Terror Beneath the Sea

Terror Beneath the Sea (海底大戦争) is a 1966 science fiction horror film directed by Hajime Sato. An international co-production of Japan and the United States, it stars Sonny Chiba, Peggy Neal, Franz Gruber, Andrew Hughes, Tadashi Suganuma, and Hideo Murota.

Plot
The story follows reporter Ken Abe and photographer Jenny Gleason as they attend a missile test and stumble upon a mysterious swimming creature with a human silhouette. Their investigation leads them to a cave inhabited by individuals clad in absurd silver fish-man suits. These suits may be one of the film's most entertaining aspects, as they are elaborate but don't fit very well, leading to comedic situations.

The pair is eventually taken to the underwater base of the enigmatic Professor Moore, who has created these fish-men or "water cyborgs." Moore's plan is shrouded in mystery, but it appears to involve transforming people into fish-people and launching a global war.

The film introduces the underwater Illuminati, who seem to have a plan even if it's unclear what that plan is, aside from world domination. They have successfully built an underwater base and created the mindlessly obedient fish-people. The process of transforming ordinary humans into these creatures is shown in detail, with moments that are effectively gross, if not entirely convincing.

Cast

 * Sonny Chiba as Ken Abe
 * Peggy Neal as Jenny Gleason
 * Franz Gruber as Lieutenant Colonel Brown
 * Andrew Hughes as Professor Howard
 * Tadashi Suganuma as Nishida
 * Hideo Murota as Navy Base Engineer A
 * Osamu Yamanouchi as Navy Base Engineer B
 * Ichiro Mizuki as Navy Base Engineer D
 * Beverly Kahler as Luisa
 * Mike Daneen as Dr. Josef Heim
 * Enver Altenbay as Reporter A

Release
Terror Beneath the Sea was released in Japan on July 1, 1966. The film did not receive a theatrical release in the United States, instead being released directly to television by Teleworld.

International response
Critical response outside of Japan has been mixed to negative. Jon Condit of Dread Central rated it two out of five stars, writing "Terror Beneath The Sea is the epitome of a disposable movie. It's utter nonsense from beginning to end and never takes the time to develop any characters or allow for the story to build naturally".