treating in the streets and the aesthetics of fall surrounding you slowly giving way to winter. I think it must hold a special place in everyone, if for nothing else but purely nostalgic reasons. Michael Dougherty is certainly one of those people, as is evidenced by his incredible horror anthology Trick 'r Treat. For a holiday that revels in films of a horrific nature, there sure are a scant few of them that take place on the actual day itself. Dougherty's film is the celluloid embodiment of that je ne sais quoi that has made Halloween such an alluring holiday for generations of kids (and adults) alike.

As I said, Trick 'r Treat is a horror anthology which interweaves tales that all take place on Halloween night, similar to such genre classics as Creepshow and Tales from the Darkside. A costumed couple learns to respect tradition… the hard way, a group of girls head out into the woods for a "howling" good party, the local school principal has a (literal) taste for blood, four kids attempting to pull off a holiday "trick" end up becoming "treats", and a cantankerous old man gets a visit from a holiday visitor looking to settle a decades-old grudge.

To say any more than that would spoil the fun in watching the film, as these stories are best digested when viewed on an empty mind. The twists are less predictable than most horror films manage these days; half the fun is wondering just where the hell these characters are going to end up. The one constant throughout the film is a costumed, pint-sized little guy named Sam, who does his best to remind people why they should take great care in adhering to the traditions set forth hundreds of years ago for All Hallows Eve. The film is richly seeped in tradition, reminding the audience of just why we celebrate the fabled holiday in the first place. It manages to be effectively creepy and blood-soaked, yet it never goes over-the-top with gratuitous gore. There is also a very obvious helping of black comedy strewn throughout the film, which thankfully never gives way to the self-parody so many horror films feel the need in which to indulge.

I think the most impressive aspect of this film is the incredible attention that has been paid to detail. Every single shot of the film is beautifully framed and composed, often looking more like a cryptic painting than a frame of film. The austere trappings of Mr. Kreeg's dark house, the ghostly palette of the rock quarry, the incredible shape-shifting sequence around a roaring fire in the woods… everything here is gorgeous. That aesthetic, married with the spot-on performances and realistic dialogue, give the film an organic feel that never relies on cheese or parody to break tension. The cinematography by Glen MacPherson (who also shot this year's incredibly brutal Rambo) is so lush it manages to make you feel like you're a part of the celebration. For someone who is as big a fan of the Halloween holiday as I am, this was especially important to see done right. Too often when a film actually does take place on the holiday it lacks the depth that is presented here.

For such a large ensemble cast, there isn't any one performance that stands out above the rest – everyone here is perfectly cast. I even enjoyed Anna Paquin as the "virgin" of the female group, and she's not always someone I'm crazy about. Perhaps my favorite role is that of Mr. Kreeg, played superbly by veteran character actor Brian Cox. His look was inspired directly by my favorite director, John Carpenter, and there are a couple of well-placed nods to his work that were highly amusing. Also providing great support throughout the film is newcomer Quinn Lord who plays Sam, the little sack-headed minion who "stitches" the film's stories together.

Ok, now here's the biggest problem with the film; the 800 lb. gorilla in the room: there is NO set distribution deal lined up. I was lucky enough to see it at the sold-out opening night screening held at Grauman's Chinese Theater for Screamfest 2008. During the post-film Q&A session Mr. Dougherty informed us that he had no idea what the future held for this film. It was set to be released in Oct. 2007 (?!?), then it was pushed back to Feb. 2008, Oct. 2008 and, finally, has been placed on the shelf indefinitely. I'm thankful that Dougherty got some good studio money to make the film to his exact specifications, but, for the love of all things evil, someone at Warner Bros. needs to get this thing out to the masses! I heard rumblings of a direct-to-DVD release date sometime next year, to which I can only say that would be a travesty for something this genuine and unique. I suppose therein lies some of the problem; since this is generally uncharted territory, the studios are clueless as to how they can market the thing. I can understand some of their hesitation (since a good majority of the film features children either killing or being killed), but there's just no excuse to not give this thing some kind of release – and with an October 2008 release out of the question I don't when they could give it a proper release. This is a film that needs to be seen during the month of October, but it's looking like 2009 is the next likely candidate if that were the case. I just don't want to see this film become the cinematic equivalent to the eternally-gestating Guns N' Roses opus Chinese Democracy (which, oddly enough, actually has a release date… for now).

