Monster Movie of the Week: GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE (1995)

Director: Shusuke Kaneko

Genre: Daikaiju eiga (Japanese giant monster movie)

THE MOVIE:

Poor Gamera. For years he was viciously mocked on MST3K and for good reason. Gamera was created to capitalize on the kaiju craze in the mid 60’s. He starred in a bunch of Godzilla ripoff movies that were cheaply made and designed to appeal to children.

Even for a giant monster, Gamera is ridiculous: He is an 80 meter tall bipedal turtle who is a “friend to all children,” with the ability to retract his extremities into his shell and replace them with jets which allow him to fly around like a pin-wheeling UFO. Makes Mothra seem downright plausible, doesn’t it?

So when Daiei studios resurrected the character in the mid 90’s to compete with the revitalized Godzilla series nobody expected much. Director Shusuke Kaneko really wanted to direct a Toho Godzilla movie but was not allowed to, so he turned his attention to the Gamera series, and churned out the best Kaiju trilogy of all time. This eventually led to his being asked to direct a Godzilla movie, and he gave us the excellent Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah, Giant Monster All Out Attack, which is among the best of the Godzilla series. So the man has an awesome track record in kaiju filmmaking.  

THE MOVIE

The first of the trilogy, Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, was a pleasant surprise that was at least in the same ballpark as any of the contemporary Godzilla movies as far as quality. The movie even garnered a positive review from none other than Roger Ebert (who relishes its sense of fun while failing to contextualize it as an important giant monster movie). GGOTU reintroduces us to Gamera and gives him a new origin story and sets up for the two sequels that follow. The Gamera Trilogy is one of the rare movie series in which each movie is better than the one before it therefore Gamera: Guardian of the Universe is the weakest of the three but the best place to start.

The story involves a pair of dueling mysteries: the appearance of a mysterious rogue island which is moving around the Pacific on its own accord and the attacks of strange predatory birds on another far-flung island. These mysteries manage to entangle an ornithologist, the Japanese military and a schoolgirl named Asagi who has a special connection to Gamera and who appears in all three movies much in the same way that Miki Saegusa had a special psychic connection to Godzilla in the Heisei movies.

The mysterious atoll turns out to be no island at all but Gamera who has resurfaced from an ancient slumber with the return of the Gyaos creatures. The Japanese have captured the creatures for study but Gamera comes ashore to destroy them. In this continuity, Gamera was created by the ancients to do battle with Gyaos. The creatures escape him and flee into the world where they continue to grow and change.

The Gyaos were apparently fixures of the old Showa Gamera movies which were known for having particularly outlandish kaiju. Interestingly, Gyaos are the only carryovers from the old series to the Heisei movies.

After tangling multiple times, Gamera and Gyaos have their final battle which involves the turtle kaiju taking his opponent into outer space and burning her on re-entry before rumbling in a pertrochemical factory.

THE MONSTER/EFFECTS:

The special effects certainly are not up to Hollywood standards for the time (remember we’re a couple of years after Jurassic Park here.)  Most of the monster effects are through suitmation, miniatures, and puppets. And sometimes what are apparently hand-puppets. Unfortunately, CGI is very sparingly used in this one.

The Gyaos effects in particular are bad. Flying kaiju are the best kind of kaiju when they are done right but in the 1990's the Japanese effects were not quite there yet. Some shots are very clearly puppets and the wings don’t to seem to beat fast enough to keep the animal in flight (a disorder I call Rodanitis.) The Gyaos design is also a little too retro and goofy for my tastes.

Gamera is well-realized and nicely updated from his Showa roots. The suit is a little bulky here but improves throughout the series. Gamera gets redesigned a little bit in each of these movies, getting increasingly more ferocious-looking in each new movie. In the first film, he is at his most Showa and "cuddly." Overall, the effects greatly improve with each movie to the point where the Gamera Gyaos Shibuya fight in Gamera 3 remains one of the greatest kaiju sequences in cinema.

