Godzilla! Rodan! Gamera! Monster Zero! King Kong! These names bring a sweetness to our smiles whne we see them on the silver screen. The Japanese behemoth monsters have endeared us to them. Okay, so King Kong isn't originally Japanese...but they did coopt him. Then there are a few of these giants that never became household names...perhaps because they never joined the union. Today we look at an obscure, but still epic, Japanese monster film from 1967, "Gappa the Triphibian Monsters," directed by Hiroshi Noguchi.
The PlayMate Corporation is opening a south seas theme park near Tokyo. They send out an expedition team to travel the south seas to explore remote islands and bring back animals to grace the new park. Hiroshi (Tamio Kawaji) is the company man on this vessel. Also with him is the nubile photographer, Itoko (Yoko Yamamoto)..she's a babe and sweet on Hiroshi. A crew member sees glowing eyes under the sea which appear to be following the ship...no one believes him. A volcanic island draws their attentions and the team lands there. The natives are friendly and the crew explores a nearby cave where they witness a giant egg hatch and a big bird/reptile thing is born.
Hiroshi and science professor, Tanooka (Yuji Kodaka) want to cage the thing and bring it back to Japan. Bad move. They each also want the affections of Itoko. The natives are incensed that their god is being stolen. No matter, the volcano destroys the island as soon as the hatchling is taken to sea. Tanooka then makes a mistake. He theorizes the egg was in hibernation for millions of years and the sudden warmth in the cave caused it to hatch. Nope. As the vessel pulls back into Japan, the hatchlings parents...200 foot bird/reptile creatures...awaken and head to Tokyo. They'll destroy much of Tokyo by stomping on it and shooting out laser rays from their beaks. Yes! Now Itoko lets Tanooka and Hiroshi know that she won't have pre-marital sex with them unless they send the baby bird back to its behemoth parents.
In love with two hunks, will Itoko be abducted by papa-monster bird and shown what a real man is like? Will PlayMate Corporation abandon their south seas animal idea and live true to their name and put nubile and scantily clad women on display, instead? Are the beset monster birds a thinly veiled metaphor for the smaller Asian countries and their peoples and their bloody hardships caused by Japanese imperialism? This is a fun one and the monster and destruction effects are quite nice. For a refreshing look at the Japanese monster craze, see "Gappa the Triphibian Monsters."
Many a hidden truth, TOyota and Mishubishi could turn their four wheels into tanks in short notice... come to think of it, their four wheel drives are tanks. thanks mate, for writing these reviews for us...
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