So, obviously I highly recommend the film, there's just one problem: how do you see it? Unless you happen to live in NY and can catch the upcoming screening I really couldn't tell you. I'd hate to have to wait another year until Oct. 2009 for this to get a proper release, but it's been in the can for so long at this point I think any kind of a proper theatrical release, regardless of when, is merited. I'm sure it'll pop up at the occasional film festival throughout the year; I just hope it doesn't get unceremoniously dumped onto DVD without having the benefit of being screened proper for audiences hungry for good, original horror. This is the kind of film you'll find yourself screening for friends every year on Halloween, becoming as much of a tradition as those the film champions. Everyone knows I'm a rabid horror fan through and through, and I've seen more than my share of shitty flicks – this is absolutely one of the best in recent memory. Do yourself a favor and try your best to catch it if you can.

 

GODZILLA-THON #4 - Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

No, unfortunately this film does not pit Godzilla against the malevolent shape-shifting alien beast that headlined John Carpenter's 1982 film. Rather, this was the first example of Toho digging through their monster roster and picking a worth opponent for Big G to rumble with in Japan. After the incredible success of pitting him against King Kong, Toho quickly went to work on penning a sequel. Intended to be given the lazy title of Continuation: King Kong vs. Godzilla, the project never made it past the early planning stages. Oddly enough, a super-sized version of Frankenstein's monster was once again submitted as a possible foe for Godzilla until Toho rejected that script (a script I'd love to read) and decided on Mothra, who had just headlined her own eponymous film in 1961. This is often considered to be one of the best films in the series period, as well as featuring one of the best Godzilla suits. I agree on both counts.

It's true, there is "nothing like [that] ever on the screen" because nothing in the movie has tentacles.

So, what's up with the vague, ambiguous title of Godzilla vs. The Thing? That title was only used for the American theatrical release, though, as all of the home video versions I can recall went by Godzilla vs. Mothra. To make it even more (slightly) confusing, the Japanese title is Mothra vs. Godzilla. I'm not exactly sure why Toho started putting their leading monster in the secondary title position. Godzilla doesn't even enjoy top billing until 1966's bout with Ebirah. I'm not complaining about this; it just seems a bit odd. But it could also be that the Japanese aren't as particular about this kind of thing like American film marketing. I've watched the Japanese version on Classic Media's outstanding DVD before, but having grown up on the English-dubbed version it's nearly impossible not to long for that version and that one only. The funny thing (no pun intended, really) is that I'd only ever seen it as Godzilla vs. Mothra, but this AIP print comes with the vs. The Thing title.

Amazingly, the American version hardly messes with the Japanese cut much. Usually, the American distributors will consider entire re-shoots around SPFX footage, or at the very least they'll trim the film down to the bare essentials to maximize monster time. Here, they not only leave the film almost totally intact, but they actually added a new scene of Godzilla being showered with missiles. The Frontier Missile sequence, featuring the American military taking control of the war against Godzilla, is full of great man-in-suit footage. Just as it sounds, it basically Godzilla stomping around while the military tries in vain to take him out. Of course, we know he ends up demolishing everything in his way because that's kinda his thing, but the fact that the U.S. got additional footage that the Japanese market didn't is pretty huge. This version was also released a scant 4 months after its Japanese debut, whereas all previous films had taken at least a year (or more) to be readied for stateside consumption.

The film's plotting doesn't deviate too far from the now-standard Godzilla formula. As per usual, G wakes up from hibernation - here he's buried underground and appears from beneath a quaking plot of land - and he just starts stomping Japan into the ground. Unlike in previous films, here he doesn't have any commute since his sleeping quarters were conveniently located in a coastal city. Just before Godzilla wakes, though, a giant egg had washed up on the beach. A massive egg capable of providing omelets for half the population. But this egg contains some special larva, the offspring of Mothra. You  know Mothra - giant moth, worshiped by native islanders and adored by two diminutive princesses who have a penchant for singing her praises constantly. My dad heard that song so many times when I was a kid that he can still sing it (albeit mockingly) to this day. Some businessmen try to buy the egg and set up an amusement park around it, completely ignoring the fact that it's an egg, which means it will either hatch something or rot away in the sun. Either way, not exactly a sound business model for generating revenue. It also doesn't help that one of the main dudes in charge looks like Hitler's long-lost Japanese brother.

