Space Amoeba
by Ishirô Honda
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Akira Kubo, Atsuko Takahashi, Kenji Sahara, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Yukiko KobayashiDirector: Ishirô Honda
Brand: Tokyo Shock
Cinematographer: Taiichi Kankura
Editor: Masahisa Himi
Producer: Fumio Tanaka
Producer: Salvatore Billitteri
Producer: Samuel Z. Arkoff
Producer: Tomoyuki Tanaka
Writer: Ei Ogawa
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Color, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 84 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-02-21
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Tokyo Shock
Movie Reviews of Space Amoeba
Movie Review: Apollo Meets Scrubbing Bubbles
Summary: 5 Stars
"Space Amoeba" is one of the more surreal Japanese rubber monster movies featuring four monsters, though only three are made of latex. Filmed in Guam, this was the last non-Godzilla film to be made by the great Ishiro Honda. The DVD is extremely well done, especially considering the lack of extras on most DVDs of this genre. The movie is an excellent transfer and contains a commentary track (!) with Producer Fumio Tanaka, which is almost as entertaining as the film itself. There are also trailers, a documentary on the real animals that inspired the creatures in the film, and more.
The plot is essentially this: an unmanned spacecraft is intercepted by a monster, the space amoeba of the title (and apparently known as Yog in the original release), which looks like blue scrubbing bubbles invading a scarcely altered Apollo Command Service Module (CSM). When the spacecraft returns to earth with the Yog-spores it lands near an island which is slated to become a resort destination. The spores act to gigantify creatures that then trample all over the island, though avoiding each other for most of the movie (many villages are destroyed, however). The creatures are Gezora, a cuttlefish-like affair, Ganimes, a crab, and Kamoebas, a snapping turtle. Without question, Gezora is the most ridiculous creature I have ever seen onscreen (unless you count some of the creatures from "Ultraman"); I particularly enjoy watching him walk on his tendrils.
The main human characters are a couple of photographers, one of whom gets possessed by Yog, and the perky female advertising assistant. Ultimately the plot all comes to a head when the creatures converge on an active volcano along with the possessed guy; after all the monsters are immolated in the lava the island is ready for tourism.
The film lacks the typical Honda good-versus-evil rubber monster, with all monsters equally bad. Offsetting this oversight is the bonus commentary track which is much more interesting than I expected. It is in Japanese with English subtitles, but Tanaka shares many interesting tidbits about making these films which will please grade-Z movie fans. I was especially pleased that Tanaka noticed the resemblance between the star of the film, Akira Kubo ("Matango: The Fungus of Terror"; "Attack of the Mushroom People"), and Charlie Sheen (which cannot possibly be overlooked). He also had some other interesting comments relating to Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 (the Apollo 13 accident occurred during filming). My favorite part of the commentary was when Tanaka and his interviewer discuss at great length the definition of the word "minx" and how it applied to various Toho starlets. His understated humor and observations are genuinely entertaining, and I recommend the commentary track highly.
I would have probably given the film four stars as a Japanese rubber monster movie, but I finally settled on five due to the bonus features, especially the commentary. Fans of Japanese films and monster movies in general will delight in this film.
Summary of Space Amoeba
Features include:
?MPAA Rating: G
?Format: DVD
?Runtime: 84 minutes
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