The movie does establish a heightened level of violence in these movies too. Kaneko seems to take some pleasure from beating the crap out of Gamera and he is often sliced, diced and layered in these movies (Gyaos has a pretty gnarly laser attack.) The Gyaos monsters are also put through the ringer in these movies and it is not uncommon to see them meet a gory demise.

MONSTERS FEATURED:

Gamera and Gyaos.

MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE:

There is a wonderful shot of Gyaos in silhouette, perched on the remains of Tokyo tower against the setting sun.  The shot is beautiful and awe-inspiring and sums up what is great about this genre.

SEQUELS:

Gamera 2: The Attack of Legion, Gamera 3: The Revenge of Irys.

SEE ALSO:

Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidora: Giant Monsters All Out Attack., 

Gamera:Rebirth (An excellent animated Gamera series from 2023 which debuted on Netflix in the US.)

TRAILER

If you are enjoying Monster Movie of the Week, check out my kaiju novel City of the Gods: The Return of Quetzalcoatl.

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Patrick Garone

Chicago-based writer & director. Author of City of the Gods and We Lowly Gods.

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A Kaiju Primer for City of the Gods

​My recently re-released novel, City of the Gods is meant to be a love letter to kaiju media but this kind of story is fairly uncommon in fiction. Kaiju is mostly a cinematic genre and I wanted to take a moment to discuss some of the great giant monster stories that were an influence on my book while I was writing it and a couple of notable entries which were released in the fifteen years since.

Godzilla in Godzilla Minus One, 2023

You can’t talk about kaiju without talking about Godzilla, while it’s not the only game in town, the series originated the genre as we know it today and continues to dominate it. As of this writing there have been 38 films in the over 70 year-old series and it is actually going stronger than ever with both an American-produced cinematic universe with multiple films and television series and a revitalized Japanese film series, which won its first Academy Award for the terrific Godzilla Minus One, due to get a sequel later this year and even other Japanese films in development.

From Godzilla 2000, 1999

I’m sure you can look at the seventy year old series and find lots of similarities to my book from the decision to give Quetzalcoatl an oceanic resting place so he could come ashore like Godzilla, to his battles with a UFO not unlike Godzilla 2000, to his tussle with a multi-headed opponent. There are tons of homages to the series but probably the Godzilla movies that were the biggest influences on City of the Gods were 1991’s Godzilla vs King Ghidorah and 2001’s Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. While not the first movie to introduce this concept, Godzilla Final Wars from 2004, famously featured kaiju used by aliens as weapons of mass destruction against humanity, much as is the case in COTG.

Like COTG, Godzilla vs King Ghidorah involves UFO aliens who have a seemingly benevolent agenda. Also like COTG, it is a time-travel Kaiju story, which was unprecedented when the movie was released and still uncommon. In fact, Godzilla's origin in GvKG revolves around a time loop. It's a pretty unique movie in the series. While the writing of COTG is a bit of a blur to me, as lover of time travel stories I would not have been able to resist including this element in my book and GvKG  certainly opened the door to do so in this genre. So, you know, blame them if you didn't like the book.

Whereas the previous movie has a definite sci-fi angle on Godzilla, Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack (which will hereby be referred to as GMK for obvious reasons) takes a more mystical view of the genre with all of the title monsters being akin to nature spirits and Godzilla himself being a manifestation of Japan’s war-time dead. While the movie has no real plot points in common with COTG, the film's mysticism, grandeur, and vibe were all an influence on the book since GMK is widely considered to be among the best of the Godzilla series. Like the guardian monsters who rise to oppose Godzilla in the movie, Quetzalcoatl rises to defend Mexico (and also the Earth) from the Nahuan invaders.

Before he was granted directing duties on GMK, director Shusuke Kaneko cut his teeth on a trilogy of movies in the 1990’s featuring Godzilla’s main cinematic rival, Gamera. Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, Gamera 2: Legion, and Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris tell the story of a turtle-esque kaiju created by an ancient civilization who serves as a guardian of Earth against a series of giant monsters. This depiction of Gamera was a big influence on the way Quetzalcoatl is written in COTG. Both kaiju occupy a similar position in the spectrum of villainous destruction (Say GMK Godzilla or Shin Godzilla) to mindless animal (1998 Godzilla) to antihero (Legendary Godzilla) to cuddly pal (Showa Gamera and late Showa Godzilla). Both kaiju are tough-as-nails brawlers who are reluctant defenders of humanity or at least the Earth. I also just love these movies and think they are among the best in the genre.