With Godzilla on the move, and the fate of Mothra's egg in question, our fearless heroes/heroine - this time around it's a couple of journalists - call upon the tiny twins, known as Shobijin, to get Mothra to the mainland. Only problem is, Mothra has seen better days. She's an active senior looking forward to a few golden years before packing up her cocoon and jettisoning off the Moth Heaven. It's not meant to be, however, and soon Mothra is headed to Japan for a one-on-one showdown with Godzilla. And the Big G, being rightly pissed off for no apparent reason, promptly smacks her ass down. Oh noes! There goes any hope for saving Japan... unless a lot of tribal song and dance can get Mothra's egg to hatch! Of course, it does and out pop twins. I always liked Mothra's larva when I was younger. They seemed like such unlikely adversaries for Godzilla, but managed to hold their own impressively well considering they were literally just born and have virtually no defenses outside of tail biting and shooting silly string-like webbing from their mouths. 

A monster's humiliation, immortalized in plastic for all to see.

One area in which the film gets consistent props is for the suit design. This one, intended to be different from the Kingoji suit used against King Kong, was dubbed (appropriately enough) the Mosugoji. Godzilla's was given a less reptilian appearance, in addition to enjoying less bulk (battling a big ape must be a killer workout), a smaller snout, and an overall visage that is more menacing and "evil" versus the "big dinosaur" look he got last time around. Out of all the suits Godzilla films employed during the Showa era, I would have to agree that this one is among the best. Slight modifications were made for the next two subsequent films, after which Godzilla got some revamps that - quite honestly - made him look like a giant Sesame Street character. 

To end on a somewhat amusing anecdote, growing up in Southern California my father always used to point out the massive hangar which houses the Spruce Goose because it resembles Mothra's egg from far away. We lived about 50-ish miles from Long Beach, and on a clear day it looked just like that giant egg was sitting by the shore, waiting to hatch. All these years later I still think that every time I see it while driving. 

GODZILLA-THON #2 - Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Godzilla's second foray into theaters occurred immediately following his debut. Toho, eager as any Western Hollywood studio, wanted to capitalize on the success of Godzilla's popularity, so this sequel went into production for release in 1955. That might sound ambitious for the '50s - long before the '80s heyday of popping out horror sequels quicker than a child gestates - but then I'd be quick to point out that RKO shot and released Son of Kong in the same year (1933) that the original came out! And they had to do stop-motion animation, too! So, getting Haruo Nakajima to hop inside their rubber suit once again and stomp miniatures wasn't such an impossible task. But, this being a sequel and all, the stakes had to be raised. Unfortunately, director Inoshiro Honda declined to return - can't blame the guy for wanting to go out on a high note - and composer Akira Ifukube also was unavailable. In their place, director Motoyoshi Oda (who was up to that point mainly known for a Japanese film influenced by The Invisible Man called Tomei Ningen) took over the reigns, while score composition was handled by then-new composer Masaru Satoh. This was actually the first score he ever recorded for a film. He would later gain recognition for his work with Akira Kurosawa.

Enter Anguirus. Or Angillas. Or Anguilas. Of all the monsters in Toho's roster, Anguirus seems to have the most "AKA"s. Toho says Anguirus, so that's what I call him. This spiky Ankylosaurus-looking beast was introduced initially as Godzilla's foe, though later films would see him often aligning with Godzilla, creating one of the most badass tag teams since Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior decided to join forces.

The film doesn't offer a whole lot in the way of plot, or even characters we feel much for. Certainly not after Gojira offered up a top-notch cast of memorable characters - Serizawa has a friggin' eye patch, who doesn't remember that? The only returning cast member, other than Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla, is Takashi Shimura returning as Prof. Yamane. He's not here to do much more than remind people how much Godzilla fucked up Japan before, and that this is likely the first Godzilla's relative who is now awake and pissed off. Only this time, instead of smashing the crap out of fishing villages and eating virgin sacrifices he's focused on battling Anguirus. Which, I suppose, still means that half of Japan is gonna get annihilated. The two of them do more or less use the harbors of Japan as makeshift wrestling mats. 

As for the human element, it's far less engaging this time around. We spend most of the film with two pilots who are tasked with hunting for schools of fish from the air. They first spot Godzilla and Anguirus already embroiled in a heated battle on some remote island before the monsters both fail to notice the impending cliff and into the drink they go. One of the pilots recognized Godzilla, though, so finally the Japanese can make preparations to ward off the beast. 

