Cinematic Point Of View

Sometimes you just need a little Godzilla movie fluff in your life.

Sometimes, after a long week, you wanna just chill out on the couch with some sort of movie where a group of Japanese scientists are conducting weather experiments on an island and they accidently mutate a group of giant praying mantises (Kamacuras) and maybe awaken a giant spider (Kumonga).

Maybe in this movie there’s a woman who was born on the island, but her scientist parents died leaving her to grow up alone and live as a jungle girl. And maybe, in this movie, an egg hatches a baby Godzilla (Manilla) and he is bullied by those giant praying mantises mere seconds after birth.

Perhaps then, hearing the cries of his son, Godzilla books it to the island to battle the mantises and rescue Manilla and they then spend some quality father/son time together. Of course, like any father with a toddler, Godzilla has to take a few naps too.

If this sounds like the sorta fluff you’re in the mood for then you need to spend some quality time with the ‘Son of Godzilla’ (1967), directed by Jun Fukuda.

To be completely honest, I was surprised by how much I really enjoyed this movie. I had not seen it in years and had kind of been avoiding a re-watch. I only had a hazy memory of watching a poorly dubbed version as a kid on TV. This time around I went for the subtitled version which I think makes such a big difference. Those old dubs are painful.

I think of the biggest surprises for me was how much I dug the human scenes. They’re often hit or miss. I truly appreciate how director Jun Fukuda plays the human scenes completely straight and serious even with all the wackiness going on around them. It has a sort of classic “Lost World” setting with lots of kaiju action and a surprisingly touching ending. Sure, there are plenty of campy moments between Godzilla and Manilla, but even those moments are done with a lot of heart.

Kazuo Yamada‘s cinematography shines as well and really helps bring this film together. Some of the island battle scenes are so beautifully framed. I love some good up close kaiju fighting, but there’s just something magical about these medium and wide shots.

The Kamacuras and Kumonga practical effects are great too. There is a scene where the scientists are battling Kumonga and the practical effects are right up there with another of my favorite films, the giant ant epic ‘Them!’.

‘Son of Godzilla’ isn’t really a film you pick apart. It’s no literary masterpiece, but it has a lot of love and craft put into it. You either appreciate it or you don’t. I would easily understand if you don’t. It’s got so much of what makes the Showa era Godzilla films special though.

For me, ‘Son of Godzilla’ is the perfect “napping” Godzilla movie to watch and relax with on a lazy Saturday afternoon.