Yog, Monster from Space

(1970) ***1/2

Nowadays, this movie is called Space Amoeba, and there is no mention of Yog. Indeed, there never was a Yog, that was just the title cooked up by some anonymous genius for export to America. Nobody in the movie says "Yog" even once. But when I was a kid, and this would cycle through Creature Double Feature (on Channel 56), I liked to think of this squid monster as Yog. And despite my fondness for all things Yog, I must admit neither title can hold a candle to the original Japanese title, which translates as Gezora, Ganimes, Kamoebas: Decisive Battle! Giant Monsters of the South Seas. Ka-bamm!

Octopunk loves little models
The action begins when the unmanned Helios 7 space probe is hijacked by an evil alien entity that looks like the magic secret ingredient in your dishwashing liquid. It heads back to Earth and secretly splashes down near a small South Pacific Island.


Meanwhile in Tokyo, the guy on the left is having a hard time and the other three go to the island to help him out. The guy in the orange shirt is the hero photographer, the guy on the right is the scientist who figures everything out, and the woman goes so she can scream and be afraid of stuff.

As I explore the world of kaiju flicks, I keep coming across groups of human characters who can totally sink a movie, which I think is grossly unfair to the poor monsters. But then, seemingly at random, I come across a group like these clowns: characters that manage to give their boilerplate parts just the right amount of poetry -- enough to make the movie work, and sometimes make it bounce.

It's no one actor delivering the charm, it's the general attitude of this funny little offshoot world from Toho Company Ltd. This isn't the world of Godzilla, Mothra and the gang; there haven't been any public monster incidents or even sightings. And yet, it's like everyone expects it's going to happen.

Sure, it's no surprise to know the local native population fears the wrath of sea monsters. It's stranger when the scientist, his brow knitted in deep concern, discusses the very real chance that maybe they will see a monster on this trip, even though nobody else anywhere ever has ever. As if he taught the students in his Theoretical Monster Studies seminar that their finest day as scientists might be, if they're lucky, the day they're running for their lives through some godforsaken jungle with a pissed-off, bulletproof giant crab gaining ground behind them.

Meanwhile, the sparkly bright space ooze covers various local critters (and a guy) with bright twinkly light and turn them into big monsters (except for the guy). The critters become the three titular monsters, Mssrs. Gezora, Ganimes, and Kamoebas, pictured below.

The natives haven't ever actually seen their alleged local monsters, so it's oddly convenient that they already have names for them. As I'm beginning to learn (and like) that's just life in a Toho movie.

Since the movie takes place on the island, my man Yog doesn't get to smash any buildings and has to settle for a bunch of grass huts. That's in keeping with the vibe here; the monsters in this flick are about half as tall as your basic Godzilla type, and they have a more personal touch. They can reach out and grab you instead of anonymously stomping on you or torching your 'hood with atomic breath.

"I've got you now! Hey... this is just a little doll."
And while Godzilla-types take on tanks and jet fighters unscathed, Yog monsters are subject to things like burning and blowing up. But the aliens just ooze off of the corpse and go make a new monster, and before you know it everybody's running around the jungle again.

This series of events evokes a wonderful response from the scientist. First he's all humble and "My science is nothing in the face of these monsters," but soon he rallies. "I have a theory," he announces. "Space Creatures." The gravity with which the term "Space Creatures" is handled is the cutest thing. It keeps popping up: "I doubt we really hurt them. These are Space Creatures." "Nothing could survive that! Not even Space Creatures." And so on.

This movie has a goofy charm that tickled my monster-lovin' heart. People in monster costumes will never not be a silly thing; it was especially funny spotting the actor's legs among the multitude of the crab's legs and the squid's tentacles. But somehow that just made me like them all the more. I wanted the costumes, models and slo-mo to fool me like they did when I was young. Because back then, like those characters, I was always waiting for the day I would see a giant monster too.