Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967) – Movie Review

Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967)

“He drinks oil from a can and eats dirt. He’s Barney, the purple dinosaur’s,
older, meaner cousin, Yongary!”

This is Korea’s foray into the Kaiju Monster film arena. A rocket launch awakens Yongary underground. Scientists track seismic activity until they discover it’s caused by an ancient beast moving underground. Yongary rises from the earth and destroys the city. After a lot of destruction, he needs a drink and finds a full tank of oil. He drinks it and blows flames. Then he drinks some ammonia and it doesn’t agree with him. He gets a tummy ache, dances around and gets angry. He breaks out in a rash and it makes him very irritable. When the scientists discover Yong is allergic to ammonia (it takes a young boy to figure it out), they make some ammonia bombs. They drop some bombs, Yong gets upset and destroys the bridge. Finally, he kicks the bucket.

A low budget makes for less detail in the special FX all around, which in turn makes them not-so-special FX. The Yongary costume has some basic flaws that sometimes makes him look like a guy in a costume at a children’s birthday party. The buildings look like toys in the close-ups because of lack of detail. The plot is simplistic and there’s not much of a human story to it other than the humans fight against Yongary. All this less attention to detail adds up to a film that is more silly than threatening. But it’s not a total loss, there’s some fun Kaiju destruction scenes and Yongary does breathe fire. Good times!

There was a remake of Yongary called Reptilian (2000) but it was a cheap CGI, badly written script, disaster that isn’t even fun to watch in a MST2K way. Stick with the original for some campy Kaiju fun.

 

Space Amoeba (1970) – movie review – Yog the Monster from Space

 

Space Amoeba (1970)
Aka: Yog, the Monster from Space

Directed by Ishirō Honda
Produced by Fumio Tanaka, Tomoyuki Tanaka

Starring
Akira Kubo
Atsuko Takahashi
Yukiko Kobayashi
Kenji Sahara
Yoshio Tsuchiya

Music by Akira Ifukube

Here’s a lighter styled Toho Kaiju film concerning an undeveloped island in the So. Pacific. It’s one that borrows a bit from Japanese mythology using some common archetypes, the Squid or Cuttlefish, the Crab and the Turtle. It also grabs a little from the many Toho films that came before it and sloshes them around for a new tale.

When Japan’s Jupiter explorer crashes back to earth it brings back a space amoeba which takes over a Cuttlefish and causes Gigantism in the local creatures. A group of investigators which includes, a vacation resort developer, the comrade of a different missing developer, and a pro-photographer looking for the crashed Jupiter ship, land on the native island. The island natives warn that outsiders not paying homage to the Gods and using the island for their own gain will be responsible for the punishment.

The strangers enter the village and are immediately surrounded. They meet the tribal shaman, a friendly chap who greets them with, “Die! Friends of the devil!” Soon the giant cuttlefish attacks the village and kills (Mr. friendly) the Shaman. The village natives now want to help the strangers, offering them guns and gasoline. What a great place! They must’ve thought the intruders were Americans, lol. So, they figure out the amoeba uses radar waves to control the giant creatures. They block the signal and the creatures fight each other until a volcano erupts and swallows them in lava. Now they can open the resort and the natives can work for the man!

This film is nothing more than silly fun. Gezora, the cuttlefish/squid looking creature is an amusing muppet-ish thing to look at. The monsters smash some village huts and do some light battle. Yukiko Kobayashi runs around in native wear for some eye candy and there’s some hokey science explanations to amuse those with a sense of humor. I wouldn’t go out of your way to see this, but if you have nothing to watch on a lazy afternoon it could be entertaining. The music is kinda’ funky, 60’s, cool and the sunshine and flowery island scenery is a change from the gloomy world of Godzilla films. It almost seemed like they made this film just to send the crew and actors on a semi-vacation to a nice island habitat with sun-shining atmosphere.

A silly disjointed Toho Kaiju film probably only enjoyable to completists in the genre. 

I give it 2.2 floppy fish cakes on the giant monster mash-up fish-food pate’ scale.

