This episode of the Gamera franchise reprises the pollution item from the more famous Godzilla-Toho movies. If we can make a comparison, this movie is closely related to "the smog monster" movie of the Godzilla series. Two annoying kids are abducted by aliens. at first they think some pretty woman to be the villain, only to realize later she's a captive earthling and her boss & invading alien is some sort of stuffed shark. Lots of hide'n'seek & a few shots of the hottie in bikini. What takes these early gamera movies apart is they are expressly children movies. However, children movies from the 60's get old quick and i'm not sure how much of any appeal they might have for today's children. The budget is typically low, SFX nearly non-existent and the plot is nearly non-existent, with the trademark of say UN surrendering to the aliens to save a couple of silly childs. While childs in other Gamera movies are very smart, these 2 are borderline idiots (check the military interview part). Most TOHO movies were children movies but could easily target adults; not so with most of these early DAIEI productions. Kikuchi rips himself off recycling tunes from his score repertory. Luckily it is a short movies, thus it is perfectly watchable for what it is.
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kiddie cheap monster movie
Entertaining Gamera film
Space aliens arrive on Earth with their giant shark Zigra. Of course, they plan on conquering our planet, so it's up to giant flying fire-breathing turtle Gamera to once again save the day. Director Noriaka Yuasa and writer Nisan Takahashi treat the story with admirable sincerity and toss in a valid and relevant anti-pollution message amid all the expected carnage. The cast likewise play their parts with praiseworthy conviction. The big climactic monster mash between Gamera and Zigra is staged with a reasonable amount of flair and hits the stirring spot, with the definite wacky highlight occurring when Gamera plays Zigra's back like a xylophone. The lovably rinky dink (far from) special effects -- rubbery monster suits, Tonka Toy miniatures -- possess a certain tacky charm. As a nice added bonus, we also get a hot mysterious Asian hitchhiker babe in a bikini. Plus you just gotta love the insanely catchy'n'groovy Gamera theme song! Both Akira Uehara's expansive widescreen cinematography and Shunsuke Kikuchi's robust score are up to par. A fun creature feature.
I want a coke...with Jack Daniels
Possibly one of the earliest attempts at cinematic product placement.
Ahh, Gamera. Zigra. Giant Turtle. Giant Fish. Fire. Hypnosis beams. I guess the pleasure from these classic japanese monster films is watching a world, or mostly Japan, where giant mutant monsters exist, children know much much more than the adults, and cities are crushed as easily as cheesy models...oh wait, they are models. Anyway, UFO comes to Japan. The main brats Kenny and Helen (will someone get her a coke already!!) go on zany trying to prevent Zigra and his scantily clad henchwoman (VA-VOOM!) from trying to take over earth. The Zigra woman has the ability to hypnotize people with a simple snap and she must follow Zigra's orders to kill the children who mysteriously manage to survive again and again (duh). People yell AH!!, Gamera shows up, Zigra blows stuff up, a lot of paint...uh blood is spilled, I think there were dolphins, and lots of subplots to keep virtually anyone watching perplexed. Also, the diabolically catchy Gamera song is sung here. Add this all up for a huge laughs and best seen with Joel and da bots (HEY, THAT'S US!!).