To review the latest limited edition boxset I had immerse myself into the world of Gamera. All I knew was that Gamera was a gigantic turtle and was created in rivalry to Godzilla, basically a 'rip off' of the king of monsters. Little did I know once I was in too deep with this weird kaiju monster, I would soon turn from sceptic to actual fan of the monster films.
Despite balancing between the ridiculous and pure action, I started to see a pattern in the films, not just the fights scenes between people in costumes, which I started to appreciate more and more as the films progressed, but there were patterns in Gamera's behaviour and its evolution. There was more to this franchise that I initally thought. But this might because I spent a whole week and one very intense day watching all the Gamera films, I may have just convinced myself that Gamera and all its weird ticks are amazing. For anyone wanting to explore the franchise, I would suggest the first film, Gamera, the Giant Monster, then possibly skip the 'vs' films as they are very similiar, and go straight to the 90s trilogy as these are hidden gems in the action film world.
Previously published at Vulturehound HERE.
The monster universe is as vast as it is humungous. For every kaiju monster hero there are several enemies. They fight, destroy cites, maybe even save a few lucky individuals, and ultimately, very entertaining, no matter how ridiculous everything seems.
After the success of the ‘Godzilla’ franchise, Gamera was set up as a rival, even appearing in a film together, but since those initial beginnings of rivalry, Gamera has become a cult icon in his own right. Spawning 12 films in the franchise, spanning from 1965 to 2006, Gamera is known for his affection for children, constantly saving those in peril and even sharing a psychic bond with them in the later films.
The whole story begins not with the monster’s origin but instead with his emergence from the ice in Antarctica. In the first film, we are just getting to know Gamera so there is no evil monster to battle with. Poor Gamera is left to contend with gunfire, bombs, being frozen, even though he saved that one boy who fell off a cliff, he’s still seen as a nuisance. The mistake that Gamera is actually a friend not an enemy is a reoccurring part of each film. What followed the success of ‘Gamera, the Giant Monster’ was an annual release of a film featuring the monster every year until 1971 and then later in 1980, ‘Gamera: Super Monster’ where he had to fight off all the evil monsters from previous films in the ‘vs’ part of the franchise. These years were named the ‘Shōwa period’ with the bulk of the films being directed by Noriaki Yuasa.
Moving into the 90s, Gamera is given a reboot, complete with upgraded look, modern visual effects and even, a better storyline, despite the use of an old foe, the bird like create Gyaos. The 90s reinvigorated the franchise, bring Gamera into the Heisei period. The trilogy serves as a condensed version of the ‘vs’ films, managing to cover space creatures and of course, aliens with questionable motives, another reoccurring theme within the Gamera universe. Including all the delightful 90s action film tropes, the final film (so far) in the franchise, ‘Gamera the Brave’ deals with abandonment with the main character looking back to when his father was killed right behind him and he himself was saved by Gamera. Of course, by 2006, gone are the amazing miniatures that were needed for explosions, gone are the actors dressed up as Gamera, gone are the nice homely touches of the handcrafted house and the kitsch feeling throughout. It’s fascinating to see the many changes over the years and literal evolution of the huge turtle in black and white to more modern Gamera. But change is good, in this case its progress. The stories are still the same, they have a routine and they follow it to the letter.
What’s fascinating about of Gamera is that he is already present in people’s minds. Seen as a myth or legend, closer to a folk hero by some and revered by others as ‘the devil’s envoy’. Of course, when Gamera first shows up, due to his sudden appearance and gigantic size and the fact that he breathes fire, he is a seen as a threat so of course the military and the government decide to bomb him. But as it turns out, appearances can be deceiving, well expect to those who are killed while Gamera is just having a stroll through a city. Gamera is in fact a gentle (to a point) giant monster. He saves children and protects Earth from all the evil monsters out there. The fact that Gamera has soft spot for children is brought up in nearly every film, the other monsters even learning about this weakness. He seems closer to the boys in the earlier films but during the 90s films, his allegiance switches. Labelled as a friend to children and carefully skirting the PG mark, until the 90s films, this is even a child friendly monster film, of course you have to overlook the alien cannibals and the aliens that use mind control on a couple of parents, but still, not as gruesome as other monster films.
Arrow Video is celebrating this lesser known kaiju monster franchise with a limited-edition boxset including all of the films in the franchise along with a few extras that would satisfy any lifelong fan and entertain those newcomers. After watching all the films, especially back to back, you could convert just about anyone to become a fan.
A gigantic turtle that breathes fire and can turn in to a fly saucer sounds like no match for Godzilla, in a fight and in films but if you add in the myriad of foes he’s had to battle, on Earth, in space and on unknown planets plus his gymnastic skills, Gamera could definitely give the so called king of monsters a run for his money.
