[HorrorScience] Dogora The Space Monster (1964)

Reading time: 5 minutes

Qualification

Uchu Daikaiju Dogora

Year

1964

Duration

83 minutes

Director

Ishiro Honda

Distribution

Yosuke Natsuki, Yoko Fujiyama, Hiroshi Koizumi, Nobuo Nakamura, Robert Dunham, Akiko Wakabayashi, Jun Tazaki, Susumu Fujita, Seizaburo Kawazu, Eisei Amamoto

Script

Jojiro Okami, Shinichi Sekizawa

Once again, I will dedicate this section to Ishiro Honda, Japanese director known for his enormous contribution to the genre Kaiju Eiga (monster movies) where he has directed the original films of godzilla, Rodan either Mothra, as well as many other later films where more monsters were added to the formula to create the Monster Mash that viewers loved so much.

On this occasion I am going to comment on a somewhat atypical film, because although it can be considered a Kaiju Eiga, much of the footage is more related to a crime film, leaving the giant monster for the final part of the film.

After the supposed opening credits (which do not appear anywhere in the American version of the film) we see how something strange in space is destroying satellites, but before we can understand what is happening, we will find ourselves seeing an attractive young lady named Hamako who seems to be waiting for someone late at night. That someone is his companions, jewel thieves who see how their robbery is interrupted when several of them begin to float in the air for no apparent reason, which causes everyone to flee the scene of the crime.

From here we see how a young police officer named Komai is following a suspect named Mark Jackson, who has hidden in the house of Dr. Munakata, a scientist specialized in studying diamonds and their variants. The suspect manages to escape from the police, but ends up being kidnapped by the gang of diamond thieves, who will try to obtain the diamonds that Jackson owns.

Apparently, a lot of diamonds have been stolen simultaneously all over the world recently, so the cops are a little lost as to what's going on. The investigation into the robberies and the pursuit of the thieves and Jackson becomes the core of the film until strange things begin to happen again, mainly the disappearance of diamonds and coal, which are apparently absorbed by something that comes from the sky and seems to be responsible for the abundant disappearance of jewels.

[HorrorScience] Dogora The Space Monster (1964) — Mark Jackson bothers cops and criminals alike

While the thieves continue trying to obtain diamonds, Jackson plays double agent, deceiving both, while the police and Dr. Munakata search for a reason to explain the strange recent events. Finally, the disappearance of coal becomes so noticeable that areas near mines have to be evacuated and the army begins to appear to try to attack the spots seen in the sky, which seem to feed on coal, diamonds and other carbon sources. The constant intake of food by these space cells will detonate with the appearance of the giant monster of the day, Dogora, a species of space jellyfish that is barely seen in the final part of the film, marked by the appearance of the army and the long-lasting race between police and thieves for the stolen diamonds.

Dogora The Space Monster It is a somewhat strange film, as it mixes two genres such as police and giant monsters, something that is not seen every day. Although the mixture does not turn out badly at all, it must be made clear that most of this movie is focused on cops and robbers and that Dogora only makes an appearance in the final part, giving us few but notable scenes of destruction. The rest of the parts with special effects are not so good, especially those based on superimposing the actors on a different background, but it is not something that hurts the eyes either (worse things have been done, as shown King Kong Vs Godzilla). Another notable thing about this film is that the actors do not overact as much as in others of the same genre and director, I mean, there are overactings that are so typical of the Japanese, but less than usual and that is something I appreciate.

In short, Dogora is not a bad film, although if you have no interest in jewel theft it loses many points.

Curiosities about the film:

Akiko Wakabayashi, the actress who plays Hamako, became a “Bond girl” a few years later, in the film You only live twice (1967)
The character Mark Jackson was going to star in his own Spin Off in the form of a series or movie, but ultimately those plans never came to fruition.
This is one of the few Kaiju Eiga from Toho where the monster is not played by a costumed actor.
In some versions of this film the monster was renamed Dagora.