When a three treasure hunters accidentally unleash the mythical beast Barugon, Gamera returns to Earth to battle the terrible monster, but has Gamera returned to save Japan from a terrible evil, or is he an even greater threat than Barugon?
Wow, those Altoids are curiously strong... This movie goes completely against the grain of your stereotypical “Showa” era Gamera film. Not one short-shorts wearing “Kenny” anywhere to be found. I will go out on a limb and say that this is the best of the “Showa” era Gamera films, but to be perfectly honest, I’m not the biggest fan. The movie is fairly well done, but it just doesn’t have the goofy charm that the later movies in this series do. I don’t really like Barugon as a monster. Decent design, but I’m not a big fan of his powers. Can you say, “Rainbow beam?”
Somebody better call Steve Irwin, I think that this little guy is going to cause some problems... My biggest complaint however, would be the lack of Gamera in the film. He only has about 15 minutes of screen time in this movie. The rest of the time he is either frozen solid or munching on a volcano somewhere.
-Derek Miller
3/11/06
Interesting Facts
- This is the only film from the “Showa” era not to be directed by the late Noriaki Yuasa. He was, however, director of the special effects.
- This was the second of 5 Gamera films to be shown on Mystery Science Theater 3000.
- This was the first Gamera movie to be filmed in color.
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