Son of Godzilla
(1967 film)

Son of Godzilla is a 1967 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Toho, and the eighth installment in the Godzilla series as well as the Showa series. The film was released to Japanese theaters on December 16, 1967.

United Nations scientists on Sollgel Island are undertaking an experiment in altering the climate, with the goal of solving the inevitable world food shortage as the human population explodes. When the experiment goes awry and triggers a radiation storm, the giant mantises native to the island are mutated into deadly kaiju called Kamacuras. When the Kamacuras unearth an egg which hatches into Minilla, a baby Godzilla, Godzilla himself comes to the island to rescue the infant. But while Godzilla is more than a match for the huge mantises, he and his newly adopted son are soon faced with the giant spider Kumonga which also dwells on the island. As Godzilla fights to save Minilla from Kumonga's clutches, the stranded scientists must find a way to escape Sollgel Island with their lives.

On the remote Sollgel Island in the Pacific Ocean, a team of United Nations scientists, led by Tsunezo Kusumi, is undertaking a weather controlling experiment, hoping to allow mankind to grow food in previously unsuitable climates and potentially ending world hunger. As the scientists are getting closer to carrying out the experiment, they begin noticing strange radio interference that is adversely affecting their equipment. One day, a plane flies over the island, and a man using a parachute jumps out of it. When Kusumi and his assistant Fujisaki go to investigate, the man simply waves at them and accompanies them back to their base. He introduces himself as Goro Maki, an investigative reporter who wants a scoop on the scientists' experiments. As the experiment is meant to be top secret, the scientists refuse, but they decide to allow Maki to stay with them on the condition he help cook and clean and act as the team's photographer. As the days pass, Maki sees a giant praying mantis moving through the jungle surrounding the camp. Later, while he is exploring the island, Maki sees a beautiful native girl swimming in the waters just off the island. When Maki tries to photograph her, she quickly dives under the water and disappears.

Eventually, the experiment is ready to commence. Weather Control Capsules on the island begin spraying a cooling gas into the air, while a balloon carrying a Radioactivity Sonde is launched into the atmosphere. When Maki is warned to stay inside before the Sonde explodes and begins cooling the island, he searches for the native girl to warn her about the experiment. When Maki fails to find her, he is forced to retreat back to the base. The experiment is progressing normally, until the radio interference returns and the Radioactivity Sonde prematurely detonates in the air, triggering an extreme heat wave, accompanied with severe radiation storms. After several weeks, the storms cease, and Kusumi and Maki exit the base and begin observing the damage. As they wander across the island, they notice that the giant mantises have grown into huge kaiju, which Maki names "Kamacuras." Three Kamacuras approach a dirt mound on the island and begin tearing it apart, revealing a huge egg. The Kamacuras smash the egg with their claws until it breaks open and reveals Minilla, a baby Godzilla. Soon, Godzilla surfaces at the island and begins coming ashore to rescue the infant. Godzilla reaches the Kamacuras, and immediately attacks them. Godzilla manages to kill one in hand-to-hand combat, then kills another with his atomic breath. The last Kamacuras flies away, leaving Minilla safe and sound. The native girl approaches Minilla and tosses fruit into his mouth, but is forced to flee when Godzilla approaches the infant. Godzilla allows Minilla to grab onto his tail, and carries him up a hill.

One night, Maki and the scientists catch the native girl stealing one of Maki's shirts, but she escapes before they can catch her. Maki tracks her down to a cave on the island, but slips and is knocked unconscious. When the girl returns to the cave, she holds a knife to Maki and accuses him of being a thief trying to steal her notebook. Maki assures her he is not a thief, and is simply trying to reclaim his shirt, but he decides to let her keep it. The girl introduces herself as Saeko Matsumiya, the daughter of a Japanese scientist who had worked on the island and died seven years ago. Maki brings Saeko back to the camp and introduces her to the others. When Godzilla passes by and destroys the camp, Saeko offers the scientists residence in her cave. After a few days, many of the scientists begin showing symptoms of a severe fever, which Saeko recognizes as "Sollgel Fever." She says the only cure is warm red water from a boiling lake located on the interior of the island. Saeko and Maki set off, and as they head toward the lake they pass over a valley, which Saeko warns is the "Valley of Kumonga," a giant spider native to the island. Eventually they reach the lake, but discover that Godzilla and Minilla have taken up residence near it. Saeko remarks that Godzilla is "educating his son." Godzilla attempts to teach Minilla how to breathe atomic breath, but finds he can only breathe pitiful smoke rings. Godzilla stomps on Minilla's tail, which causes him to spew a blast of fire from his mouth. Godzilla congratulates his son, who shrieks excitedly at his success. Saeko manages to collect some of the water, and brings it back to the cave. She administers the water to the men, and they quickly recover.

One day while Saeko is collecting plants on the island, she is attacked by a Kamacuras, and she calls out to Minilla, who comes to her rescue. While Minilla tries to fight off the Kamacuras, he accidentally kicks a rock into Kumonga's valley, which awakens the colossal spider. When the Kamacuras hears Godzilla approaching, it flies away. Saeko tries to return to the cave, but she is attacked by Kumonga. Maki sees Saeko and tries to get her to safety, but they are cornered by Kumonga, who begins spitting webbing at them. Maki uses his lighter to cut through Kumonga's web, and he and Saeko successfully escape back to her cave. However, once they are in the cave, they find that Kumonga is waiting outside and trapping them inside with webbing. Saeko and Maki escape the cave from a secret underwater exit, and successfully set up a radio antenna outside the cave, allowing Fujisaki to make radio contact with the U.N., who send a rescue submarine. Kusumi says that they have no hope of escaping alive with the monsters roaming the island, and proposes that they conduct their weather experiment again and freeze the monsters. The others agree, and they immediately begin preparations.

Minilla approaches the cave to try and rescue Saeko from Kumonga, but is immediately restrained by the monster's webbing. The Kamacuras flies overhead, but Kumonga knocks it out of the sky and traps it in webbing as well. Kumonga bites the Kamacuras and injects it with venom, which kills it instantly. As Kumonga approaches Minilla and prepares to do the same to him, Minilla cries out for his father, who is sleeping near the red lake. Godzilla overhears Minilla's cries, and heads to his rescue. The weather control experiment commences and is successful, causing the temperatures on the island to drop drastically as snow begins to fall. With Godzilla battling Kumonga, the scientists use the opportunity to escape on a raft. Kumonga manages to wound one of Godzilla's eyes and trap him in webbing, but before he can finish him, Minilla comes to his father's rescue. Together, Minilla and Godzilla use their atomic breath to set Kumonga ablaze and defeat him. With the island beginning to freeze over, Godzilla and Minilla head for the ocean, but Minilla falls into the snow and begins falling asleep. Unwilling to leave his son, Godzilla turns around and embraces Minilla in the snow, as they fall into hibernation together. The scientists are rescued by a U.N. submarine, and finally leave Sollgel Island behind.

U.S. release