A sparkly-blue blob of light from outer space with the ability to take over and mutate/enlarge a host arrives on Earth. Soon, denizens of a tropical island are threatened by a stupendous squid, a colossal crab, and a titanic turtle. Eventually, the space creature takes over a human, allowing it to gloatingly communicate its nefarious plans of world conquest. An aversion to porpoises and bats yields a clue to the invader's weakness, and plans are made to fight back. Diakaiju-sized plot inconsistencies aside, this is a pretty good Toho monster opus. The tentacled monster ('Gezora') is a nicely done example of suit-mation - yes, we all know that there is an actor within, but the creature still looks good and, for an '60's film, is well integrated into the live footage. The turtle ('Kamoebas') is a little weaker in execution but the giant mutant crab ('Ganimes') is excellent - better (IMO) than the shrimp-based kaiju "Ebirah" ("Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster" 1966). I watched an adequately dubbed English version of the film, so can't comment on the acting or original script, but generally liked the portrayal of the characters (especially the 'natives', who, unlike most stereotypical peaceful islanders, were the ones who kept showing up with more and bigger guns). Directed by Toho's best known kaiju wrangler (Ishiro Honda) and with music by Akira Ifukube, the film has the look and sound of a Showa-era Godzilla outing and is an entertaining time-passer for anyone willing to suspend their disbelief long enough to fear for the lives of the intrepid islanders, who are all that stand between us and extinction. A must see for people concerned with their 'kaiju-life lists', as the three featured monsters are essentially one-offs in the Toho corral: ('Kamoebas' has a bit part as a washed-ashore corpse in "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." (2003), 'Gezora' is briefly glimpsed in the opening montage of "Godzilla: Final Wars" (2004), and 'Ganimes' never again surfaces (despite being a nicely executed giant crab outfit)).
Review of Space Amoeba
