While Shin Ultraman is a fun sci-fi flick with a good message about the beauty and wonder that is innate to the human race, its predecessor, Shin Godzilla, is the complete opposite.

This may come as a shock to some, as Godzilla is an infamously campy schlock-fest of a franchise, and the Shin series was supposed to bring these characters back to their roots. However, this dark and depressing tone is actually very appropriate for a reimagined Godzilla. While the 1955 American rerelease of the original 1954 film may have been a run-of-the-mill retrograde creature-feature, the Japanese version was actually a full-on horror movie, and Shin Godzilla chooses to follow in the giant footsteps of its predecessor.

One day a Tokyo subway is flooded with blood - what a way to start a Godzilla movie, of all things! The government quickly dismisses the impossible amounts of viscous red fluid as the byproduct of deep-sea geothermal activity, only to be proven horribly wrong when a massive tail bursts from Tokyo Bay and begins to wildly flail about. As the government scrambles to calm down the understandably horrified public, the prime minister of Japan goes on TV to assure the people that the creature couldn’t possibly make landfall, as its immense weight would crush its own bones. 

The creature then makes landfall in one of the most hilariously awful scenes in cinema. The creature is an armless beige reptile, with baggy off-yellow skin, permanently-bloodshot eyes and constantly-bleeding gills. The music flares as this adorably hideous bastardization of nature drags itself across the ground and flails about wildly, destroying entire city blocks and sending civilians into a frenzy. 

Oh, now would be a good time to mention that this Godzilla is one of the lucky few allowed to actually do away with civilians on screen, as evidenced when Godzilla tries and fails to use a building to prop itself up, only to knock it down - a fatal development for escapees inside. After the creature’s little tour of the city it returns to the sea, albeit on another end of the country. The government deliberates over whether the creature should be destroyed, or detained and studied, but unfortunately they do it at a snail’s pace. While still pondering a solution, the creature makes landfall once again. Things quickly take a turn for the worse. 

Eventually Godzilla’s antics in Japan have attracted the attention of the rest of the world and they agree that if Godzilla isn’t stopped soon Japan will be hit with a third round of H-bombs. Now the government has to scramble to find a solution to stop an aggressive, constantly-adapting threat that doesn't even know the full extent of its own abilities.

Shin Godzilla’s soundtrack helps to elevate the movie. The original music by Shiro Sagisu fits the movie perfectly, so much so that this is the only Godzilla movie where the original Godzilla theme from 1954 isn’t actually considered Godzilla’s primary theme music. Both 'Who Will Know?' and 'Persecution of The Masses' are original songs that perfectly suit this incarnation of Godzilla, and make him both more monstrous and creepy. The heavier focus on flutes rather than louder brass instruments makes Godzilla feel far less regal and imposing, and more miserable.

Now onto the special effects, which are one of the best parts of this film. Due to the fact that there are pretty much two settings the human characters will be spending any significant time in, the rest of the budget could be dumped into making Godzilla as monstrous and gross as possible. 

Speaking of Godzilla’s design, I find it to be one of the best parts about this entire film. Godzilla’s first form is as awkward and bizarre as a radioactive abomination trying to breach an unknown environment should be, plus its massive bugged out eyes make it that extra bit adorably pathetic and gross. The second form is admittedly the weakest of the bunch, as is the case with most transitional stages, but it is nevertheless solid. The first form’s off-yellow skin is now a reddish-brown and Godzilla now stands upright, albeit with a significant hunch, and it now possesses small underdeveloped arms. That underwhelming middle stage thankfully leads to a killer final product. Godzilla’s third form is now fully upright, and its skin is now a sleek jet black. But much like its earlier forms, Godzilla is still delightfully revolting. Its skin is lumpy in some places, and stretched uncomfortably thin in others, the jet black broken up by bloody red accents. Godzilla’s eyes are small and unblinking, teeth and nails erupt randomly all over its body, its jaw splits in half on multiple occasions, and its hands are uncomfortably forced into a half clenched pose. Most concerningly, Godzilla has sprouted a humanoid skull with just a few too many jaws and no other discernible features; if you pay close attention you may even notice this jaw open and close a few times. Godzilla’s horrible tail face also gets one of the other creepiest moments in the franchise, but I won’t spoil it. 

Despite all this fantastical ridiculousness, this Godzilla also has a few nifty scientific details. These include a nictitating membrane that reptiles have and a more accurately coloured violet radiation. All these work together to create a unique and very effective creature design that ranks among my favourites.

Final Verdict:

Shin Godzilla delivers a very unique flavor of horror that succeeds in making the viewer uncomfortable. Shin Godzilla utilizes its soundtrack and VFX perfectly to create a monster that, while unorthodox in a horror setting, still manages to leave an impact on the viewer. It’s hard not to feel at least a little bit bad for that screaming, cancerous mass of radioactive meat that exists to spite nature. 

Although I love this movie to bits, it isn’t perfect. This film is very text heavy, and while that's great at making it convey the frantic struggle of the Japanese government to stop a nigh-unkillable and highly-adaptable monster in an impossibly small time frame, it does make it a bit hard for the viewer to fully understand everything that's going on. This issue is made worse when you watch the movie with subtitles (as one should do with pretty much every piece of media in an unfamiliar tongue). The human characters aren’t all that spectacular and only two are really “characters” per se. But while it isn’t perfect, Shin Godzilla is still an excellent piece of media and a worthy successor to the 1954 classic.