Space Amoeba (1970)

[Hellspawn28]

So who has seen this movie? I have not seen this movie in years, but I remember I liking it a lot as a kid. I might have to watch it again soon.

[GodzillavsJason]

I saw it. I thought it was a decent toho flick. I just wished they didn't kill Gezora off to quickly. Gezora was my first favorite, then Kamabeos, then Gainme.
Oh if you haven't seen the movie in a while do you have the movie. If you don't have it you can probably get it on amazon for 20$ or less. So i give 3 out of 5 burning Gezoras.

[Hellspawn28]

Opps I made the same topic twice by mistake, please deleted the other one. I did like the suit work, and the music score that the movie had. And that Gezora was cool from what I can remember.

[GodzillavsJason]

Opps I made the same topic twice by mistake, please deleted the other one. I did like the suit work, and the music score that the movie had. And that Gezora was cool from what I can remember.

Its cool. Yeah i did wish Gezora was in more movies. It would be cool if Godzilla fought all the sea monsters like Ebirah, Gezora, Gainme, Kambeos, and Manda would be helping Godzilla fight them all and most of the movie can be underwater now that would be cool.

[Tyler]

I really like this movie, it's so crazy. I'd like more 'normal' kaiju like the Amoeba gang. I liked that the human characters were just normal people too. There wasn't any military intervention, but that had probably due to the budget.

[TokyoVigilante]

I think it's some sort of a parody or riff on kaiju films. But something got lost in the drafts. Plus the Japanese trailer is incredibly lighthearted and bouncy. Plus surf rock. I love surf rock.

It has it's charm, and seeing the humans formulate plans of attack against these huge mutants and being successful is a nice change of pace.

Fun little film.

[Toxic Toast]

This is a really fun movie. Gezora's design is weird and there are a few funny moments, but I think Space Amoeba is as much a "serious" film as Mothra. Honda's ability to frame shots is certainly the best it's ever been. I like how the monsters are on a level where they can be beaten by quick thinking and guts, not a billion-dollar war machine. The concept reminds me of The Thing, where people in an isolated location use whatever they have on hand to try and beat this body-jumping alien before it grows to a scale where it can take on the world.

Kenji Sahara's character was a surprise, a skeezy opportunist turned alien instrument of death turned martyred hero. I also liked the fight between Kamoebas and Ganime... it was short, but it's not to often we see a Toho monster battle where neither opponent is anthropomorphic.

On the negative side, some of the plot contrivances are too convenient. Kudo is reading an article on the lost Helios 7 and just happens to be on a plane in with the perfect view to see it return to Earth and just happens to be hired to go to the island he saw it go down by? Purposes and bats just happen to cruise by seconds before Gezora would make a meal out of someone? The volcano just happens to erupt at the climax?

[Showa Gyaos]

I love it for its simplicity. It's a typical example for daikaiju eiga fans to laugh about, but that's why I like Space Amoeba.

[edgaguirus]

It's campy and has a lackluster battle, but I find it entertaining. Kamoeba was a good kaiju, and another appearance, besides a beached corpse, would be nice.

[bananaoil]

It's a pretty average to sub-standard Toho Monster-on-Island flick that really belonged in the early to mid 60s. It's good for a late night camp-o-thon, though.

[Hellspawn28]

I won't mind seeing a remake one day.

[Legionmaster]

GEZORA!

That is all you need to care about. Cuz Gezora is awesome.

[ZigraDude]

Space Amoeba is a nice little kaiju flick. It's not one of the greatest, but certainly not the worst. I liked the idea of an alien controlling and mutating sea creatures. Plus, I liked Kenji Sahara's role in the movie.

[DaikaijuSokogeki!]

I just saw this film for the first time earlier this year and I simply couldn't get into it. Yeah, there's enough here going for it that makes it watchable but there's still something off about the whole thing. I frankly found the human drama boring, and the special effects were definitely slapped together, especially compared to the much more imaginative Latitude Zero from the preceding year and Godzilla Vs. Hedorah the following year. It was nice to see several Golden-Age actors fill up the cast of this film, but only a few give memorable performances (namely Kenji Sahara). Even Yoshio Tsuchiya, who I absolutely admire, gives a bored performance here.

The music score is fun, and it's fun to hear Ifukube experiment with the synthesizer. But it's not one of his more memorable soundtracks, the title theme being the only piece that sticks out. The kaiju designs are really wicked cool, though. Gezora's suit is sloppily executed, but there's some strange charm to it that I frankly don't mind the head wobbling uncontrollably. The final fight between Ganime and Kameba is pretty exciting, full of great T&C action.

So yeah, not one of my favorite Showa-era kaiju films. It's got some fun aspects, but the film's just dull when the kaiju aren't on-screen. The characters are bland, and most of the cast doesn't try. I'll watch it again, but not anytime soon.

[Hellspawn28]

I hear Eiji Tsuburaya was going to work on this movie before his death.

[o.supreme]

This is actually one Toho film I dont mind the international dub on (probably because I never saw the film on TV), but I am still glad I have the AIP "Yog Monster from Space" version with the familiar voices I grew up with from other Toho films.

[Vinv1989]

I liked it a lot. It was a fun flick for its time. I just wish Gezora was in the climax alongside Kamoebas and Ganime for a three way showdown oh well. Kamoebas was my favorite kaiju in this film because I loved his suit design. If I gave it a review on a five star scale, I would give it 3 out of 5 stars take it or leave it. It was the worst Toho Film ever but not the best either just in between.

[ebirahsmeg1]

Love this film...overlooked gem and it always brings a smile to my face everytime I watch it. Here is an interesting behind the scenes photo from Yog I dug up recently:

[hammysammy59]

Awesome pic! I love Space Amoeba, I'd love to see more behind-the-scenes stills...

[ebirahsmeg1]

Awesome pic! I love Space Amoeba, I'd love to see more behind-the-scenes stills...

No problem! Actually, I have many Japanese Godzilla "pictorial" style books, but sadly, most of them are back home in America, so I can't scan anything from them. But I do have several really great G books I've picked up over the past year here in Japan, so I will try to post some interesting stills from them whenever I get the chance. In this case, I took a digital camera snapshot (I don't have a scanner unfortunately), so sorry for the somewhat shitty quality.