Flight A8012 crash-lands after nearly being destroyed by a mysterious flying orb of light. The survivors of the crash find themselves being preyed upon by an alien being that possesses people turning them into insatiable vampires. With their numbers dwindling, the survivors must find a way to battle an enemy whose intentions are clear: exterminate all of mankind.

Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell is one hell of a sci-fi/horror potboiler. One that is both totally absurd and totally entertaining! Director Hajime Sato (Battle Beneath the Sea) brings his vision to the screen. And what a vision! I'm talking about some serious nonsensical and laughable plot points combined with Sato’s angsty and naïve political ramblings (politicians are corrupt!). Despite its silliness, the plot does provide some thick tension between the wild characters and there is plenty of campy creepiness to go around .The film is loaded with hokey yet visually appealing special effects, gorgeous color schemes, and striking cinematography. There’s nothing quite like some silver space glop pouring out of someone’s skull to brighten your day, eh?

So why don’t we step aboard Flight A8012? It’s already full of some of the most outrageous and overacted characters imaginable. There’s an assassin, a suicide bomber, a corrupt politician, a researcher in space biology, and an Eskimo. Okay, there’s not really an Eskimo on board but he’d probably fit right in with this bunch of loons. My favorite is psychiatrist, hypnotist, and fear enthusiast, Dr. Momotake, played to the hilt by Kazuo Kato (Ran). Another inspired lunatic is the hijacker played by Hideo Ko (Yakuza’s Law). Ko’s ten-yard-stare is unbreakable after the alien glop crawls in through the inexplicable wound in his forehead.

Time to give a shout-out to the ladies! Tomomi Sato (Baby Cart at the River Styx) is our stewardess and the token damsel in distress while the ravishing Yûko Kusunoki is Mrs. Noriko Tokiyasu, frustrated wife and mouthpiece of alien invaders. Speaking of mouthpieces, American actress Kathy Horan is painfully awful as war widow, Mrs. Neal. Her war-is-bad speech is frighteningly child-like and made all the more bizarre when we discover that her dead husband was killed when he got napalmed in the face!

I highly recommend this fantastic piece of Japanese outlandishness. Think of Goke as Mario Bava's Planet Of The Vampires on a bad mixture of drugs (both prescription and illegal). Somehow, this nutty film manages to keep its pacing throughout and delivers an excellent (if somewhat predictable) ending that is just awe-inspiring in its boldness. Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell would make a great double feature with Matango. I think space vampires are a good match for mushroom zombies, don’t you? This classic film needs a proper US release and it needs to happen before the Gokemidoro start sucking our blood.

Quotes

"What else is there to believe in but human goodness?"