GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA (ゴジラ対メカゴジラ, Gojira tai Mekagojira)

• Directed by Jun Fukuda
• Starring Masaaki Daimon, Kazuya Aoyama, Reiko Tajima, Akihiko Hirata
• 1974 | 84mins | Japan | English Subtitles
• Doors: 7:00pm | Intro + Film: 7:30pm | Event: AGE 18+

An Okinawan prophecy appears to foretell Earth’s destruction at the hands of Godzilla, only for the true Godzilla to reveal his doppelgänger as a mechanical alien weapon.

GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA ゴジラ対メカゴジラ, Gojira tai Mekagojira (1974) celebrates the 20th anniversary of the franchise by bringing director Jun Fukuda back for his fifth and final kaijū battle. His successful farewell film resurrects monster Anguirus – who first appeared in the OG sequel, GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955) – and introduces two fan favourites, godmonster King Caesar and alien mecha nightmare, Mechagodzilla.

The film continues the hectic TV pace that Fukuda brought to the franchise and is one of the most violent in the whole series. SFX maestro Eiji Tsuburaya passed away in 1970 and the new teams responsible for creating mass monster destruction abandoned his family-friendly ethos. Here, the kaijū bleed in battle and their alien overlords get shot in the neck, unleashing arterial sprays of lurid green blood.

GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA contains some of Fukuda’s finest work in collaboration with his SFX director Teruyoshi Nakano (a long-standing contributor to the franchise since working as an Assistant Director on KING KONG VS. GODZILLA in 1962) and composer Masaru Sato whose serial contributions to the franchise date back to GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN. Sato would also score several of Akira Kurosawa’s masterpieces including THRONE OF BLOOD (1957), YOJIMBO (1961) and SANJURO (1962). But this film is really all about Godzilla’s mighty mechanical nemesis.

The direct sequel – Ishirō Honda’s swansong TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA – concludes the Monster Mayhem! season at Rule Zero on Wednesday 23 September at 7:30pm.

BAR TRASH is a celebration of cult and curious cinema, hosted by Token Homo. All films screen with introductions, intermissions, prize giveaways, themed drinks and subtitles/captions (where possible!). Tickets £3.