Retro Revelations: Godzilla Chronicles: Terror of Mechagodzilla

Well here we are! This Godzilla Chronicles journey began all the way back in May, 2014, in part as a way to honor a "new Godzilla" coming out, the first Legendary Pictures film. I was always going to write about my love of classic Godzilla films, but that seemed like as good as time as any to finally get started. I wound up deciding to cover the entire Showa series of Godzilla films (as in Toho films of that era that actually featured the "Big G" himself), and wound up most years, doing two entries, or if you prefer two movies a year. And as I said, here we are! It's now October 2022, essentially the 10 Year Anniversary of Retro Revelations itself, and what better way to celebrate, than by wrapping up what I consider the greatest period in monster movie, and certainly Godzilla history?

The final battle?

When I left you last time, I was discussing 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, or as I had first known it as a kid, "Godzilla vs. The Cosmic Monster". While all of the Showa Godzilla films (and most other assorted non-Godzilla Toho monster/sci fi flicks of the era) are technically connected, some of them are actually direct sequels to one another. For instance, Godzilla Raids Again was a direct sequel to the original Gojira. Invasion of the Astro Monster was a direct follow-up to Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster. And in a looser sense, Godzilla vs. Megalon was KINDA a sequel-ish to Godzilla vs. Gigan. And with a couple of odd exceptions, Terror of Mechagodzilla is a direct continuation of the first Mechagodzilla film.

His helmet lets you know he's special.

Those couple of exceptions, are really cosmetic for the most part, but still odd changes, or in one case exclusion. Firstly, you'll notice in the picture above, that those dastardly aliens from the Third Planet of the Black Hole, have upgraded their attire to include some very stylish helmets! I have no idea why they didn't bust these bad boys out in the first movie, because they certainly scream "Hey, we're ALIENS over here!" I guess cool headgear was only part of their "If our FIRST attempt fails" plan.

The exclusion I mentioned, is that in the first film, it was pretty clearly established that these kooky xenos, were actually some kind of strange green ape-men. Their "human" looking facade would disappear when they were either damaged, or would die. Yet in Terror, the only time you see any of them change form like that, a dude just straight up rips human-looking makeup off, to reveal underneath a decidedly NON-ape looking, either mutated or burnt face. Again, totally cosmetic, but a very odd, non-continuity conscious choice on Toho's part.

In THIS corner, the Big G himself!

And in THIS corner, Mecha-G...Mark 2?

As I mentioned in the other article, "Cosmic Monster" was a movie I first discovered thanks to the wondrous spinning VHS rack out in the aisle at our local Walmart, when I was probably around age 10 or 11. For Terror, however, the only reason I got to see it, was because it was included in one of the Godzilla Marathons they ran a couple of times in my pre-teens on the original format of my beloved TNT's MonsterVision. In those early pre-Job Bob Briggs days, when MonserVision focused pretty much entirely on classic sci fi, horror and monster flicks from mostly the 50s and 60s, with a dash of 70s, I clearly remember there were at least two major Godzilla marathons they ran. The one that stands out the clearest in my memory was "Godzilla Bash '94", which was a New Years Eve all night celebration. I don't remember which one I first saw Terror in, but I do know that it was one, along with Godzilla vs. Gigan (or as it was called "Godzilla on Monster Island"), and probably Mothra vs. Godzilla, that my grandmother stayed up and helped me record on blank tapes (which of course I was thrilled about).

Whip it, whip it good!

Now while I was, of course, absolutely thrilled to be able to see "new" Godzilla movies I hadn't yet seen, as I wanted to see them ALL, it would only be fair to relate that even upon first watch as a kid, I remember being a little disappointed in this movie. Not that it doesn't have its finer points. I knew from a cool Godzilla book I found at the library, that this was the last of the original Godzilla series. And I also knew it was a sequel to the tape I already owned. But somehow, this film being a much darker affair, along with the new monster Titanosaurus (we'll get to him in a bit) being somewhat goofy and underwhelming, it just didn't feel as cool to me, as the first Mecha-G film. And for the most part I still feel that way today.

The master at work.

One of the reasons this movie is notable, is because after taking several years away from directing films, to rest and do a bit of television work, the great Ishiro Honda returned to direct this. I'm not entirely sure, in the planning stages, if they knew for certain that this would wind up being the last Godzilla film for a decade, but that is of course what it wound up being. So in that sense, it was only fitting that the director to help originate this phenomenon, return to the helm one last time. And one last time is exactly what it was, for Terror would wind up being the last film that Honda directed himself. He would, in later years, spend time assisting his close friend Akira Kurosawa with some of his 80s and early 90s works.

