Ebirah, Horror of the Deep is the first film in the franchise to not be directed by Ishiro Honda, and it shows with the camp meter dialled to eleven, which was surely becoming a problem as the franchise progressed, but now it seems to be fully in the territory.
Ebirah has drowned a boat with Yata (Toru Ubuki) aboard, and now his brother, Ryota (Toru Watanabe), has set sail to find him, leading him to an island under the control of the evil organisation Red Bamboo and blockaded by Ebirah at sea.
Ebirah is a worthwhile addition to the Godzilla mythos. He is terrifying; his design seems realistic, which is basically a giant lobster, and his look is amazing. Mothra once again makes an appearance, and she seems way more majestic than before. We also get to see Rodan in a short, wasted cameo, and Godzilla, as ever, was good.
The human plot was decent and well-together. Ryota’s quest was relatable and engaging. Sadly, we never got to know Red Bamboo as an organisation; they were evil for the sake of being evil. We don’t know their goals, we don’t even know the names of the people in the group and why they are controlling the island in the first place.
The effects looked good. I already talked about the design of the creatures, but the miniature set design and explosions were effective. Some fight sequences were hammy like the rock throwing scene which was basically a volleyball match between Godzilla and Ebirah and seeing Godzilla sit robbed him of all his aura.
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep is the first film in the franchise to not be directed by Ishiro Honda, and it shows with the camp meter dialled to eleven, which was surely becoming a problem as the franchise progressed, but now it seems to be fully in the territory.
Ebirah has drowned a boat with Yata (Toru Ubuki) aboard, and now his brother, Ryota (Toru Watanabe), has set sail to find him, leading him to an island under the control of the evil organisation Red Bamboo and blockaded by Ebirah at sea.
Ebirah is a worthwhile addition to the Godzilla mythos. He is terrifying; his design seems realistic, which is basically a giant lobster, and his look is amazing. Mothra once again makes an appearance, and she seems way more majestic than before. We also get to see Rodan in a short, wasted cameo, and Godzilla, as ever, was good.
The human plot was decent and well-together. Ryota’s quest was relatable and engaging. Sadly, we never got to know Red Bamboo as an organisation; they were evil for the sake of being evil. We don’t know their goals, we don’t even know the names of the people in the group and why they are controlling the island in the first place.
The effects looked good. I already talked about the design of the creatures, but the miniature set design and explosions were effective. Some fight sequences were hammy like the rock throwing scene which was basically a volleyball match between Godzilla and Ebirah and seeing Godzilla sit robbed him of all his aura.
