Gamera gets a bad rap in terms of movie monsters, particularly in the original run. I can't imagine why... but maybe it's something about all the cheaply produced sequels. Or the way they're aimed squarely at children. Or the dozens of videos and images available, mocking everything from the theme tune to his acrobatic antics. But surely the debut film avoids a lot of this at least? Well yes and no. This is a more sombre and destructive monster movie overall, but it does have a few questionable inclusions that stop it from being a true classic. But let's take things back to the start, to the Cold War, to a time before flying turtles shot across the big screen.
The first act of the film is pretty dark, as a team of Japanese scientists working in the arctic witness a flight of experimental planes overhead. The event that causes Gamera to be disturbed in his icy tomb is the ever present threat of nuclear weapons. It's not clear which world power is responsible, but since the American forces nearby take action against the aircraft it doesn't take much deduction. Like Godzilla this is a film taking inspiration from The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, but with less tact. The frozen monster scenario is very familiar, and its arrival in Japan even has a lighthouse destruction set piece. But despite the low budget making this feel like a movie from the 1950s, it does have a good pace and fairly gritty tone, at least during the opening.
Gamera as a creature is pretty interesting, mixing giant turtle mythology and fire breathing monster tropes. The tribe who meet the science team early on pass them an ancient stone tablet, linking similar animals to prehistoric times. They even suggest that this was a period in history when the continent of Atlantis stretched into the region, giving it a fantasy element. This never comes up again for some reason, and it's a shame that they didn't do more with the idea. A bit of archaeology or ancient history research might have been a good way to reveal plot information. However, the narrative relies on the usual reactive characters who seem clueless until they've seen enough devastation.
The special effects showcasing this are nothing special, but they do have the sense to build slowly and shoot the monster moving about at night. There's also a mystery UFO effect, which seems to be partly animated, that looks really interesting. The opening credits that show close-ups of Gamera's scales are pretty effective too, and all the sequences where he smashes power stations and city blocks are detailed enough. But it's not a great costume, and from some angles the whole thing just looks ridiculous standing on two legs, particularly in overheard shots. The choice to use a practical fire breath effect isn't bad, but it does result in a few dodgy moments where the gas line is visible. For the most part it's a suitably aggressive design at least, and they do a reasonable job at portraying his wrath.
However it's not all monster mayhem fun, and this first film does set a few bad precedents. Like most of the sequels in this period the story introduces a baseball cap wearing child. In this case it's Toshio, a boy obsessed with turtles. What else? After his sister makes him release his latest pet he sees Gamera rise from the ocean, and believes that the animal has transformed. If the lighthouse destruction had at least injured him it might have been able to maintain the darker tone. But instead, the in the first movie misstep, Gamera catches Toshio as he falls. Why smash the building then rescue this one victim? I have no idea. Everyone else gets crushed to death or incinerated so it's an incredibly odd moment.
As things go on Toshio becomes more grating, trying to tell military officials not to fire at Gamera and later declaring he's not a bad monster. While the city is razed to the ground outside the window... It's not as terrible as later entries in the series, when boy-scouts travel with Gamera under the sea or to other planets... but it's not exactly great. They could have used the screen time to do... well anything else with other characters. Instead he repeatedly puts himself in harms way, and acts like a mindless brat way too often. It's a strange choice. In some ways this is at least different to the usual scientific debates and stiff romantic relationships, but it feels at odds with the general atmosphere of the story.
Overall it's a weird movie to say the least. It uses a lot of tried and tested elements while including some of its own. Everyone knows that Gamera's secret weapon is jet powered flight for whatever reason. But it might have proven a surprise to first time viewers when he's flipped on his back by explosives, and the onlookers think it's all over. The finale in which the government's 'Z Plan' comes to fruition is just as amusing, but I won't spoil it here since the film also treats it like a big secret the whole time. The ending is one of the best weird moments, which kind of sums up the experience. It's full of strange and interesting choices, but feels a bit scattershot and badly planned at times. But in the end it's an original that needs to be seen.
3/5
BONUS REVIEW
GAMERA GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE (1996)
With Godzilla apparently dead at the end of the '90s series it was decided that Gamera should also get a Heisei era comeback, and wow what a difference a few decades make. The giant turtle might now have weirdly cute human eyes, but his makeover is incredibly effective and for the most part the special effects are much better. Admittedly the CGI fireball breathe is pretty janky looking and the compositing for the flight scenes can be even worse at times, but overall this is a vast improvement. Even the new score is both bombastic and grandiose, while Gamera's recurring enemy Gyaos is now a gross prehistoric monster with a taste for human flesh.
The story itself is less compelling, but basically they've taken the whole Atlantis thing to another level. Both starring creatures are reimagined as ancient weapons of some kind. The details are pretty fuzzy to say the least, but it's an attempt at making all the monster mayhem a larger story about ancient civilisations. Does this translate into a deeper tale about the folly of mankind's ambitions? Well not exactly. But these fantasy elements were missing in the original film and they're finally expanded on here. It's not a wholly logical story as the military tries to capture the vicious pterodactyls for science while bombing poor old Gamera. Maybe there's also something about short sighted intellectuals in the narrative somewhere, but it might be a stretch.
Elsewhere the team who discovered Gamera's resting place (this time inside a giant floating atoll) collect a lot of strange sacred relics from what they think is just an island. But instead of researching them they just put them all in a box and leave one with a teenager... who develops a psychic link to the big guy. It's not really telepathy and how she's injured when Gamera is hurt isn't consistent... I don't know. But at least it's not another unbearable kid in short pants. The characters are likeable overall, but the plot is often lacking clarity and focus where the humans are concerned. Gamera on the other hand needs to kill Gyaos as he was destined to, which is effective enough. There are some issues here, but this is another still a must see for suit-mation fans.
3/5