Akihiko Hirata, back one last time as Dr. Shinzo Mafune.

His haunted daughter Katsura.

Plot-wise, the film focuses on both the efforts of Japanese military and scientist trying to find the remains of Mechagodzilla in the ocean, as well as the case of a mysterious girl and her allegedly dead father. The father in question is Dr. Shinzo Mafune, a disgraced and bitter scientist, played by none other than Akihiko Hirata, who played Dr. Serizawa in the original Gojira film. That was a nice touch, having him basically book-end the series. But where Serizawa was a reclusive but more or less benevolent scientist, Dr. Mafune is more your angry-at-the-world mad scientist variety. He has teamed up with those bastard aliens, both because they saved his daughter once upon a time, and because they offered him the means to prove his theory of being able to control animals through technology. The specific animal in question, being the giant (and doofy looking) Titanosaurus, the last brand new Kaiju of the Showa era.

Hello, my name's Fred.

I do clearly recall, even as a kid obsessed with monsters and monster movies, feeling that poor ol' Titano, or as his friends call him, Fred, was kind of a let down. Not a TERRIBLE monster design, but basically, he's a giant amphibious dinosaur, with fins even on the end of his tail. And aside from apparently a REALLY strong bite, that's his whole attack, outside of brawling, is turning around and fanning his tail-fin back and forth, creating hurricane force winds. A monster attack, I might add, already done by flying monsters like Rodan and Mothra, but far more imposing. I don't mean to dump on poor Fred, it's not his fault, after all. But in all blunt honesty, of ALL the 70s Toho kaiju they came up with (the creatures in Space Amoeba, Hedorah, Gigan, Megalon, King Caesar, Mechagodzilla, hell even the SUPER obscure Daigoro and Goliath), Titanosaurus is unfortunately kinda the lamest one.

The roles are reversed!

Since their "invincible" Mechagodzilla was defeated by the combined might of two monsters (though mostly Godzilla) in their previous caper, those mad-cap clowns from the Black Hole decided to take a page out of the enemy's playbook. THIS time, they were gonna use an "improved" (not really) Mecha-G, in tandem with Mafune's controlled Titanosaurus, both to crush Godzilla once and for all, as well as to conquer Japan. The thing is, they included this wacky idea to have Katsura, Mafune's daughter, who as it turns out they had to turn into a CYBORG to save her life in the past, be connected mentally to Mechagodzilla. In addition to her already being the one who handles controlling Titano. So they literally put all of their eggs in the Katsura basket, even though she's conflicted, and has a thing for studly scientist Ichinose, who has been trying to study Titanosaurus too, and "believes in her". Hoo boy!

That's just not right.

Christ, I'm on fire!

Well, their nefarious plot seemed to pay dividends at first, as their Titanic Team, their Colossal Connection, did in fact wreck some major havoc on poor Tokyo, AND they managed to do a real number on poor Godzilla when he first shows up. As seen above, Titano apparently has a SUPER strong bite, and neck, because at one point, he just bites Godzilla's lip, and uses THAT to slam him around like a rag doll. Quite possibly the goofiest looking thing the Showa series ever produced, outside of Godzilla flying backwards. As you can ALSO see above, and not for the first time in the series, at one point when explosions were going off on set, the Godzilla suit caught a bit of FIRE, so thinking it looked wicked-cool, they decided to leave it in.

Take THAT!

Wait...WHAT?

There really isn't too much to say about the final showdown between Big G, Mecha G, and Fred. I personally would have preferred if they had dusted off Godzilla's buddy Anguirus (my 2nd favorite kaiju) one last time, and made it a tag team affair again. For one, because it would have been a bit more interesting, and for another, it would have been a nice opportunity to follow up on the previous film, and have Angy seeking revenge for Mecha breaking his damn jaw! But alas, they decided to have Godzilla go it solo against two opponents, I suppose to make him look stronger in the end.

Ichinose, the good guy science man, discovers almost by accident while aboard a submarine, that Titano's mental control device (basically a pair of metal antennae), can be disrupted by sonic waves. So he and the Science Squad concoct a setup that allows them to shoot his ass with sonic waves from a helicopter, aiding Godzilla by more or less taking Fred out of the fight. This leaves Big G and his metal doppelganger, to finish the fight as they should. Though honestly, Mecha was more imposing in his first outing. He's supposed to be "upgraded" here, but he actually lacks the force field ability. Instead, his only new gimmick, essentially, is a "GOTCHA" moment to the audience, as in their previous fight, Godzilla ripped his fuckin' head clean off! And this time, when he does it again, SURPRISE, he doesn't need no head! As seen above, he instead has this doofy little dome that shoots a laser.

