I can clearly remember a disappointment of my young life. I was 11 or 12 when this occurred. As is quite normal for a boy of that age I adored monster movies. For me big rubber monsters smashing cities were the height of cinema. Usually I could only watch such fare on TV during the Creature Feature that played late night on Saturdays.

Ahh, that was a show that consumed many many of my hours. It literally was called ‘Creature Feature’ and, in my mind, I can still see the opening logo. So many classic and far far from classic films played during that late night and early morning hours.

However this particular summer I am remembering was not about an old black-and-white film playing on a local television station, but rather about a new release I desperately wanted to see,

Based on release dates this had to be 1972 or 1973 and Godzilla vs The Smog Monster had come to the local drive-in I burned to this movie. I had never seen a Godzilla movie in any other format than televised and the idea of seeing one on the huge screen at the drive filled me with an unquenchable desire.

I laid out hints to all the adults on the household, but to no avail. The weekends came and went and there was no surprise announcement that we were going to the drive-in, nothing but bitter disappointment

Now, I am not faulting my older brothers and sisters for their film choices. This was pretty much a kiddie Godzilla and it would have held little to no attraction to anyone with a discriminating taste. So the film played and moved on, leaving me behind, my desires unfulfilled.

Over the years I have seen many Godzilla movies, bastardized and cut-up American versions, subtitled original versions, movies that were Godzilla in name only, and even the most recent American adaptation, but somehow in all those years, and with that early bitter miss, I never watched Godzilla vs The Smog Monster.

Until recently.

HULU Plus has quite a library of films and I discovered, quite by accident, that via the Anime Network their collection included Godzilla vs The Smog Monster. Suddenly I remembered being that young boy and that movie I had so desperately wanted to see. Naturally I treated myself to the long long delayed satisfaction.

So two weeks ago over several night I watched the film in bit and bites as I relaxed after a long day working and writing. I can say that the younger me probably would have loved the monster fights, but many aspect of this, the most trippy of Godzilla movies, wouldn’t have played well to me.

You know how Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ has those animated sequences? Well so does Godzilla vs The Smog Monster. It also has musical/dance numbers and Japanese hippies.

I’m glad I got to see it, and pay off that younger me who wanted it so badly, but man it was to date the strangest Godzilla film I’ve watched.