War of the Gargantuas (1966) – Movie review

 

War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Toho Films

Directed by Ishiro Honda
special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya
Music Akira Ifukube

This is my favorite Toho Kaiju film that doesn’t feature Godzilla. It is the sequel to FCtW, but suddenly it seems Universal didn’t want Toho using the Frankenstein name in its US release. However, if you look at the monsters in this film, it’s clear they both resemble Frankenstein. Picking up from FCtW, the monsters flesh has undergone further mutation to the point where a very small piece can regenerate into a full organism. It’s several years from the death of the giant Frankenstein and Japan is faced with this new threat. The film begins with a fantastic sequence. A nighttime storm batters a fishing vessel. The boatswain is trying to steer the vessel through the rough waters. A large tentacle creeps up behind him and grabs him. Then another enters the room. In a wide shot we can see a giant octopus overtaking the ship looking for a midnight snack. Just when it looks like the man will be ripped apart, the tentacles make a quick retreat. Cautiously, he moves to the windows. Outside we see a giant beast battling with the octopus (one of my fave visuals of the film). But this green hairy water beast is not a savior. After dispatching the octopus he sinks the boat.

This is a rare Kaiju film that shows the monster eating humans in gory (for the time) fashion. At the airport the Green Gargantua (Gaira) picks up a woman, chews on her, then spits out her bloody clothes. Gaira begins invading the Japanese mainland looking for more food. I love the scale of the Gargantuas in this film. They are bigger than the original King Kong but not as big as Godzilla, allowing for some good detail in the minatures. The military attacks the beast and does some major damage until another monster show up to save him. The Brown Gargantua (Sanda) lives in the mountains and was raised by the scientists. When Sanda discovers his brother is eating humans he tries to stop him and a battle ensues. The battle escalates into the city where the two throw each other into buildings, smash through the infrastructure and bash each other with ships in the harbor. It is one amazing Kaiju battle, one of my favorites in giant monster filmdom. This was also the first appearance of the mazor cannon mounted on military vehicles. They’re put to dramatic use cutting through forest trees in the assault on the green Gargantua. It’s really a great film for fans of the genre supported by a great cast that includes Russ Tamblyn, Kumi Mizuno and Kenji Sahara. Akira Ifukube’s bombastic score is more prominent in this film with dramatic horn blasts and powerful melodies. You don’t have to see FCtW to understand and enjoy this film. If you have enthusiasm for giant monster films and haven’t seen this, I would recommend seeing it. It’s one of my top giant monster flicks of all time.

Fun facts:
Guillermo del Toro has said in an interview that War of The Gargantuas is one of his favorite Kaiju films

Russ Tamblyn became famous for his starring role in the film version of West Side Story (1961)

Kumi Mizuno, who starred in War of the Gargantuas, also starred in Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965), Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965), and Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966). She also returned for several millennium series Godzilla films (2000 – 2004).

 

 
Kumi Mizuno

More Dinosaur and Giant Monster movie reviews – overview 

Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965) – movie review

Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)
Aka: Frankenstein vs. Baragon

Directed by Ishiro Honda
special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya
Music Akira Ifukube

FCtW begins with movement in time portrayed with wonderful visuals. 1945 Germany, over a snow covered mountainside, we see a German scientist in a unique piece of Toho Gothic. He’s experimenting with the Frankenstein Monster’s heart which continues to beat despite the destruction of the Monster’s body. The heart is then being transported in the Pacific Theater during WW II, a naval waterfront of battleships and submarines. Next it’s In Japan at that moment of the Atomic blast that ended WW II.

Several years later, scientists are working with a Frankenstein feral boy. He continues to grow to giant size and eventually breaks free from his cages. When destruction occurs in the nearby villages, they authorities want to blame Frankie, much to the dismay of scientist, Sueko, who helped raise him like a son. It turns out the destruction is being caused by another Kaiju, Baragon. The two eventually duke it out in an action packed battle as Frankie uses his speed and smarts to defeat the bigger Baragon. The battle and military assault causes an earthquake and Frankie sinks into the earth with a defeated Baragon lying at his feet.

The film stars Nick Adams who had been lending his talents to various science fiction films of the time. It also stars familiar Toho actors, Kumi Mizuno, Tadao Takashima Takashi Shimura, Kenji Sahara, and Yoshio Tsuchiya. There’s some good ol’ time rock n roll in this film especially in the dance hall that is destroyed by Baragon. Awesome dancing! Haruo Nakajima the famed costumed Godzilla actor plays Baragon, and Koji Furuhata plays Frankenstein.