I wouldn't have spoiled even THAT much of the final battle for you fine folks, but I felt it was too funny/novel not to share.

Hey, it was the 70s man.

So in a nutshell, as I intimated earlier in this piece, the way I felt about this movie after my first viewing back in the mid-90s as a youngster, is pretty much how I still feel about it today. That isn't the case with certain movies, even just in the Godzilla series. For instance, as I mentioned in its own article, the first time I finally got to rent and watch Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, for whatever reasons I wasn't very impressed. But upon coming to own it in my 20s, and repeated viewings over the years, its really grown on me, to the point that I'd probably put it in my Top 5 Godzilla films. I also turned quite a bit on All Monsters Attack (or as I first saw it on TV, "Godzilla's Revenge"), which even as a kid I felt the overuse of stock footage, and the fact that Godzilla and Monster Island in the film were just a kid's daydreams, was kinda lame. But my sour take on that film improved, and while the glut of stock footage IS still lame, I appreciate it for what it is now.

But Terror of Mechagodzilla? I still feel, in a way, that it was the Showa era going out with a bit of a whimper, instead of a bang. It's not a BAD movie at all, in fact in certain ways I think Honda did as good a job as he could, given even tighter budgets than he had to deal with in the 60s. But when I really think about it, out of all 15 actual Showa Godzilla films, I might honestly like Terror the least. Yes, even below All Monsters Attack, surprisingly. That film has a charming and endearing story of a kid who has to spend a lot of time alone because of working parents, coming to grips with bullies, and life, at its core. Terror is still interesting, and I DO like it, it IS definitely a good movie, but I dunno. It just somehow kinda lacks that spark that even the first Mechagodzilla had.

Still a great monster, though.

All that said, there isn't a single Showa Godzilla film, or even any of the greater Toho Showa sci fi catalogue, that I truly dislike. They all have a spirit and a charm that is just unmatched by more modern takes, even with bigger budgets and improved effects and filming technology. The "suitmation" techniques they used, especially for these old films, was an art form unto itself. It took a lot of hard work, to build the miniature sets, to make things look reasonably believable at a small scale, to build these elaborate (and often great looking) monster suits, for tough-as-nails actors to actually ACT in those heavy, sweat-house things. You name it! It's an art form that's largely lost now, at least in feature film form. I do believe shows that continue to get made in Japan, like the Super Sentai (Power Rangers), still use suitmation and miniature sets. Which is good, because much like 2D animation, or Stop-Motion animation, or Jim Henson type puppetry, I don't EVER want to see this wizardry that Eiji Tsuburaya pioneered, truly fade away. That would be a tragedy and a crime.

With the last of the Showa Era Godzilla films covered, I am also now going to put the Godzilla Chronicles sub-series to bed, I think. My goal was always mainly to just cover the old, original series Godzilla films that I love so much. I do think I will, eventually, do pieces on non-Godzilla entries I love, such as Rodan, Mothra, Frankenstein Conquers the World, or King Kong Escapes. Hell, I may even someday get a bug up my ass to go ahead and cover the Heisei, or even Millennium film series. But for now, I think that the end of the Showa Era, is a fitting end to my Godzilla series as well.

So as always, I want to wish you all a very happy Halloween season, and I sincerely hope you take my works as inspiration, and watch a lot of these wonderful old films that exist. SO much goodness, and it breaks my heart to know there are TONS of people who are perfectly content to mostly just watch whatever new shit comes out. Ignoring the vast array of amazing older shows, cartoons and movies (and games, books, music, comics, etc.) that exist, I truly believe is doing yourself a major disservice. But I digress! Just please do old "Retro" a favor, and watch some classics as we count down to another All Hallows Eve, ok?

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As an added bonus, I thought I'd share my personal order of the Showa series, ranked from most liked to least!

1. Invasion of the Astro Monster (Godzilla vs. Monster Zero) - 1965

2. Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster) - 1966

3. King Kong vs. Godzilla - 1962

4. Godzilla vs. Hedorah (Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster) - 1971

5. Destroy All Monsters - 1968

6. Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster - 1964

7. Gojira (Godzilla: King of the Monsters) - 1954

8. Godzilla Raids Again - 1955

9. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla - 1974

10. Godzilla vs. Gigan - 1972

11. Mothra vs Godzilla - 1964

12. Son of Godzilla - 1967

12. Godzilla vs. Megalon - 1973