The original Japanese sci-fi horror film 'Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell' is a wild masterpiece!
Hello everyone.
This is Ito from #MeigazaScoops.
Happy New Year.
Praying that 2024 brings everyone a wonderful movie life, I would like to start this year's first Meigaza.
I'd like to kick off this year's first entry.
Since it's the first one of the New Year, I struggled a lot with what kind of work would be good.
I struggled so much thatI actually forgot to buy the year-end jumbo lottery ticket...
This is just my personal feeling, but
I am convinced that if I had bought this year's year-end jumbo lottery ticket, I would have had a very high probability of winning 1 billion yen, so in that sense, I think the work I am introducing this time is worth 1 billion yen.
After all, I'm Japanese! Let's start with a Japanese film!
What I am introducing this time is,
released in 1968, the first bizarre special effects film produced by Shochiku "Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell"
.
Since it's a work from 55 years ago, I'm sure many people don't know it.
But, my impression after actually watching it was...an incredibly great masterpiece!
After watching it, I looked it up and learned that it was even selected for the official Shochiku film list, '100 Selections of 100 Years of Shochiku Cinema'.
I haven't seen every movie in the world, but the energy of this work is not inferior to recent works at all, and I even think it might surpass them.
Introducing the synopsis
I will write a simple synopsis that does not contain spoilers.
A terrorist on the run is on board a small passenger plane
A crime warning completely unrelated to this terrorist (a bomb has been planted!) is sent to the passenger plane
At that moment, several birds fly into the airplane.
A scholar starts trembling, saying, 'It's bird suicide. This is an ominous sign.'
The crew starts looking for a bomb, just in case. They happen to find a fugitive terrorist. The passenger plane is in an uproar.
Hijack!! (By the terrorist. The bomber is currently irrelevant.)
Just then, a flying saucer approaches the passenger plane!
Crash.
Only 10 people survive (the number of characters in the film remains the same).
The terrorist escapes from the passenger plane.
The terrorist encounters a UFO.
The terrorist is possessed by an alien.
The terrorist is born as the vampire Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell!!!!
It's a pretty wild plot, isn't it? If you wrote this script in the current film industry, would any studio produce it as a commercial film??
This whole sequence is delivered in one go in a short amount of time!
With a runtime of about 80 minutes for the entire film, it is packed with information.
Many times along the way, I found myself wondering,'What movie am I watching again?' (laughs)
The development is so fast that there are no throwaway lines or throwaway shots.
When watching at home, I can usually find a moment to go grab a snack during any film, but
in this case, I got up from my seat three times to get Tongari Corn, Kabuki-age, and Umaibo (corn potage flavor), but the plot had changed so instantly each time that I had to rewind and replay all three times.
It seems the screenwriters worked with great passion, and you can definitely feel that intensity.
That said, it is absolutely full of moments that invite you to poke fun at it, making it a film that is fun to watch not just for the main story, but also from different perspectives.
It is hard to put into words, but I think it is a loving kind of teasing, not one meant to mock it.
You really must watch it for yourself to see. While you might find yourself poking fun at it, you will surely realize that you are not actually mocking it.
As for the core of the story, the events following the birth of the vampire take unexpected turns, and the final five minutes are a breathtaking barrage of events!
It is also a very interesting film to watch while trying to guess how it will end.
Please, watch it without any prior knowledge.
The image of a bright red sky is used impressively throughout the film.
In fact, there is a similar homage to this sky color in 'Kill Bill: Vol. 1' during the scene where the plane flies through the sunset sky,
which apparently is because director Quentin Tarantino is a huge fan of this film.
'Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell,' which captivated even the world's greatest directors.
Please enjoy it on SPOOX 'Value Plan Powered by Lemino'!!!!
The 'Value Plan Powered by Lemino' available on SPOOX also has a rich selection of past works!
#What is Meigaza SPOOX?
SPOOX is a video streaming service that offers unlimited viewing of a wide range of genres, monthly subscription products for core fans, and individual titles.SPOOX.
Ito, a SPOOX employee and a huge movie geek, talks about the content streamed on SPOOX with high energy and a unique flair, pretending to be an employee of 'Meigaza SPOOX.'
*Please note that these are just my own musings, so please forgive any personal biases.
You can find a collection of previous Meigaza SPOOX entries here.