AKA Frankenstein’s Monsters: Sanda vs. Gaira. In the grand scheme of things this is a minor foot note in the Toho back catalogue; a weird pseudo sequel without any big name monsters. Sure it says 'Frankenstein' up there, but how it actually works as a follow up to Frankenstein vs Baragon is never clear since the idea of a direct follow up was dropped somewhere during production. There are only a few vague hints this is a continuation of a previous story but nothing solid is ever set out. Like Godzilla being resurrected through lighting in Ebirah or King Kong gaining electrical powers it's a weird situation, and that's without going into all the strange titles these films were given for the German market. But as ever it's not really that important as the results are fun anyway.
If you pay attention in any way things get confusing fast, so don't watch too closely. In the original language version you can clearly make out the Japanese actors saying that the creatures are 'Frankensteins' for some reason, but all the flashbacks used are obviously new footage and the cast is different. Even disregarding the usual monster and creator naming error they're clearly beast-like and covered in hair, rather than anything resembling a reanimated corpse. The gigantic size remains although that didn't really make sense in the previous movie either. Perhaps they just couldn't decide on what the story should be or there was a dispute between film makers at Toho, but at least the results are still entertaining.
After a disaster at sea human remains are found amongst the pieces of a ship wreck. It seems that a large creature is on the loose, and it emerges from the water without warning to feed on nearby people. At first a peaceful giant living on a secluded mountainside is blamed, but after some debate it's discovered that a similar sea dwelling relative of the monster is the problem. The slimy Gaira is an evil reflection of the furrier and (only slightly) less ugly, Sanda who is a more docile and sympathetic character. Sanda also has some connection with the female lead, but again this is something that is hinted at as being part of the previous story which doesn't really add up.
However as noted the flash backs are clearly not scenes from the last film, even when the differences between subtitles and dubbed audio can confuse matters. In the end the plot details are not important, the audience is here to see the kaiju wrestling spectacle, and Tokyo's destruction at the hands of a new pair of monsters. The reasons given for these two creatures of opposing temperaments don't make a lot of sense and are rooted in the usual kind of vague science fiction dialogue. One is gentle and earthbound, even if his last incarnation suffered at the hands of humanity. The other has been mutated in the sea from the cells of his 'brother' giving him a weakness to daylight, a weird green colouring, and a taste for human flesh. But whatever the reasons their contrasting personalities work.
Eventually of course there's a lot of monster suit action as the two face off. The costumes are rather messy, being covered with hair (and seaweed) in comparison to Ishiro Honda's more iconic non-human style creatures, but these sequences are consistently entertaining. There are some fun battles across the countryside as well as plenty of cityscape destruction. It's a shame then that the ending is far too convenient, with a repeat of that whole volcano finale suddenly cutting the action short. It seems like the established 'sea shore finale' was firmly in place to avoid definitively killing off any one creature. However while Godzilla could always just be asleep under water until next time, in this case there was never a second sequel.
On a technical level elsewhere all the miniature work is up to the usual intricate standard. To spice things up this is the film that introduced vehicles carrying the recurring 'mazer' beam weapons which appear in the typically ineffective military attack scenes. Tonally there are also a few interesting shifts, and the evil brother Gaira gets involved in some surprisingly grim moments along the way. His appetite for blood causes problems when Sanda, having saved his twin from an army trap realises why they wanted to destroy him. It's a classic moment as you see what he's thinking before preparing to give him a beating with a tree trunk. Despite all the make-up and the costume designs the actors manage to give the characters a lot of personality.
It's odd that this film is often sold merely as a second feature on releases of Ishiro Honda's more famous monster movie Rodan. I've never been sure where the popularity for this one comes or why it gets so many appearances alongside Godzilla in better movies like Ghidora the Three Headed Monster. I guess the inclusion of dinosaurs on film just has a kind of everlasting appeal, and I have to admit as a double bill it's a fun package overall. If only the two mutant siblings got more screen time beyond some stock footage in the Godzilla Millennium series, I would have liked to see more of them.
3/5
BONUS REVIEW
YONGARY (1967)
AKA Yongary: Monster from the Deep. Part two of our feature is Yongary (sometimes Yonngary) a Korean effort probably best described as ... endearing. It's cartoonish, it's made on a shoe-string budget, and there are lots of peculiar moments. The monster design looks like a lot of the creatures you see in the original Gamera series, with big glowing eyes. I even breathes fire and eats fuel like the big turtle himself, and it has a horn that shoots beams identical to the kind used by Gamera villain Gyaos. Much like Daiei's franchise, the attempts at a rival to Godzilla were clearly a case of ambition clashing with financial backing. Making this a rip off of a cash in?
Uh...
Other similarities include a familiar baseball-cap wearing child determined to show everyone that the monster isn't a bad guy. In this case you can kind of see his point during a weird moment where the creature starts dancing to rock 'n' roll music. Why is this? Where's the music coming from? I have no idea. In terms of a broader comparison, the big screen destruction scenes are very cheap next to other contemporary releases. There's a lot of visible cardboard and you can clearly see the gas tube in Yongary's mouth used to create his fire breathe.
The film itself is pretty generic, as an atomic bomb test (of rather vague origins) causes a strange earthquake which is recorded moving towards Korea. Early on there's a space program launch where they go through a lengthy launch sequence just to do some aerial reconnaissance and check out the disturbance. Maybe they don't have standard satellites and need a special rocket mission to take pictures? This outer space subplot is completely dropped afterwards, but of course at the epicentre is a large creature that soon wreaks havoc on Seoul's landmarks. Supposedly this is similar to a folk tale about a creature living deep underground, but I've no idea if that's true.
Framing all of this there's also the storyline about the young boy and his scientist friend. He's just finished his latest invention - some kind of flash light that makes people get itchy when you shine it on them. Again ... this is weird stuff that I have trouble explaining. This is in a movie. Later of course he will have to prove he can invent something useful during the efforts to stop the creature, but unlike Monster Zero his earlier invention doesn't really have any bearing on the plan.
Elsewhere there's also a thread about the kid's older sister getting married, which is convenient as the groom is the astronaut from earlier. This isn't exactly edge of your seat stuff and it just serves to neatly tie everything together with an eventual 'science saves the day' type ending. There are a couple of interesting scenes during all the city destruction as the young boy hides in the sewers, if only he was there for reasons that made any sense. As ever he's just a brat and the suspense is diminished.
As things progress the monster has to search for food by breaking into an industrial store, and its weakness to ammonia is discovered. Learning this the gang devise their master plan... to just bomb the creature with various concentrations until it dies. Honestly this part is kind of creepy as everyone cheers and grins while the poor thing tries to rub off the toxic mixtures. Then Yongary just collapses and bleeds to death. It's not often you get blood in these types of movies that isn't green or blue, at least in this era. It's... awkward, but I guess that kinds of sums up the whole thing. It's harmless enough but there are too many bizarre moments, and it will often test your patience with bad comedy and weird characters.
2/5
