Gamera gegen Zigra - Frankensteins Weltraumbestie schlägt zu

After Gamera vs. Jiger this one is a definite upgrade to the level of previous Gamera movies. A real charmer, Gamera vs. Zigra features an alien who controls humans with hypnosis to get what it really wants. The plot runs into two children, the girl, Helen, who, with her older sister Maggie, appears to be bi-racial, and Kennie, who have a psychic link to Gamera. Avoid the non-Japanese print, this one is beautifully shot in wide-screen that is completely lost in the t.v. cut version. Also, the acting is much more restrained than the horrible dubbing would have you believe. It's sort of the ultimate expression of the Gamera idea. Gamera: it can never be said that he fails to get the job done when he racks up another impressive victory over a monster, here Zigra, who is creepy on the space ship (including cobwebs) but out of the ship (and full size) is more attractive than Gamera's other adversaries.

Possibly one of the earliest attempts at cinematic product placement.

Ahh, Gamera. Zigra. Giant Turtle. Giant Fish. Fire. Hypnosis beams. I guess the pleasure from these classic japanese monster films is watching a world, or mostly Japan, where giant mutant monsters exist, children know much much more than the adults, and cities are crushed as easily as cheesy models...oh wait, they are models. Anyway, UFO comes to Japan. The main brats Kenny and Helen (will someone get her a coke already!!) go on zany trying to prevent Zigra and his scantily clad henchwoman (VA-VOOM!) from trying to take over earth. The Zigra woman has the ability to hypnotize people with a simple snap and she must follow Zigra's orders to kill the children who mysteriously manage to survive again and again (duh). People yell AH!!, Gamera shows up, Zigra blows stuff up, a lot of paint...uh blood is spilled, I think there were dolphins, and lots of subplots to keep virtually anyone watching perplexed. Also, the diabolically catchy Gamera song is sung here. Add this all up for a huge laughs and best seen with Joel and da bots (HEY, THAT'S US!!).

Gamera vs. Zigra (1971) is a movie that I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows an alien race known as Zigra who have evaluated the Earths surface and feel it's perfect for them to take over. They plan to live under water and use the humans as food. When Gamera comes to the rescue the Zigra unleash their giant shark to stop him and complete their mission.

This movie is directed by Noriaki Yuasa (Gamera: The Giant Monster) and stars Kôji Fujiyama (Bullet Train), Mikiko Tsubouchi (Zatoichi Challenged), Yoshio Yoshida (Zatoichi on the Road) and Reiko Kasahara (Shogun Assassin).

Gamera always looks like a plastic toy in these movies. The sound effects for the monsters are cool and the monster battles are a lot of fun. The kids and soundtrack are a bit cheesy and these tales always seem to work in a point about being good to nature. There were some flame sequences in here that were solid. The final monster battle was more entertaining than good.

Overall, this is a below average addition to the monster genre that's still worth watching once. I would score this a 3.5/10.

1971's "Gamera vs. Zigra" was the last (no 7), and by far least, of Daiei's original Gamera series, eventually making the television rounds in the US over 15 years after the company went bankrupt (the other six all showed up on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater). With yet another batch of annoying children, and adults who behave just as badly, it's up to series veteran Reiko Kasahara to maintain intrigue, even if she has to run around in a fetching bikini! She had previously appeared in "Gamera vs. Gaos" (no. 3) and "Gamera vs. Guiron" (no. 5), the latter as one of the two alien women desiring to devour the children's brains (not that that could make them any smarter). Zigra is revealed as a kind of shark usually found in the deeper waters off Japan, but Gamera is just laughable. The previous color sequels, apart from "Gamera vs. Viras," had some merit, but this one has absolutely none, dumb characters coupled with dumber monsters.

An unconvincing model moon base is blasted by a spaceship (which looks like the crown of The Statue of Liberty has collided with a giant liquorice allsort); the spaceship proceeds to Earth and lands in the sea. On board the craft: a hot Japanese woman (Eiko Yanami) under the control of Zigra, an alien goblin shark/swordfish who causes massive earthquakes (that occur off-screen to stay within budget) in order to force the human race to surrender its oceans. Gamera isn't about to let that happen and steps in to sort out the uppity fish, but when the titanic turtle destroys the spaceship, Zigra grows to massive proportions...

If it wasn't for the presence of yummy Eiko Yanami, who cavorts in a sexy space outfit, a bikini, and a mini-skirt, I would have dozed off during this one: it's easily the worst of the Gamera films thus far, with a hum-drum seen-it-all-before plot, annoying kids, and very little in the way of monster action. Much of the film acts as an advertisement for Kamogawa Sea World, and we're treated to performing killer whales and seals. Meanwhile, Gamera spends a lot of the time face down in the sea, having been zapped by Zigra, and is only revived by a lightning bolt for the finalé, in which he teaches Zigra a lesson by playing his dorsal spines like a xylophone before barbecuing him.

2.5/10, generously rounded up to 3 for the salient environmental message: keep the oceans clean!