Review of Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) by Alex T — 25 Dec 2011

I watched this film frequently as a child and enjoyed it, but it is a tragic turning point in the series. Toho, the company that made the Godzilla films, realized Godzilla was so popular he would bring in viewers in droves even if the film itself was garbage.

So the company cut production values, replacing the director and composer who helped make the franchise great with utter hacks, set the film in the South Pacific to cut down on set construction costs, and recycled footage and decaying props from previous films.

The result is still fun, but much worse than what had come before. The only good scene is Godzilla's fight with a giant bird. The other monsters are unremarkable.