Another notable entry in the genre was 2008's Cloverfield a rare "found footage" kaiju movie. This American feature film gives the audience a full first-person perspective on a giant monster attack. The horror and immediacy of the movie was certainly something I had in mind when I was writing COTG, specifically the scenes of Eddie on the ground during Coatlicue's attack on the city.

A few years after the release of City of the Gods the landmark kaiju-versus-mecha epic Pacific Rim was released. The movie was directed by Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro (also my fantasy pick for directing duties on a prospective COTG film, if anyone cares) who is no stranger to genre films (a couple  of them have been featured on Monster Movie of the Week). While there is not too much in common plotwise between City of the Gods and Pacific Rim (other than a similar kaiju birth scene) but I'm intrigued by the film's reputation. It has been called alternately the "smartest dumb movie ever made" and the "dumbest smart movie ever made," which is backhanded praise but speaks to how we look at this genre and the contradictions inherent in an auteur like del Toro making a "silly monster versus robot" movie that takes itself less than seriously. The result is an often ridiculous film made with a lot of meticulous attention to detail and artistry that you don't often see in the genre, which are often made by talented journeymen directors. I like to think that mix of silliness and thoughtfulness is at play in COTG, which for all its big dumb action set pieces, has a distinct point-point-of-view and things to say about the world and history.

Shin Godzilla, 2016

A lot of Godzilla movies in the twenty-first century have had a notable vein of seriousness to them. The first of the American movies, 2014's Godzilla is a fairly somber affair in which the kaiju action largely takes a backseat to the human drama. The Japanese series relaunched in 2016 with Shin Godzilla, a new take on Godzilla that is more grounded and scarier than traditional Godzilla fare. Like Shin Godzilla, City of the Gods also spends some time with the leaders on the ground, their logistical challenges, and their fraught relationships with the United States. While the American movies went into a more action-oriented and fun direction, the Japanese films doubled down on human drama in the acclaimed and Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One, which is nothing short of a post-war drama set wrapped around a kaiju movie.

Thankfully the addition of King Kong to the Legendary movies, starting with his own movie 2017's Kong: Skull Island, has reintroduced an element of levity to the franchise. Both Godzilla v. Kong and Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire are incredibly fun examples of the genre featuring unexpected humor, great characterization, and sometimes surprising action.

Patrick Garone

Monster Movie of the Week: Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris (1999)

GAMERA: REVENGE OF IRIS (1999)

aka Gamera 3,

Gamera: The Awakening of Irys

Gamera: The Incomplete Struggle

Director: Shusuke Kaneko

Genre: Kaiju Eiga

THE MOVIE

Japanese director Shusuke Kaneko is the modern master of the kaiju eiga genre. With Gamera: Revenge of Iris, he surpasses the high benchmark he had set in the great Gamera: Attack of Legion. In the twisted destinies of the Gamera and Godzilla franchises he manages to make a movie that is far superior not only to any Heisei Godzilla movie but possibly to any Godzilla movie up until that time. This is ironic for several reasons. First, Gamera was created as a cheap Godzilla knock off with a reputation for poorly produced kid-oriented movies (although the Godzilla movies would eventually embrace this more profitable approach in the 1960’s). So the fact that a modern Gamera series would be relaunched which employed modern near-Hollywood quality special effects at a time when the Godzilla series gave us such non-classics as Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla was a serious challenge to the always competitive Toho Studios. I personally believe that the success, acclaim and quality of the ‘90’s Gamera movies as well as the horrible reception of the American Godzilla movie both led directly to Toho’s decision to bring the Godzilla series back in 1999 and they informed the kinds of movies that we saw in the the Millenium Series.

Secondly, Shusuke Kaneko is a lifelong fan of Godzilla and never particularly cared for the old Gamera movies. He had lobbied in the early 1990’s to direct a Godzilla movie and was declined. After the success of the Gamera movies, he was finally given his chance to take on Godzilla and gave us the great Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack, which many consider to be the finest Godzilla movie to date and, like Gamera 3, is a certain contender for best kaiju film of all time.

Iris takes place a few years after Legion and features some returning characters from Gamera: Guardian of the Universe as well as some new characters. Mayumi Nagamine, the ornithologist from the first movie returns as do the giant Gyaos monsters which are popping up with increasing frequency around the world. The movie also introduces us to Ayana, a young girl whose parents were killed during the battle between Gamera and Gyaos in the first movie and who also harbors a deep hatred of Gamera because of this. This is an interesting storyline as it puts a face on the all of the people that are killed off screen during a kaiju battle. One of the things that this movie does very well is remind us that even though Gamera may be “heroic," he is still a monster and he causes a great deal of death and destruction where ever he goes. Ayana eventually comes across a mystical Japanese artifact that hatches into a strange creature that she names Iris, after her cat that was along with her parents. Iris grows into a giant monster that Ayana raises to battle Gamera, developing a dark version of the bond shared by Gamera and Asagi from the previous movies.

Gamera 3 is a millennial movie and like many movies made in the late ‘90’s , there is a feeling that the world is out of balance and that disaster is just around the corner. This aspect of the movie is not developed as much as I would like and raises more questions than is satisfactorily answers. For example, early in the movie a submarine discovers a graveyard of fossilized Gameras on the seafloor. This is a really striking image but what does it really mean, other than that the ancients created “beta versions” as one character explains. The return of the Gyaos seems to be related to environmental collapse (as determined by a “game” run on a Sega Dreamcast of all things) and somehow this is related to Japan’s consumption of “mana.” Maybe one day we'll get a sequel trilogy that addresses some of these plot issues.

THE MONSTERS/EFFECTS

Gamera gets a slight redesign here continuing the trend of making him darker and meaner looking. Compared to the relatively cuddly costume from Guardian, this Gamera has lots ridges frills and dangerous bits. He really looks good in this movie.

There is even a special “Nightmare Gamera” that is featured a couple of times in this movie when Ayana flashes back to when her parents were killed we see what Gamera looks like in her memories and we see a version of the character that is even dark, white-eyed and evil looking. This Gamera is a visual cousin to the Godzilla featured in Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah.

Iris, is a bit of a mixed bag. The final form of Iris is an anthropomorphic collection of biomechanical blades and tentacles. My biggest complaint is that Iris lacks a real “face” with eyes we can identify with. However, he is a striking monster particularly when it is able to take flight on membranous wings.

The Gyaos get a great makeover in this movie and their flying scenes are done digitally and they look amazing (no more Rodanitis.) One thing that the movie really succeeds at is unobtrusively using CGI to supplement the suitmation effects, which is something Toho has historically been shy about (or possibly cheap about) in their Godzilla movies, insisting on exclusively using the old techniques to bring their characters to life.

MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE

Gamera battles a pair of Gyaos in and above Tokyo’s Shibuya district. This is perhaps the greatest and most exciting kaiju action sequence ever, probably rivaled only by Rodan’s attack on New York in Godzilla Final Wars.

HOME VIDEO AVAILABILITY

No too hard to get. You can get it individually or in a three pack. There are some good interviews and stuff on the DVD, including some scenes from the movie redubbed for comic effect.

Gamera 3 has also been recently released on Bluray. Unfortunately, it is being treated as a budget release and has not been restored or cleaned up for its HD release and the image quality is only marginally better than the DVD release. On the up-side, you can get the whole trilogy on Bluray for less than $15 on Amazon.

SEQUELS

This movie ended the Heisei cycle of Gamera movies. Gamera: The Brave was released in 2006 and brings the series back to its roots in a pretty solid kids movie.

SEE ALSO

Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack (2001)

Patrick Garone
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Author of City of the Gods: The Return of Quetzalcoatl