Rating: 3.5/5
Cult Movie Challenge 2016 | 37/52 | Kaiju
Professor Kenji Murai surveys the neon Tokyo landscape from the window of a psychiatric hospital. He explains to a group of doctors the circumstances that led to his and only his rescue.
Like Gilligan’s Island, he tells them a story of his friends joy-riding on a yacht. Like a veritable Gilligan’s Island, a storm causes the ship to take damage and drift uncontrollably. And like a dang old Gilligan’s Island, the boat comes to a deserted island.
There, they find matango, a new mushroom species. The mushrooms’ impact on the landscape uncovers the island’s hidden secrets.
Ishirō Honda wanted this movie to stand out from the Godzilla movies. The tone is notably darker and serious despite the unusual premise.
He also wanted to explore the Americanization of Japanese culture and its impact on the upper class. This influence included the influx of drugs and how they changed people he knew.
Some folks say that this movie heavily influenced the Japanese cyberpunk aesthetic, and how it incorporated body horror.
The makeup and gore nearly cost the movie distribution. It resembled the disfigurement from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
While I appreciate the campy fun of the Godzilla movies, the gothic dread of this movie aligns more with my tastes.