Dogora (1964)

Another week, another Japanese sci-fi creature feature directed by the very capable Ishirô Honda. Dogora is a film about a giant space jellyfish creature, basically, but it’s a canny mix of monster movie and crime flick, managing to deliver a more interesting cast of characters than many of the other films it falls in line with.

You do get the space jellyfish creature, and it causes some confusion throughout the film, so at least this isn’t like some of the other Toho Studios films that simply add a monster into the final act. While some people are trying to figure out just what is going on, other people are more interested in diamond robberies. There’s an Inspector (Yôsuke Natsuki) after the criminals, a mysterious figure named Mark Jackson (Robert Dunham, billed as Dan Yuma) also taking a keen interest, and, of course, the robbers themselves. Surprisingly, the titular creature is also interested in diamonds, due to the carbon content it needs to devour.

Based on a story by Jôjirô Okami, with Shin'ichi Sekizawa back on screenplay duties, this is a very enjoyable genre blend that manages to let things unfold without doing a disservice to either of the main story strands. It may not have any major crash bang wallop moments, but the monstrous threat still looms large above our worried humans, and there’s enough damage caused to show what could happen if things get out of control. At the risk of repeating myself, Honda could direct these films in his sleep by now, and I don’t think I need to spend too much time here heaping more praise upon him.

Natsuki and Dunham are both very enjoyable in their roles, and they are featured enough to actually stay clear in my memory after the film has ended, but you also get Nobuo Nakamura as the standard scientist, Hiroshi Koizumi as a bonus secondary scientist, and Yôko Fujiyama as an assistant who obviously keeps herself in the middle of the conversations that deliver the required exposition. The gangsters are also good value, although I won’t name any of those performers here (they feel like one criminal unit, despite one or two having a specialist skillset).

Perhaps not as memorable as so many others, Dogora is a really fun film that I ended up enjoying a lot. I am not sure if that puts me in the minority, but I am sure that I could happily sit and rewatch this again already.

8/10

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Gorath (1962)

Having been on this cinematic journey for some time now already, I can safely say that I seem to be prepared for everything that these films throw at me. There is either a stat creature/personality or some interesting creation allowed to cameo, there is always the potential for a large-scale catastrophe, and many of the actors are kept busy playing people I don’t really care about in between the tense set-pieces.

That causes me a problem, of course, as I struggle to write something in-depth about each of these films, and also struggle to write something that doesn’t feel just copied and pasted from previous reviews.

Gorath was a film that I had a lot of fun with, and I suspected I would enjoy it when I saw the main creature (one named Maguma, and it basically looks like a huge walrus). It also helped that I discovered quite early that Gorath is the name of a runaway star that is on a collision course with Earth. Gorath is smaller than our planet, but it has 6000 times the gravity. Viewers will remember this because it is stated at least half a dozen times in the first quarter of the movie, or so it seemed. After one spaceship is destroyed, another heads off on a brave quest to monitor the situation. Meanwhile, Earth scientists hatch a plan to move Earth just enough to avoid the star. What this will mean for the future of the planet is unknown, but it becomes more problematic when they wake up Maguma, who wanders around angrily for a few scenes.

With director Ishirô Honda once again at the helm here, and a script written by Takeshi Kimura (another familiar name to fans of this kind of fare), this is comfortable and enjoyable entertainment. The focus throughout remains on the impending disaster, with a small diversion when Maguma is woken up, and watching the plan be conceived and put into practice is surprisingly entertaining.

While the cast includes Ryô Ikebe, Yumi Shirikawa, Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno, and numerous others, none of them make much of an impression juxtaposed against the vastness and potential danger of our universe. Some extra drama, revolving around an astronaut with memory loss, feels like nothing more than an irritating delay in between the big planet-in-peril moments.

I may not rush to revisit this one, and it’s a shame that there wasn’t more screentime for the wonderfully goofy Maguma, but I enjoyed it while it was on. I am sure it won’t be a firm favourite for anyone, but it does enough to make it memorable and worth your time.

7/10

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The Mysterians (1957)

Another film in which the people of Earth could face potential destruction, starting with an encounter that endangers the whole of Japan, The Mysterians is an amusing, if lesser, film in the extensive selection falling under the Toho banner. Those who enjoy the output from the company will find enough to enjoy here, but it doesn't have a main monster to serve up as a big highlight.

The plot is quite simple, and quite absurd when you type it out in plain text. A group of aliens land on Earth, negotiating for an area of land and the right to marry human women. They live in a seemingly-indestructible dome, can also send out a giant robot to cause some carnage (the closest the movie comes to serving up a monster), and hope to find a way to continue their race after being poisoned and changed by the death of their home planet. It soon becomes obvious that the Mysterians have other plans though, and the people of Earth need to find out a way to stop them.

Developed from story idea to final film form by Jôjirô Okami, Shigeru Kayama, and Takeshi Kimura, names you will recognise from other Japanese sci-fi/monster movies from this era, this is silliness of the highest order. And when I say it's silliness I actually mean that it's complete bobbins. If you don' believe me then please just re-read the last paragraph. It's still fun though, and everyone onscreen shows the right level of stress and concern, all working under the sure and steady hand of director Ishirô Honda.

The cast is also full of familiar names/faces if you've been watching any other Toho films from this period. Akihiko Hirata, Momoko Kôchi, Takashi Shimura, and Kenji Sahara are no strangers to battling for the integrity of Japan, and the safety of the people, and the the same can be said for the likes of Yumi Shirakawa, Susumu Fujita, and Hisaya Itô, all helping to fill out the central cast. Yoshio Tsuchiya also deserves a mention, playing the vital role of "Leader of the Mysterians".

It's a shame that there aren't too many positives to single out here, although I am not saying that the film is actually bad. There just aren't any real treats, nothing in line with the kind of thrills and spectacle you can find in a number of the other movies in the same vein. The stomping robot feels like a poor substitute for some fantastical creature, the destruction feels relatively tame, and the Mysterians themselves are just depicted as people in various coloured suits (pretty much Power Rangers decades before they were a thing).

It's no surprise that this isn't mentioned much by film fans, and I doubt we will ever see the day when it gets a much-heralded restoration and revival. I liked it, and I have to stress that after seeming so dismissive of it, but I can't imagine anyone loving it. It's there, it's amusing and cute, and it's something to watch once and then almost immediately forget.

6/10

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