Oh, man, they do such a good job, too. Although he was ignored in the first film, the army listens to Prof. Yamane this time and prepare a series of flares designed to lure G away from the coastal cities. After all, like a large, scaly moth the Big Guy is drawn to lights, so a few well-placed flares and he'll be out of here in no t-

Fuck. A group of convicts just engineered the easiest prison truck escape ever, hijacked a gasoline truck (the most logical of vehicles to employ during a high speed chase), and lost complete control of it, slamming into a refinery that just happens to be right by the coast. 

Aaaaaaannnnnddddd now Godzilla is coming back to obliterate everything. So is Anguirus, who apparently can't resist the urge to add some theatricality to his rematch by fighting next to the massive fire. Bad move. Doesn't he know Godzilla breathes fire? He finds out, but only after Godzilla bites through his neck and kicks his dying ass into a drainage ditch. Then Anguirus gets blasted with the famous atomic breath, effectively burning him to death. Don't feel too bad, he gets to make up for losing later in the series by appearing in several pictures.

"C'mon, just one hug..."

The Godzilla suit underwent some minor cosmetic changes for this entry. As everyone should already know, the suit quite literally has been altered in one way or another for every single film in the series. This time around Godzilla has a more dinosaur-like head and his ears seem a bit more pronounced. This is the closest the suit has ever looked to the original, as the next film - King Kong vs. Godzilla - saw a major makeover for the Big Guy. Once again, Haruo Nakajima donned the rubber casket, though modifications had been made to ensure a modicum of comfort over the previous design.  

So, how do they off Godzilla this time? You can't kill him again - not because they couldn't write a way to kill him, but think about the sequel potential! They had to just put him on ice, literally. Our two ace pilots - Tsukioka and Kobayashi - spend almost 15 minutes bombing him on an icy island with the intent of covering him with enough ice so that he can't escape. This is not taking into consideration the fact that he's a massive, powerful lizard that can likely just stomp his way out. And, you know, he does breathe fire! But, sure, whatever. Gotta wrap the film up somehow, right? Anyway, these two guys drop more bombs than a WWII fighter pilot before this terrible ice plan finally works, rendering our titular monster a kaiju-sicle.

"I'll, uh, just be polite and stand here while you guys do your thing."

And that's how he stayed for 7 long years, until another monster King by the name of Kong came knocking at his door.

One quick note on the American version of Godzilla Raids Again... The original intention was for an American distributor, AB-PT productions, to film completely new footage around all of the existing monster scenes. This new film, to be titled The Volcano Monsters, would have shrunk the scale of Godzilla and Anguirus to dinosaur size. Additionally, Godzilla was not going to be shown breathing fire, and Toho even sent over monster suits for the production. Thankfully, the production company went out of business the following year, effectively cancelling the entire production. As bad as it sounds, some part of me is morbidly curious to know how this project would have looked fully realized. The film still got messed with to hilarious results, though. The American version re-christened Godzilla as Gigantis - giving the film its name, Gigantis, the Fire Monster - and he was even given Anguirus' roar! Apparently the distributors were stupid enough to think audiences wouldn't notice Godzilla being passed off as an entirely new monster. The only silver lining to this version - and it's minor - is George Takei, he of Star Trek fame, provided dubbing for one of the actors. 

"Watch out, it's Godzilla... and he looks fabulous!"

GODZILLA-THON #1 - Gojira (1954)

Godzilla fever has been running high thanks to Gareth Edwards' upcoming 2014 reboot invading Comic Con this weekend, so it seemed like as good a time as any to re-watch all of Toho's 28 entries in the historic franchise.

For a bit of backstory, I'm essentially the definition of a dyed-in-the-wool Godzilla fan. As far back as I can remember, I've been fascinated with big monster movies, or daikaiju for the initiated. I've got the worn-out VHS tapes to prove it. I would curate my own movie marathons, piling up my store bought (and bootlegged) Big G tapes to ready myself for an entire day of nerding the fuck out. All at the age of 6. Few things made me happier than watching man-in-suit movies until my eyelids gave out and I was carried off to bed. I owned every single film Toho had released up to that point - this would've been around 1987/88 - which explains why my favorite G films come from the earlier Showa era of the series. In fact, aside from Godzilla 1985 I didn't see any Heisei era films until the mid-to-late '90s. This is partly due to Toho doing a shitty job of giving them proper VHS released in America... and partly due to my entering high school and maintaining a social life.

