D V D C R Y P T

SON OF GODZILLA

Directed by Jun Fukuda
Written by Shinici Sekizawa & Kazue Shida
Music by Masaru Satu
Cast: Tadao Takashima, Akira Kubo, Beverly Maeda, Akihiro Hirata

1967/86 mins/Color/ Mono
2.35:1 anamorphic/Japanese/Japan/NTSC Region 1

Review from Columbia/ TriStar DVD

On an uninhabited island a group of scientists are testing a weather control device. Unfortunately, the experiment has an ill effect turning the already giant mantises that inhabit the island, into 160 foot monsters, called Kamacuras. Also, on the island is the evil, giant spider, Kumonga. They terrorize the scientists and do battle with Godzilla and his newly born son, Minilla. Can the scientists manage to leave the island alive?

This is the sequel that introduced the very much hated character of Minilla (or Minya as he sometimes also referred to). And, as such, it is definitely not one of the better films in the series. In fact it is clearly one of the worst (but defiantly not the absolute worst). There a few laughs, some intentional, some not. Some of the jokes are not funny at all and just make you groan. There is way too much of an attempt to be cute and appeal to younger audience. This was fine when I was kid, but looking back it just ain’t. Now, it’s just annoying and terminally stupid.

The FX are cheap and cheesy. Minilla looks total shit. Meanwhile, the Godzilla suit is clearly one of the worst, I have ever seen. The rest of the monsters, in the film, fair little better; as they too look pretty much on the cheap side. The sets and miniatures are also terrible and rather crappy looking.

Another problem with the film is it spends way too much time on the humans. You really won’t give a fuck whether or not any of them become lunch to the giant invertebrates on the island. Hence, any scene involving them lacks any suspense, whatsoever. Now, sure in many kaiju films, this is a common problem, and this is usually remedied by cool monster throwdowns. Sadly, in this film this is not the case, as the monster fights are underwhelming to say the least. The only one really worth mentioning is the climatic battle, where in Godzilla and Minilla team-up to battle Kumonga. Truthfully, it only turns cool (pun not intended) when it starts to snow. The snow makes the battle look a lot better than it probably is. And that is most likely due to the facts there ain’t that many other Godzilla films with snow in them. Ultimately, it makes the ending visually pleasing, and even, a bit touching.

Columbia/ TriStar give birth to this movie on a DVD that captures the film in all its 2.35:1 anamorphic, widescreen glory. The picture looks great with wonderful bright colors, which is perfect, since most of the film takes place in the bright sunlight. It is, in fact, so clear that you can see the strings, at times, on Kamacuras. The sound, though in mono, is loud, clear, and overall, just sounds great.

Sadly, as with most of the Godzilla DVDs, Columbia really fucks this one up in the extra department, as there are none. The trailers are the same shit you would find in most of the other Big-G films: GODZILLA: COMPILATION TRAILER, GODZILLA THE SERIES: THE MONSTER WAR TRILOGY, GODZILLA: TOKYO S.O.S. - Japanese teaser, KAENA: THE PROPHECY, and STEAMBOY.

The DVD comes in a keepcase with a really shitty looking cover. Inside is an inlet card that serves as advertisement for other Godzilla releases and Godzilla toys. There is no mention of the twelve chapters that the disc is broken up in, that are accessible from a static menu.

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Extras:

No points.

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This Film Features: