The Bloody Pit #38 - INVASION OF ASTRO MONSTER (1965)

Toho Studio's Monster universe takes another turn for the weird in this science fiction epic! This movie introduces the soon to be reused idea of alien invaders taking control of the giant monsters and creating large scale destruction in the hopes of worldwide conquest. No one should have trusted those Emo looking freaks anyway. Just look at those evil glasses! As this is the immediate follow up to GHIDORAH it is very strange that the American release avoided that name entirely and went with MONSTER ZERO. I guess that Ghidorah just doesn't have the same box office appeal as Godzilla which still doesn't explain why they didn't title it Godzilla Goes to Planet X. Which would lead to my favorite possible crossover ever - Buckaroo Banzai Meets Godzilla! (Does anyone get that reference?)

We take a look at this one with the switch being that this time out I am not the one synopsizing the movie's events. Troy leads this dance through two worlds, three giant monsters, two affable astronauts, dozens of evil aliens and a host of Kumi Mizuno clones. Yeah- this one has plenty of things to talk about! We discuss the American actor Nick Adams as he rages against the alien horde and chases after a lovely lady. We dig into the ideas and plot threads that are brought up and left dangling as the movie speeds toward its conclusion along with the ways that this film pointed to how future Toho SF movies would shift in tone. Troy comes armed with some interesting information on the amount of screen time the monsters get in this picture making for some interesting questions about what audiences want verses what they actually get. I get to express my love for trap doors and also muse on the possibility of alien monsters made of funnel cake. I might have gotten carried away with that last one.

Of course, this being a conversation between Troy and I we can't stop ourselves from beginning the show with a couple of completely irrelevant topics. OK. To be honest, it was just me talking about 1970's Marvel comic books and Edgar Rice Burroughs adventure novels but Troy could have stopped me at any time with a bat or a bucket of water! And the tangent we take near the end of the show is all on him! If you want to comment on our lack of professionalism and inability to stay on a single topic please write us at thebloodypit@gmail.com and we'll get back to you with our defense. Thanks for downloading and listening. If you listen through iTunes please rate and review us over there as it really helps get more eyes and ears on us. 

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As an extra cool bit of artistry tied to this film and it's glorious monster battles here is a very cool pen & ink drawing of the three kaiju featured in this one from the talented Ethan Black. He's a Nashville based artist specializing in fantasy and horror images that often take my breathe away. He's also pretty good at building creature props and monstrous skeletons! He contributed this sketch just for fun but if you want to see more of his work check him out over on his website. Or this website.

Click to Enlarge!