DOOMSDAY

King Ghidorah had arrived. Godzilla emerged from the ocean as Rodan re-emerged from a volcano. A great battle had ensued between the King of the Monsters and Rodan. The stage has been set for Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster (1964).

King Ghidorah, a three headed serpent with the ability to fly and shoot lightning from its multiple mouths, landed on Earth in a giant meteor. The egg-like meteor hatched, and the demon went on a destructive spree across Japan. Mothra, hatched in Godzilla Vs. The Thing (1964), had to convince Rodan and Godzilla to work together in order to defeat the three headed golden dragon. After a long argument, Godzilla and Rodan complied. The rest is history…..

Godzilla had crossed over into the character of the hero, a defender of the Earth and mankind. Godzilla was no longer self-interested, and learned to put aside differences for the greater good. This lesson would be vital to Godzilla’s preparation for battles to come.

This horror fan has the odd quirk of keeping a “wine list” of movies for each part of the year. It is not such a bad habit, as it helps guide a viewer to pick a movie that works best for them at a particular time of year. Very weird if one thinks about it for a few seconds.

The beginning of the year brings about the kaiju eiga “leftovers” as the rest of what was to be a re-creation of the TNT MonsterVision’s Godzilla marathon for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day (and that shipment of movies came just in time). In addition, this reviewer watches several movies purchased at the old Fangoria (the magazine) conventions (the Weekend of Horrors). Those films include Dr. Butcher MD (aka Zombi Holocaust, 1981), Ruggiero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust (1979), Oasis of the Zombies (1982), among others.

Other movies that seem to have a place during this uneventful time of year include the dark, cold mansion films like Dr. Jekyll’s Dungeon of Death (1982), The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (1967), Dr. Tarr’s Torture Dungeon (1970), The Man With Two Heads (1972), Re-Animator (1985), The Exorcist (1973; 2000), Mark of the Devil (1970), and so many more…..

For Mothra Vs. Godzilla (aka Godzilla Vs. The Thing aka Godzilla Vs. Mothra, 1964), Godzilla’s design was far more slender than that of his design in King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1962). However, he still moved relatively slow and did not yet have a strategic, combat driven brain.

Godzilla had a tough time defeating an old, weak Mothra, and was easily defeated by Mothra’s twin larvae. It would be a long time before Godzilla would have the skills, strength, and brain power to defeat foes faced towards the end of the Showa era (1975).

Godzilla would then learn that he will have to combine his strengths with those of other monsters in order to overcome his next adversary: King Ghidorah…..

At the beginning of Godzilla’s evolution, the character battled King Kong (in King Kong Vs. Godzilla, 1962). Godzilla was bulky, slow, clumsy, and unwise. He was destructive and was able to thwart military attempts to destroy him, yet he did not possess the ability to use his brain against Kong. Godzilla was not quick enough to match Kong’s speed, and Kong quickly learned that Godzilla’s atomic breath was not as lethal to him as first perceived. Godzilla was easily deterred by Kong’s ability to harness electricity from lightning and use it to deliver electric shocks with his touch.

The long battle between the two giants led to them to simultaneously fall off of a cliff, locked in combat, into the ocean. Kong emerged and swam away, presumably back to his home island where he was originally captured. Godzilla was not seen again until the next film, Godzilla Vs. Mothra (aka Godzilla Vs. The Thing, 1964). The bulkiness of the suit design was not revisited for several years, yet the evil, reptilian design was only minimally altered. The character may have learned not to underestimate an opponent after battling Kong, and perhaps used that knowledge in the next film…..

This webmaster received a nice shipment of top notch kaiju eiga in the mail yesterday. The big cardboard box was as welcome at the front door, as it contained the Toho Master Collection DVDs released by Classic Media and Genius Entertainment (the same contained within the Godzilla boxed set released last year)!

The DVDs contained within had what amounted to two movies each with fantastic extras. In chronological order, the first was Mothra Vs. Godzilla (aka Godzilla Vs. The Thing, 1964). The next film was Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster (aka Ghidrah, 1964). The final film contained was The Invasion of The Astro Monster (aka Monster Zero, 1965). Both the Japanese and American versions of these films are on their respective discs with running audio commentaries, slide shows, and Japanese theatrical trailers. This webmaster will be a bit busy over the next few days watching these…..

A lot of study into the character of Godzilla has been performed over the years. However, it is unclear as to whether the character evolved (throughout the Showa Era from 1954-1975) in response to the storylines in which Godzilla was placed or was it a conscious decision on the producers’ part. It is also unclear whether or not Godzilla’s physical appearance was connected with the character; it is possible that it was simply a change in design to the suits used by the actors (Godzilla’s appearance, although generally the same, went through many radical changes); depending on which films are used for comparison, Godzilla’s appearance can often pass for a completely different character. For instance, the suit used for King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1962) looks absolutely nothing like the suit used for Godzilla Vs. Megalon (1973).

