Terrifying Tuesdays: Godzilla Versus the Sea Monster (1966)

It had to happen -- no blog about scary movies could possibly continue without discussing at least one Godzilla movie!  "Godzilla Versus the Sea Monster" (1966) made the cut because this time around Godzilla takes on Ebirah, a giant lobster-like crustacean.  Crustaceans are featured on my blog this week, so this film is the perfect choice.  The action starts when a young man, searching for his lost brother, finds himself with two friends and a thief in a stolen boat.  They end up stranded on an island inhabited by the terrorist organization Red Bamboo, which has enslaved natives from another island for nefarious purposes.  A native girl assists the castaways, who then stumble across the sleeping Godzilla in a cave.  When Godzilla awakens, the action begins, and he ends up battling three "kaiju" monsters, one of them being Ebirah.  This movie combines monsters, comedy, and James Bond-like espionage action, and is the seventh in the original Godzilla series.  It may not be the best of the Godzilla movies (which is probably not saying much anyway, although there are some diehard Godzilla fans out there), but it is not the worst and it does provide light entertainment.  It also features Godzilla-fan favorites Mothra and the tiny singing twin priestesses devoted to her.  If you are not familiar with Mothra and the twins, watch this movie for an introduction.  All of the fighting earns this movie a "1" on the Gore Guide, but mild violence is really par for the course in a Godzilla movie and there is nothing overwhelmingly bad here, so enjoy this as the light fare that it is!

From NeuroDojo

Interesting Facts:  This movie was originally supposed to star King Kong instead of Godzilla!  Also, the name of the monster Ebirah actually translates to "giant shrimp", but since shrimp do not have such large claws this monster is more likely modeled after a lobster.  Ebirah makes brief reappearances in "Godzilla's Revenge" (1969) and "Godzilla: Final Wars"(2004), and in the latter he does appear more shrimp-like.

Gore Guide (0=none to 5=extreme): 1