But I digress. The point I'm getting at here is that despite all of my constant Godzilla-thons, I never watched the original film much. I watched it plenty to know it well enough. The black & white presentation never bothered me as a kid. I gravitated towards the more monster-heavy entries in the series, like 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. Plus, let's face it - Toho might've done a commendable job on the suit itself but that puppet used for close-up shots hardly looked menacing. And this was also the American-edited 1956 version, called Godzilla, King of the Monsters, which eschewed virtually all of the somber mood and nuclear subtext of the Japanese version in order to give Perry Mason, er, Raymond Burr screen time as our man on the ground, journalist Steve Martin. Clearly, this was before the time of the Steve Martin, but the name confusion did turn up when the character was reprised for Godzilla 1985. There, they just called him "Steve" or "Mr. Martin", never a combination of the two. It isn't a bad film - especially to the non-critical mind of a kid - but since the original version was lovingly restored around 2004 people seem to deride it more than usual.

Back to the marathon. Criterion put out a sexy new edition of Gojira (1954) on Blu-ray. This edition fully blows the Classic Media Blu-ray release out of the water, with an improved picture (CM's release was 1080i), better audio, and a minor wealth of bonus material. Now, it should be noted that they didn't license any of the features found on the 2-disc DVD Classic Media released, so fans who own that edition would be wise to hang on to it. But if all you're concerned with is the a/v presentation, look no further than Criterion.

The film itself is clearly superior to the heavily-edited American version. As I stated earlier, the tone is much more serious and somber. Godzilla is an obvious allegory for the undersea nuclear testing being done around that time (and even more obviously, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). He is presented as a force of nature, an unstoppable beast who only leaves the sea when his food source has been depleted due to deep-sea explosions. As gripping as the monster footage is, the story is compelling and humanistic. Professor Yamane (Takashi Shimura) desperately wants to study the beast, hoping that through science we can learn how Godzilla is impervious to atomic testing and conventional weaponry. But the military just wants to kill it, a task they continually fail at completing. They have to enlist the aid of Dr. Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata), a scientist who has developed a device - the Oxygen Destroyer - that can essentially liquefy oxygen, killing whatever is in its wake. He's reluctant to offer his aid, however, since he knows that as soon as his experiment is revealed men will want to harbor it for nefarious purposes. The pathos bleeds off the screen, elevating what could have easily been a simple monster-runs-amok film into something emotional and poignant.

"Chicks dig the patch, right?"

Much - if not all - of the film's success is thanks to the triumvirate of technical innovation: director Inoshiro Honda, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, and special effects supervisor Eiji Tsuburaya. Without delving too deeply into history that can be found elsewhere, it was Tanaka's idea to film the movie. The script went through many changes, as did the final design for Godzilla, which at one point was to be a monster with a mushroom cloud-shaped head (!). Finally, on their third attempt to create a useable sculpture, did Tsuburaya & Tanaka settle on the now-classic look. They still needed to put a man in that 200-lb. rubber suit, though. Enter Haruo Nakajima, who wore the bulky behemoth under stage lights with temperatures inside reaching 130 degrees Fahrenheit. He reportedly had a cup of sweat drained from the suit daily. The stiff rubber forced a more reptilian - and, thus, less human - style of movement because Nakajima was so restricted. Rumor has it the suit could stand on its own once he was out! Sounds like grueling work, but he took it all in stride without complaining. Nakajima did almost all of the suit work during the Showa era.

"Godzilla - did the Oxygen Destroyer really kill him... or was it cancer?"

It's been said that a good score can dramatically help any movie, and the impressive orchestration of Akira Ifukube certainly does just that. This is the man who composed a large majority of Godzilla's most memorable themes. This score reciprocates the somber tone meant for the film, making it unique among his work on other Godzilla films since the mood never reached the emotional depths of this first picture. Ifukube would go on to score for Godzilla the rest of his career, finally stepping down after handling duties on Godzilla vs. Destroyer in 1995. Let's not forget he also gave the Big G his trademark roar, something achieved by rubbing a resin-coated glove over a contrabass string. Simple, effective, incredibly memorable.  

I liken this inaugural Godzilla film to Rocky (1976) - hang on a sec, lemme finish - in that this was the launch pad used to gauge reaction and then plot ahead. Everyone seems to forget that Rocky loses in the first film, much like the Big G loses (even worse, really... he dies) here. But as Prof. Yamane said in the film, perhaps there are more of Godzilla's species out there, waiting to be woken up from continued testing.

Lucky for us, he was right.