The Green Slime
a.k.a. Gamma sango uchu daisakusen
1968 · Directed by Kinji Fukasaku · USA / Japan
The Green Slime (1969), directed by Kinji Fukasaku, is a US-produced sci-fi horror. Filmed at Toei Studios in Japan, it was an unofficial fifth entry in a series of films by Antonio Margheriti featuring the Gamma 3 Space Station.
Stuart Galbraith writes in his book Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films that the film “was ultimately undone by some of the most laughably ridiculous monsters in screen history.” I personally think the “ridiculous monsters” have a charm that belies their budgetary constraints and add to the film’s watchability.
The plot involves the crew of Gamma 3 Space Station identifying and destroying an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. While laying explosives on the asteroid, the science officer inadvertently brings back a sample of alien green slime on his spacesuit. The slime mutates into bug-eyed, tentacled creatures that replicate when the crew use their laser weapons on them. Rather than kill the murderous aliens, the weapons make them multiply, causing a headache for the crew and a conundrum over how to destroy them.
The cast includes Robert Horton and Richard Jaeckel, familiar faces for US TV viewers of popular westerns. They are tangled in a love triangle with the beautiful Dr Lisa Benson (Luciana Paluzzi).
The theme song is pure psych freakbeat, sung by Richard Delvy. It contains the immortal lines:
What can it be, what’s the reason?
Is this the end of all breathin’
Is this something in your head
Will it believe you when you’re dead.
Green Slime
The original record fetches three-figure sums on the collectors’ market and deserves a re-release on green vinyl, of course.
The models may look cheap (because they are) and everyone takes their roles very seriously. The Green Slime is a great ride for fans of campy, schlocky sci-fi horror and deserves to be seen by more people. Best just to dive in and immerse yourself in the green slime.
Gallery
Trailer
From the score
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Richard Delvy – The Green Slime (theme song)