It is possible that the character of Godzilla was not only subject to evolution in physical appearance, and became more cunning, wiser, and more capable in the act of combat as time went on. It is this evolution that may have prepared him to face his final opponent in the Showa Era series, Mechagodzilla. It can be hypothesized that, perhaps, Godzilla in the form and state of character he was in Son of Godzilla (1967) would be unable to defeat Mechagodzilla since his unrefined combat skills, slow and bulky physical stature, and the inability to call upon powers that lie outside his normal arsenal (atomic breath and powerful movements) would be of great detriment. On the other hand, it can also be hypothesized that Godzilla as he existed when he defeated Mechagodzilla at the end of the Showa Era would have easily crushed opponents like the Kumonga (the giant Spider in Son of Godzilla, 1967), Hedorah (the being spawned from pollution in Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster, 1971), and King Ghidorah (the three-headed, intergalactic planet destroyer from Ghidorah The Three Headed Monster, 1964; Monster Zero, 1965; Destroy All Monsters, 1968).

Godzilla survived defeats at the hands of King Kong and Mothra; he was a destructive creature with no conscience, yet developed a cooperative relationship with mankind when it came to facing the possible destruction of the Earth several times. He occasionally relied on the assistance of other creatures (such as Minilla, his son, in defeating the Kumonga in Son of Godzilla) and the assistance of mankind (such as in the case of Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster, when the military helped develop a means of destroying Hedorah – set into action by Godzilla) in order to avoid being defeated. It can be said that all of this developed Godzilla into the character he was in 1974 and 1975 when he faced his ultimate opponent.

Some viewers enjoy long films with an intense plot and plenty of room for thought and analysis. However, there are other viewers who like a “sampler platter” of horror film clips and want nothing more than to simply (and thoughtlessly) absorb the gruesome images before them. For these viewers, a double feature of gory horror film compilations is recommended…..

Filmgore (1983) – Hosted by Elvira; clips for this compilation are from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Blood Feast, The Fiend, Drive-In Massacre, The Driller Killer, The Astro Zombies and many more. The host segments were shot on video and feature a lot of one-liners by the famous horror host.

Zombiethon (1986) – There are several films in this compilation, including Fulci’s Zombie, Zombie Lake, Oasis of the Zombies, The Invisible Dead, Fear and a few more. Each segment is bookended by people being chased by zombies (usually in rubber masks) into an abandoned theater to view the clips.

With the holidays over, a prospective horror film fan may find themselves with more time on their hands to watch movies, and perhaps a gift card or two to spend on movies. The long, cold nights of winter with no prospect of holiday festivities (such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and the December holiday season) calls for a double feature of dark movies with a cold atmosphere. The following is a pair of such films…..

The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (aka Castle of the Walking Dead, 1967) – Christopher Lee is resurrected from the grave to sacrifice virgins.

Dr. Jekyll’s Dungeon of Death (aka Dr. Jekyll’s Dungeon of Darkness, 1982) – The great grandson of the infamous scientist is now experimenting with his serum on crazed martial artists in his basement.

If there is one thing that this webmaster does not want for this post, it is for readers to think that it will become just another rant by another blogger.

With that being established, this reviewer recently received a gift card to a major electronics store for the holidays. Because the money has already been spent by someone else, it would be easier to make a semi-impulsive decision. It was decided that a few of the deluxe Classic Media Godzilla DVDs would be bought. The store was visited, and it was apparent that there were none in stock.

However, the most aggravating part of the experience is that there were over 20 Alien Vs. Predator DVDs on the shelf. As if that were not enough, there were over 25 copies of Ghost Rider, and over 40 copies of I Am Legend. An employee asked if they could help. The reply was simple: stock less of the latest blockbusters that they think will sell (it was pretty evident that they did not sell; 40 copies of the same movie and zero copies of anything worth buying would be proof of that) and stock a variety of films.

The gift card ended up being spent online…..

Local commercials (such as a roller rink) aired in between commercials for the 1995 World Series victory by the Atlanta Braves on VHS and promotional spots for the two-night airing of Gone With The Wind. Other promos included spots for Rudy and GoGo’s New Year’s Eve Flaming Cheese Ball (the oddball show where two marionettes and a goat host science fiction films), and a promo for the Godzilla marathon (consisting of a montage of Godzilla clips and Blue Oyster Cult’s popular song, “Godzilla”) to air the next day.

The other videotape contained two films from the marathon; they were Godzilla Vs. Mothra (aka Godzilla Vs. The Thing, 1964) and Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero (aka Monster Zero, 1965).