EDITOR’S NOTE: All Monsters Attack was on Chiller Theater on Saturday, September 19, 1970. It also aired on May 22, 1971; July 22, 1972 and April 14, 1973.

As a kid, I hated All Monsters Attack as much as I loved kaiju movies.

Gojira Minira Gabara Ōru Kaijū Dai-shingeki was released as Godzilla’s Revenge as a double feature with Night of the Big Heat. It was nearly named Minya, Son of Godzilla.

Directed by Ishirō Honda and written by Shinichi Sekizawa, this film had such a low budget that most of the kaiju scenes come from other movies, like Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, Son of Godzilla, King Kong Escapes and Destroy All Monsters.

In Japan, it was released as part of Toho Champion Matsuri, a festival-style program that included shorts and feature films. Honda came to say that it was one of his favorite movies in the Godzilla films. So why did I hate it, like most people?

It’s not really about Godzilla.

Ichiro Miki is a latchkey kid growing up in a filthy town, bullied near-constantly and with hardly any friends. Perhaps as a kid the same age when I first saw this, I saw so much of myself that I just couldn’t like what I was watching. Because as an adult, I find it so wonderful that Ichiro Miki dreams of Monster Island and that even though Minilla is the son of the king of the monsters, he still has a bully by the title of Gabara. Now, he must give his friend on Monster Island courage and find it in himself.

I wish I could tell young Sam that everything would be OK and that he would grow up to not be so nervous that he doesn’t sleep for days at a time, but that has never gone away. But both of us still love monsters.

You can watch this on Tubi.