Monster from a prehistoric planet

When I say the words “Kaiju”, Japan and the sixties, what is the first monster you think of? You'd probably guess Godzilla. Godzilla is the king of the monsters for a reason. It has many movies, many remakes and set the standard for giant monster movies whether he helps the people or goes against them. During the sixties, Toho studios made Godzilla more kid friendly and added some “camp” factor to the movies the guys in rubber suits doing out of nowhere stuff and having wacky outrageous story plots.

Now, why am I mentioning Godzilla in this review? Well, it's because giant monster movies in Japan will always have the litmus test comparing the Godzilla, fair or not. With that being said, how does this movie hold up in comparison and what can it offer an avid fan or the casual on-looker in terms of story, and the monsters.

The plot is your standard trope of a giant corporation or evil-doer sending scientists and reporters to an island that most people never heard of. A publishing company called, “Playmate” (yes, that is the best name for a publishing company) sends the scientists and reporters to an island to collect samples of flora and fauna and maybe capture some indigenous creatures to be put on display the publisher wants to create as a tourist location for the local Japanese to visit. When they arrive on the island, they're greeted by the traditional native islanders reminiscent of a Mothra/King Kong movie. The locals tell of Gappa, who if angered, will destroy the island. The scientists wonder around and find an egg, which cracks and a baby lizard/bird emerges. They take the baby and go back to Japan. The parents later emerge from the lake inside and go on a spree to find their lost child. The destruction will lead back to Japan and innocent people getting involved as well as the army.

The plot of the story is very simple and it seems like a cash-grab to imitate earlier monster movies. The plot is very basic and what the plot lacks, so does the characters. The scientists and the reporters are stock characters with so discerning personalities and seem to follow the standard tropes of the day with the strong scientist and the female photographer who just wants to be taken seriously but also wants a family someday. I know some of the characters that aren't monsters usually get second billing but I just wished that someone had some kind of personality that was original or unique and not a cookie cutter version and make them more human.

The monsters in the movies, the Gappa, are unique. They are part lizard, part pterodactyl/bird. It actually looks decent even though it seems like the rubber suits are constricting them, making it hard for them to walk around and even hit a building with their arms. When the Gappa are looking for their baby, they are in a city and I was looking forward to seeing what kind of destruction they will take on those miniatures and sufficient to say, it was so very mediocre and just okay. There was no background music during the destruction sequences, so, all we heard was silence, then some roars, stomps on the ground and then explosions and roars. The destruction just wasn't up to par. When a monster destroys a building, you want to feel it and get some kind of a reaction. This under performed and it just looked like the model couldn't hold the rubber suits weight and it just caved in. Needless to say, it was boring. If this movie was made in the 30s or 40s, I'd be very impressed with what they were able to do with the miniature buildings and the rubber suits but, this was 1967. A side note is that we don't really know much about the Gappa. We know they're a prehistoric creature but what are they? We know Godzilla is from nuclear testing and we know Mothra is a guardian of the Earth. Gappa doesn't get a backstory but a just is here because why not.

Overall, this movie just wasn't that interesting. It took elements from King Kong, Mothra and especially Godzilla and threw it all together to try and make something special. It didn't work. The movie never reached franchise level of success (whether it wanted to or not) and it lacked what I was hoping for in a monster movie and that is entertainment. It took forever for the monsters destroying the countryside and I still want to know why a publishing company called, “Play-mate” really wanted to open a theme resort and try to capitalize on vacation destinations.

I rate this movie 1.5 atomic blasts out of 5.