(1960)
Dir - Jun Fukuda
Overall: MEH
Hitting theaters several months before The Human Vapor, The Secret of the Telegian, (Densō Ningen, The Electrically Transmitted Man), therefor became the second in Toho's narratively unrelated "Transforming human" or "mutant" series. Also serving as the second directorial effort from Jun Fukuda who would go on to do a hefty number of tokusatsu movies of the giant monster variety throughout the 1970s, this one is textbook stuff for better or worse. A police procedural/sci-fi/crime/horror hybrid where a presumed dead soldier is using the technology from another presumed dead scientist to reap his demented vengeance, it has a humdrum, back-and-forth structure that ultimately becomes tedious besides Fukuda's often aggressive attempts at keeping things moving. Many scenes cut so abruptly to the next, (within a millisecond of a character finishing a sentence), that the editing job could be assumed to be faulty, but Shinichi Sekizawa's screenplay does not offer up enough interesting science fiction ideas to remain compelling anyway. The special effects by Kaimai Eizo and his crew are not half bad though, giving Tadao Nakamaru's antagonist a flickering, metallic "glow" that is eerie enough to make him menacing.
(1966)
Dir - Jun Fukuda
Overall: MEH
Originally slated to be Toho's first King Kong film as they had recently worked out a deal with RKO, the resulting Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, (Gojira, Ebira, Mosura Nankai no Daikettō, Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Big Duel in the South Seas, Godzilla versus the Sea Monster), instead swapped the giant ape out for Godzilla once again, thus making this the seventh movie to star the legendary, over-sized reptile. The story this time is a lot more convoluted than usual, focusing on a guy looking for his cast away brother, a fugitive on the run from the police who can open all high security locked doors with a metal toothpick, a militant terrorist organization that kidnaps Mothra worshipers for slave labor, two action figure sized twins who speak in unison, (Pair Bambi stepping in for The Peanuts), a beautiful island girl who Godzilla inexplicably becomes fascinated by, and two obnoxious comic relief assholes who are dubbed with cartoon character voices. As usual, the monster showdown shenanigans are delegated to a minimal amount of minutes on screen, but the special effects work from the studio was still incrementally improving. The miniature and suitmation work has its usual crude charm, making it hard to resist Godzilla and the crab-like title creature duking it out and playing catch with a giant bolder while surf and/or Benny Hill adjacent music occasionally plays in the background.
(1968)
Dir - Satsuo Yamamoto
Overall: MEH
One of numerous film adaptations of the traditional kaidan folk tale "Botan Dōrō", Peony Lantern, (Botan-dôrô, A Tale of Peonies and Lanterns, The Haunted Lantern, Ghost Beauty, The Bride from Hades, My Bride is a Ghost, Bride from Hell), from Daiei Studios is arguably the most notable. Director Satsuo Yamamoto did not work predominantly in the horror genre, but he nevertheless stages a number of spooky scenes here that concern two ghostly women who are granted human interaction at night during the Obon festival where prayers are offered to the dead. Unnaturally floating as well as switching between angelically beautiful to jarringly frightening, they make for an equally creepy and alluring pair, plus there is a wonderful sense of unease when the sun sets and the bridge between the real world and afterlife is bridged. Though this is mostly a slick production and the performances are good while still maintaining Japanese cinema's penchant for melodramatic intensity, the pacing is rough at times and the final act switches protagonists and goes goofy for some reason. This unfortunate move understandably deflates the otherwise ominous atmosphere, but there is still plenty to recommend here for fans of period-set ghost stories.
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