Lets face it, if you were not indoctrinated into the world of Toho films as a kid then you will find faults with the film. The flat-head prosthetic doesn’t transition smoothly into the face, you can sometimes see the wires and mechanics of the effects, especially nowadays with HD TVs and big screens. Not to mention the horse that looks like a little puppet on a stick, but if you can overlook some of these small inconsistencies, you may be entertained by the simple story and visual dynamics.

The American release partner, Harry G. Saperstein, was impressed with the octopus battle in King Kong vs Godzilla and urged Honda to film a similar sequence for the Frankenstein film. It was shot but ultimately not used because Honda didn’t feel it fit the storyline. It was re-shot as the opening scene in War of the Gargantuas with Gaira doing battle in the ocean.

However, the Rare Flix/Tokyo Shock DVD has the complete octopus battle in the special features listed under International Extended Scenes. It starts with the full (longer) main battle with Baragon and goes right into the battle with the Octopus.

oooh, shiny…

behind the scenes

unused octopus battle scene

unused octopus scene

awesome model kit diorama – don’t know who made it

Godzilla 2014 – Movie Review

Godzilla – 2014

Directed by Gareth Edwards
Written by Max Borenstein, Frank Darabont, Dave Callaham
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen

*** No Spoilers ***
(at least nothing you haven’t already seen in trailers)

I went to a preview screening for Godzilla-2014 on Wednesday night. Before you read my review there’s something that needs to be said.

Some of you may have already read reviews from publications such as the Hollywood Reporter, Time Magazine, and big national newspaper publications, complaining about character depth and in-depth story-telling. These reviewers are the type of people that love Academy Award winning films like, Fried Green Tomatoes and Driving Miss Daisy. At best, they have two or three sci-fi and horror movies that they would ever praise and none of them would be monster movies. Giant Monster movies were birthed, for the most part, in the 1950’s and the stories weren’t so complex. If you get too far away from that, you have a drama, not a monster movie.

Now my review:

I’m not going to detail the whole plot but I will say, like most classic monster movies, the big battle is in the later half of the film. Bryan Cranston was by far the best actor in this film and was convincingly real in his performance as Joe Brody. I was drawn into the emotion of his story. Early in the film he has to seal off a sector of the nuclear power plant as a meltdown ensues, with his wife on the wrong side of the door. He is haunted by this task and secretly sneaks back to the condemned and guarded plant for answers. You can imagine what he finds. The film then focuses on his son, Ford Brody, (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his family. He has just been granted leave from the military and is trying to get back to his family when all hell breaks loose. Elizabeth Olsen plays Elle Brody, Ford’s wife. Ken Watanabe plays Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, a scientist investigating the seismic disturbances (sort of). His name is a homage to Godzilla creator Ishiro Honda and the character in the original Godzilla, Dr. Daisuke Serizawa.

The monster(s) called MUTO, (massive, unidentified, terrestrial, organisms), are bug-like and alien in design, but much easier to comprehend visually than the Kaiju in Pacific Rim. Scenes with the Muto are reminiscent of Cloverfield but we do get a good look at them soon enough. Naturally, Godzilla rises and battles the Muto in San Francisco, and it’s a Toho-style battle as the creatures smash each other into buildings and crash through infrastructure, causing massive destruction and devastation.

My only complaint is the look of Godzilla. I understand the design makes sense with this storyline. A beast that big lying upon the seafloor would look like a rocky landscape. His stone-like gray/black skin and craggy, slate-looking fins support this in continuity. However, when he finally rises from the sea and we get a good look, he resembles a bear – perhaps a Grizzly or a Brown bear. This correlation also makes sense – two long-term hibernating animals in nature may resemble each other. But I must say, I would have preferred one of the other designs from the early stages of this film’s development. This big guy is almost ‘Poo-bear’ loveable.

Overall I enjoyed the film. The serious tone and personal stories are more gripping than most Kaiju films. Godzilla is huge like the Titans of Greek mythology, supporting his namesake. And there’s massive monster destruction and violence. It’s a respectable entry into the franchise and this Godzilla would eat that 1998 Iguana-zilla for lunch…with room left over for dessert.