Ebirah, Horror of the Deep

""Listen, I've done some crazy things in my life, but I've never stuck my head inside of a hornet's nest!"

~ Yoshimura to Yata, in the Walter Reed English dub"

Number seven in the long running Godzilla series and more well known under the title Godzilla vs the Sea Monster, this film started life as a King Kong project until the proposal was rejected in favor of King Kong Escapes. Not wanting to put the script or monster costumes to waste, the film switched stars to Godzilla.

The film begins with a young man, Yata, becoming lost at sea. His brother Ryota, certain that he's still alive out there sets out on a stolen yacht with two friends and a bank robber to search for him. On their excursion, they narrowly avoid destruction at the hands of Ebirah, a colossal crustacean guarding an island base home to a terrorist syndicate called the Red Bamboo. Using a special chemical, the Red Bamboo are able to repel their ships from Ebirah's wrath and have enslaved the natives of nearby Infant Island to produce the stuff. Evading capture, Ryota and crew meet a young native woman Dayo, who brings them to a cave on the island where Godzilla is currently slumbering. A plan is hatched to wake Godzilla with a lightning rod in order to get rid of Ebirah and the Red Bamboo and the slaves to escape and summon Mothra in order to rescue them.

For the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode see here.

The film provides examples of

 * Chronic Hero Syndrome: According to Ryota, Yata always tries to help people who are in trouble.
 * Dub Name Change: Captain Ryuui is renamed as "Commander Yamoto" in the English version.
 * Eyepatch of Power: Captain Ryuui.
 * Self-Destruct Mechanism: The entire island.
 * Tennis Boss: Occurs during Godzilla and Ebirah's first battle with a giant rock
 * The Dragon: Ebirah to the Red Bamboo.
 * The Other Darrin: Mothra's fairies, originally played by the Peanuts, have been replaced by the Pair Bambi.
 * What Could Have Been: The film was originally going to be a King King film, as mentioned above.