Goke, Bodysnatcher From Hell
By Christopher Hyde
April 27, 2004
Long available only on low quality videotapes or in its unsubtitled form, the Japanese horror film Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell has now reemerged on a UK Region 2 DVD.
When considering the late '60s Japanese horror film, most will naturally gravitate towards thinking of the safe ground of rubber-suited actors stomping the living hell out of Tokyo. These fun extravaganzas, often produced by the Toho Company, were extremely successful all over the globe at that time. Older Americans in particular may recall the dubbed versions that played endlessly on television through the '70s, filling time on such shows as Boston’s Channel 56 Creature Double Feature (hello, self!). While it’s obvious today that the Japanese cinema of the time had much to offer that we weren’t really seeing — with directors like Akira Kurosawa, Kinji Fukasaku, Seijun Suzuki, and others quite active in the industry — what’s also true is that there were many other Japanese genre films that never made it big on these shores.
A case in point is the interesting 1968 sci-fi/horror outing Kyuketsuki Gokemidoro (aka Goke, Bodysnatcher From Hell). Of a much darker bent than many of the other fantastic projects that came out of the country during that era, this film manages to combine a script that’s a cut above the average with a stylish sense of direction that lends the project an eerie edge. Though some of the special effects work here may seem a bit unreal to audiences raised on a steady diet of CGI graphics, their otherworldly nature helps to color the film with a lurid sense of atmosphere. It’s said that director Hajime Sato was a big fan of Eurocult filmmaker Mario Bava; and, in fact, when watching Goke, it’s easy to see the multihued influence of that great craftsman on this piece of cinema.
The film starts spectacularly, with an airplane full of passengers cutting thru a strangely colored sky (these artificially lit scenes were reportedly what Tarantino ripped off for the Uma Thurman flight in Kill Bill Vol. 1). There are all sorts of strains working on these hapless flight patrons — a Japanese ambassador has seemingly been shot, the pressures of the Vietnam War are palpably felt by the lone American woman on board, and a politically connected trio is obviously fraught with sexual frictions. Additionally unsettling are the suicidal birds careening into the windows of the craft for no apparent reason. Then, from amongst all this aerial unease comes word from the control tower — there may be a bomb on the plane! When the flight crew institutes a search of luggage to try to find the explosive device, the killer (Hideo Ko) responsible for the aforementioned political murder turns out to be aboard and instigates a hijack of the airliner.
As if that weren’t enough to make everyone flight sick on this wayward voyage, suddenly from out of nowhere comes an oddly glowing spacecraft that causes the jet to crash hard on a desolate rocky plain. There are a couple of casualties, but in the main the principals manage somehow to survive the horrific downing. Things then quickly degenerate into a Sierra Madre-esque cutthroat competition for what little H2O they have, and this odd cast of characters consequently spends much of their time on the ground brutally competing to survive their catastrophe. Also, though he’s at first left for dead, the assassin comes back to consciousness to kidnap the flight attendant (Tomomi Sato) and make his escape into the hills.
Unfortunately for this stone-cold killer, he quickly stumbles upon the UFO that caused the wreck and is enticed inside by its pulsating lights and much electronic screeching. He there becomes the host for a weird alien creature (which resembles nothing so much as a large amorphous blob of mercury) that carves a slit in his forehead and turns him into a bloodsucking automaton. He returns to the plane to feast on the victims therein, and as they’re already breaking down into vicious interpersonal conflict it seems as though he might quite easily turn them into that rarest of all things — tasty airline food! Given the film’s outstanding wrap up we’ll stop synopsizing here so as not to spoil the film’s ultimately amazing dénouement, but suffice it to say that you’ll have to see it to believe it.
Goke’s attractions are certainly many and varied. There’s the bitingly acerbic script, peopled with characters that often embody the dregs of human mores. (My particular favorites are the bomb-carrying delinquent whose primary political motivation is that “there’s no fun in the world anymore” and the clinical psychiatrist who revels in watching humans fall apart under stress). Also worth a mention is the absolutely incredible production design, which from the claustrophobic cabin to the psychedelic spaceship simply explodes with pop sensibility. It’s truly hard not to read the influence of Bava here, and viewers who have seen that filmmaker’s Planet of the Vampires will certainly note a similarity to that production’s moody surroundings. The soundtrack is additionally of very high quality; marrying standard symphonic horror film swells to unearthly analog synthesizer sounds and keening musical saw, the music succeeds brilliantly in adding to the movie’s spooky ambiance.
While it’s a shame that there is not yet a Region 1 version of this fine relic available in digital format, this UK PAL disk from Artsmagic presents this excellent film in fine fashion. Taken from a master tape from the film’s original production source, the DVD shows off the full range of phantasmagoric color extant in the original. It’s also shown here in 2:35 to 1 aspect ratio with 16: 9 enhancement, and this widescreen look ideally displays all the action. Below frame subtitling completes the visuals, and the audio portion of the release is also well done with a pulse pounding mono track. If there’s any complaint here, it’s with the lack of extras — beyond a trailer (which is seriously spoiler heavy) and a couple filmographies there’s not much to speak of.
Even without a surfeit of additional bonus material, however, this DVD of Goke, Bodysnatcher From Hell remains an invaluable addition to any collector’s world horror/sci-fi collection. The film’s intense exploration of the human condition is both insightful and entertaining, and the story’s sense of pace and vibrant setting make for a singularly great hour and a half of viewing. It’s a solid reminder that Godzilla, Rodan, Gamera and their ilk were not the only ones starring in the genre films of swingin’ '60s Japan, and as well that the fantastic efforts of that time and place did not always fall into the realm of the absurdly silly. So if you’re looking for an astounding trip into the celluloid past of the Land of the Rising Sun that has a more savage edge than the better-known costumed mayhem of giant dinosaurs, this one is undoubtedly the film for you.
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