Gamera the giant monster turtle had caused so much devastation on planet Earth that he was put in a space rocket and shot into the heavens, heading towards Mars where it was hoped he would never bother the human race again. However, these best laid plans go haywire when a meteor hits the capsule, sending Gamera back to our world where he resumes his path of destruction, flying into a Japanese dam and smashing it up, with a flood the result. He then soars off to a volcano in the Pacific...
But we will hear from him again, only surprisingly not as much as you would expect as the big green guy found a rival here who tended to steal his thunder for the greater part of the movie. Just as Daiei's original Gamera effort had slavishly aped Toho's first Godzilla instalment, their sequel went the same route as that company's follow-up, finding another man in a suit creature for their anti-hero to grapple with. Here, however, unlike the other movies in this series, the tone was less about appealing to the kids and more appealing to the adults.
This might have explained why so much of the plot was given over to disgraced helicopter pilot Keisuke (Kojiro Hongo), who sets out on an expedition to New Guinea with a couple of other rogues in search of a giant opal which his brother had hidden in a cave there during the war. Retrieving this gem will make them all rich, but the problem is in getting there, as the trio land on the island and encounter a group of natives, including the exotically-named Karen (Kyôko Enami), who warn them against seeking the treasure, pleas which naturally fall on deaf ears when the schemers' greed is so overpowering.
They do achieve their goal, but more in keeping with the grimmer approach one of them falls victim to a scorpion bite, while Keisuke is trapped in a rockfall triggered by his colleague Onodera (Kôji Fujiyama) who is overcome with avarice and wishes to keep the loot for himself. They do both get back to Japan in their own ways, but Keisuke takes the anxious Karen with him because she realises the opal is actually an egg - something Onodera finds out when he accidentally hatches it. He does this by leaving it in the way of a heat lamp he was using to treat his athlete's foot, surely the least auspicious method of creating your giant monster in the genre.
Once Barugon, our baddie, has grown to tremendous size and starts smashing up the place, the authorities take an interest, but what to do with a monstrosity which breathes ice through an extendable tongue? Gamera is attracted by the mayhem, and a bout of fighting commences, but no sooner has the boisterous reptile got into the scrap than his opponent freezes him, thereby messing him up for the rest of the movie until the climax. With the lack of a child hero for the kids to identify with, the only instance of this in the series, the thriller narrative is strengthened to carry the weight, and as a definite improvement on the first part there's more to engross. Barugon is pretty goofy for all the serious intent - his most dazzling power is a killer rainbow - and there's not much for turtle fans perhaps, but as it stood this was a fairly entertaining effort considering its source and purpose. Music by Chûji Kinoshita.
Aka: Daikaijû kettô: Gamera tai Barugon, War of the Monsters.
Many Japanese genre buffs maintain this is the best Gamera movie, largely as you already noted the Treasure of Sierra Madre style plot is skewed more towards adult sensibilities than the other movies. Nevertheless, I lean more towards the later entries and find them more distinctive. There isn't enough Gamera in this one.
Kojiro Hongo appeared in almost every single fantasy movie made at Daiei, including the majority of Gamera movies, often cast as scoutmaster, scientist or flustered parent. He also appeared in the studio's big-budget religious epic, Buddha opposite erstwhile Zatoichi Shintaro Katsu, which was directed by Lone Wolf and Cub helmer Kenji Misumi. Small world, isn't it?
Posted by:
Stephanie Anderson
Date:
11 Oct 2011
Well, my initianl opionion on these movies was that they were a low budget rip off of better kaiju, but after seeing the restored, uncut japanese version of this, i may have to change my mind. Sure, some effects aren't so great(you acn see the fire nozel in Gameras mouth in one or two scenes) but this is superior to the sequel to Gojira by far. Also, can someone review Reptilicus, and maybe the newer Yongary film, named Reptilian?
Posted by:
Graeme Clark
Date:
11 Oct 2011
Can't find Reptilicus available anywhere I'm afraid, but Reptilian is a possibility.
Posted by:
Stephanie Anderson
Date:
11 Oct 2011
Great about Reptilian, but i wonder why you can't find Reptilicus. If you do find it though, i advise mensioning the massive diffrences between the american and origional cut.
Posted by:
Graeme Clark
Date:
12 Oct 2011
Reptilicus is out of print on DVD, I could pay for a second hand copy but they're too expensive at the moment.
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