Kyuketsuki Gokemidoro (1968)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Hajime Sato

Writers:

Kyuzo Kobayashi (writer)
Susumu Takaku (writer)

Release Date:

1979 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

All New! Never Before Has Such A Bone-Chilling Film Been Made ...

Plot:

The survivors of a plane crash in a remote area are attacked by blob-like alien creatures that turn their victims into blood-thirsty vampires. |

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Plane | Plane Crash | Alien | Blonde

Cast

Teruo Yoshida	...	Sugisaka, the co-pilot
Tomomi Sato	...	Kuzumi, the stewardess
Eizo Kitamura	...	Mano, the senator
Hideo Ko	...	The Hijacker
Kathy Horan	...	Mrs. Neal
Yûko Kusunoki	...	Noriko Tokiyasu
Kazuo Kato	...	Dr. Momotake, the psychiatrist
Hiroyuki Nishimoto	...	The Pilot
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Andrew Hughes	...	Assassinated Ambassador
Masaya Takahashi	...	Sagai, the scientist

Also Known As:

Body Snatcher from Hell (USA) (dubbed version)
Goke the Vampire
Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell
Vampire Gokemidoro (literal English title)

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | UK:12 (video re-rating) (2003) | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:PG

Company:

Shochiku Kinema Kenkyû-jo

Trivia:

Actor Hideo Ko, who played the assassin-turned-vampire, had to leave filming early due to a schedule conflict, so the script was rewritten to kill off his character towards the end of the film (thus the Gokemidoro space parasite inside of him escaped and had to look for another host).

Movie Connections:

Edited into Out of this World Super Shock Show (2007) (V)

One of the best sci-fi/horror films

I saw a cheap pan & scan VHS of an English dub of this film years ago but I found a Japanese DVD of it recently and even though it is not dubbed or subtitled, and I don't speak Japanese, it is still quite unsettling. The Japanese don't play when it comes to stories like this and they don't pull punches either. At least the disc is widescreen, preserving the Shockiku Grandscope compositions. If you have seen KILL BILL Vol. 1, you will find out that even Quentin Tarantino was inspired by this film once you see the opening scenes. The special effects are usually not realistic but are quite imaginative. The whole film could be seen as something of a morality fable. There is definitely a message to the film, although most people write this one off because of it's exploitative sounding title. There are several very creepy and effective scenes in the film and this film left a lasting impression on me. I think someday this film will be recognized for the horror classic that it is. Even if you have to watch a pan & scan dubbed copy, it is well worth catching.