Finland Indoors

=>Uchu Kaijû Gamera!!!<=


Tonight I went to see a movie in the student union building. Once a month or something, they show a double header of a miscellaneous selection of films. I went tonight because the sub-titles were in English... And this movie kicked ass!!

Uchu Kaijû Gamera (Gamera: Super Monster) is a Japanese movie from 1980. Gamera is a giant saber-toothed turtle, not unlike Godzilla, who battles giant, evil outer-world monsters sent by an alien race that iis threatening to destroy planet Earth. Gamera is aided by the young boy who once owned Gamera as a pet when he was a tiny little turtle. Also helping out is a team of three Magic Space Women who own a pet store by day, but are protectors of the universe by night.

But look out, Gamera! The evil alien ship Zanon (which has an uncanny resemblance to the Star Destroyer in Star Wars), has sent an enemy spy to planet earth, also in the appearance of a beautiful Japanese woman. This woman attempts to control the mind of Gamera into doing evil deeds, such as destroying miniatures of the cities of Kobe and Osaka. Thankfully, the Magic Space Women save the day by knocking off Gamera's mind-controlling necklace!!

By the way, the three magic women drive around in an old Toyota van. At night, they shrink themselves into barbie-sized Space Women so they can sleep in a shoebox kept in the trunk of Toyota. There is so much going on in this movie, my mind is racing trying to write down all the details!!

Early in the movie, the little boy plays organ and sings for his little pet turtle. The mother explains to him that the turtle would be happier in the lake whence it came. The boy is reluctant, but after a mysterious comic book salesman explains to him that the turtle is destined to become a re-incarnation of the famed Giant Mutant Turtle Gamera, the boy decides to let the turtle go free and fulfill its destiny.

The Space Women have a Yamaha electric parlour organ that they keep in their apartment. Although it seems innocent enough (par example, the boy plays the organ to entertain the women), when the right chords are played, the organ opens up an intergalactic portal to their home dimension. They can travel through the portal (placed on their wall) or spy on their enemies.

My Favorite Line:
Little Boy: "You liar! You're a Bad Space Woman" (when he realizes the evil space woman is trying to seduce him into joining her alien race on the spaceship Zanon)

When I got home, I did some research and found out more about Gamera. There are actually many Gamera movies and in each one, he wrestles different alien foes. The genre is known as kaiju eiga (Giant Monster Movies).

The reason why 'Super Monster Gamera' is so mixed up is because it is actually a collection of stock footage from previous Gamera movies. But, it is supposed to be a stand alone feature with its own plot.

Some of the scenes are black and white for no reason, some are animated and some even go between day and night settings between shots. There are tons of special effects, but nothing you would see in the Lord of the Rings. Just good old camera tricks (strings are seen everywhere). The battle scenes between Gamera and the various giant sharks, birds are all taken from previous movies but are all VERY entertaining.

This is apparently a destested movies by fans because the previous Gamera installments had underlying environmental issues about how humans currupt nature by creating Giant Mutant Turtles, or something like that. This is essentially a kid's movie, but it celebrates Gamera's greatest fight scenes. In a way, it is a bit of a tribute to itself and to the genre.

So, was this a bad movie? It is the worst movie I have ever seen. But it was so bad, it was good!! Very Good! I recommend it highly for its camp value, also the music soundtrack is awesome!! Great sound effects when the portal opens, and an adorable child "actor".

Forget Godzilla, Gamera Rules!!!!!!

If you would like to find out more about Gamera, please check out: IMDb Gamera

There are also various fan-sites of this classic lesser-known friendly mutant turtle.