TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA (1975)

A Dark Finale to the Original Godzilla Series

Grade: A-

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** Spoiler Alert!!**

The original Japanese series of Godzilla films began in 1954 with Gojira. Telling the story of a gigantic prehistoric monster laying waste to Tokyo after being awakened by H-bomb tests, the movie served as a dark allegory of nuclear war nine years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As the series progressed, this darkness was largely abandoned in favor of a kid-friendly tone, with Godzilla going from being an engine of destruction to a protector of mankind. But in 1975, the darkness returned with Terror of Mechagodzilla. Although a direct sequel to 1974’s Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, the film is drastically different tone-wise. Where G vs. MG was directed by Jun Fukuda, who had helmed some of the campier movies in the series, Terror of Mechagodzilla was helmed by Gojira director Ishiro Honda, who once again demonstrated his ability to combine giant monster action with a serious story.

Terror of Mechagodzilla follows mad scientist Dr. Shinzo Mafune (Akihiko Hirata), who used to work at an institute in Japan, where he began experiments in animal control. After claiming to have found an aquatic dinosaur named Titanosaurus, which he intended to control, he was expelled from the institute and swore revenge. Fifteen years later, after Godzilla destroys Mechagodzilla, its alien creators recruit Dr. Mafune and his daughter Katsura (Tomoko Hirata) They plan to use Dr. Mafune’s controller technology to unleash Titanosaurus and a newly rebuilt Mechagodzilla on Tokyo. Meanwhile, Katsura falls in love with marine biologist Ichinose (Katsuhiko Sasaki), who was recruited by Interpol to investigate Titanosaurus. She is torn between her allegiance to her father and her concern for human life. It all culminates in a spectacular showdown between Godzilla, Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus.

Audiences might be surprised at just how grim Terror of Mechagodzilla is. In addition to the expected monster battles, there are several moments of gruesome violence. In one scene early on, a man escapes from the aliens’ custody, only to be surrounded by them and gunned down without mercy. Later, after aliens fail to kill another human, their commander angrily whips them and orders them executed.

The film portrays Dr. Mafune and Katsura as victims of both Mafune’s scientific institute and the aliens. In a flashback, when Mafune and Katsura are first testing the Titanosaurus controller, a short circuit kills Katsura, who is quickly brought back to life as a cyborg by the aliens. However, it is subtly implied that the aliens themselves orchestrated the accident, as evidenced by their immediate response to her death. Dr. Mafune essentially makes a deal with the devil when he agrees to help the aliens destroy Tokyo out of revenge. Katsura is the most tragic figure in the movie; just before the climax, the aliens place Mechagodzilla’s controller in her mind, essentially making her their puppet.

During the final battle between the aliens and the Interpol agents, Dr. Mafune is killed when the alien commander uses him as a human shield. After Katsura is injured and revealed to Ichinose to be a cyborg, he still insists he loves her, and she turns a gun on herself to destroy the Mechagodzilla controller, allowing Godzilla to defeat it. These story elements are not what one might expect from 1970s Japanese sci-fi.

The story is not perfect. The audience’s sympathy for Dr. Mafune is tainted by the fact that he is obviously mad from the start, as indicated by his bold announcement to his institute of his plan to control Titanosaurus. His appearance is also somewhat comical; when wearing his lab coat, he bears more than a passing resemblance to Colonel Sanders. In addition, Ichinose is not the smartest protagonist, letting Katsura in on Interpol’s plan to combat Titanosaurus. This results in her sabotaging the machine they’ve built to fight it. Even after she is spotted fleeing the scene, he stubbornly refuses to believe that she is the culprit.

The main attractions, of course, are the production value and the monster action. The effects in Terror of Mechagodzilla are not the most convincing; when Titanosaurus is first attacking Japan, one can clearly see wires and explosives on its neck meant to simulate missiles hitting it when they explode. But a lot of money and effort clearly went into these effects; the aliens’ base is impressive, as is the miniature Tokyo that gets destroyed in the film’s climax. The fights between Godzilla and Titanosaurus also feature some of the best choreography in a movie of this type. And near the end of the film is an exciting moment wherein Mechagodzilla unleashes its entire arsenal of lasers and missiles at Godzilla, who defiantly charges at his mechanical foe through and around the explosions. All these moments, plus the compelling and serious story, combine to make Terror of Mechagodzilla one of the greatest movies of the original Godzilla series.

As a child, I watched Terror of Mechagodzilla solely for the monster action. The version I saw back then trimmed down some of the darker and more violent elements, including Katsura’s on-screen death. When I got older, I saw the whole version, and was able to see the deeper layers of the story. This is not just a monster movie; like the original Gojira, it is a tragedy. Terror of Mechagodzilla was the final movie of the original Godzilla series (the series would revive in 1984 with The Return of Godzilla), making it an awesome and compelling swan song for the famous giant monster.

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Director: Ishiro Honda

Special Effects Director: Teruyoshi Nakano

Producer: Tomoyuki Tanaka

Screenplay: Yukiko Takayama

Cast: Katsuhiko Sasaki (Akira Ichinose), Tomoko Hirata (Katsura Mifune), Akihiko Hirata (Dr. Shinzo Mafune), Katsumasa Uchida (Jiro Murakoshi), Goro Mutusmi (Commander Mugal), Toru Kawai (Godzilla), Kazunari Mori (Mechagodzilla), Tatsumi Fuyamoto (Titanosaurus)