Gamera contre Gyaos

The world of Gamera has seen this flying turtle battling many different types of creatures and Gaos is a very powerful enemy. Gaos flies and has a supersonic beam of sound that can slice any substance in the world. Gaos has one very bad habit, he likes to chew and feed on people. Gaos has one big weakness, he cannot stand being in the light of the sun. Gamera, our hero does his best to keep Gaos in the morning sun but sadly for us, fails. What can stop such a powerful enemy? Has Gamera finally met his match?

When it came time for him to make "Gamera vs. Gyaos" in 1967, director Noriaki Yuasa's skill with the motion picture camera had vastly improved since his first stab at directing the giant terrapin two years prior. That was one of my chief complaints about the first movie, "Gamera the Giant Monster": I was always aware that it was being directed by a neophyte filmmaker. For the second movie, the marvelously colorful and entertaining "Gamera vs. Barugon," Mr. Yuasa was given command of the special effects crew and this was great practice. Because by film number three, this one, his talents had been buffed up and he was set to make a satiably entertaining low-key monster movie.

In this third entry, a volcanic eruption results in the return of Gamera, who is drawn toward sources of heat and energy, and the awakening of a giant bat-like monster called Gyaos, which begins feeding off the local populations, eventually terrorizing a large city to satiate his hunger. Initially drawn in to defend a young child (Naoyuki Abe), Gamera begins his second war with another giant animal.

"Gamera vs. Gyaos" was given a smaller budget than its immediate predecessor and one can tell examining their qualities. This entry does not have the same brilliant special effects and a fair amount of acting is subpar. But then again, that's also part of the charm. And besides, Mr. Yuasa and screenwriter Nisan Takahashi treat their story with a surprising amount of seriousness. At times, it's downright creepy. Gyaos is one of the more truly evil monsters in the Gamera franchise and it's no surprise that he's been reused in all of the film generations since his debut here. There's a scene where we see him poised over a wrecked train, leering down hungrily upon a crowd of fleeing people, in a shot that is perfectly integrated, and it's rather unnerving.

There were no children shouting "Gamera! Gamera!" in the previous film, but there is one here. However, the young actor, Mr. Abe, has some charisma and he isn't as obnoxious as he potentially could have been. The movie does not focus upon him: he's a supporting character and the dynamic between him and Gamera is not annoying nor insufficient, and it does not create a schizophrenic mishmash when paralleled with the more solemn moments of the movie. The story also has some engaging elements, such as the introductory plot of the road construction officials clashing with stubborn landowners unwilling to give up their leases so than an expressway can be built through their property.

But the stars are the monsters and they are in good form. There are three battles between the two behemoths, each of them satiably lengthy and imaginative. The only big lapses being moments where we get close-ups of Gamera's hands as he claws around for boulders (or young children in peril). Like the previous entry, there is also a fair amount of gore, but Mr. Yuasa's counters by giving Gamera and Gyaos green and purple blood respectively, so that children will not be so affronted. The creatures are also well represented by clever use of low-key special effects and good cinematography, with only one really badly-directed moment where Gyaos is recovering from a battle inside of a cave, at which point the camera angles and contrast between the suit and the miniature set seems rather amateurish.

Although it fails to reach the same height as "Gamera vs. Barugon," the third entry in the original series still manages to hold up well as low-key entertainment. And it is instilled with that wonderful sense of unrestrained imagination that I tend to associate with science-fiction. Even if it is quite silly.

The dubbing for this one is pretty decent, but for some reason everyone pronounces Gamera like Gomorrah. Anyways, it's 1967 and this year "Son of Godzilla" and "Gamera vs. Gyaos" go head to head. Like "Gamera vs. Barugon", the story's focus is on everyday characters in the wake of a crisis. A child does get involved, but not in the overly-campy-pain-in-the-ass way, unlike the next one "Gamera vs. Viras". Now "Son of Godzilla" isn't all bad and I actually enjoy that G-film, but it is one of the more child-friendly ones. This Gamera movie however is for the most part darker than most 60s or 70s Gamera. It's this one where Gamera really becomes the "friend to all children", but he has an awesome opponent: Gyaos. Probably inspired by Rodan, but with a different, sleeker design. Gyaos is a classic kaiju, the only one to reappear in more recent films the 90s and even in the latest movie, "Gamera the Brave".

Gyaos spends a lot of the movie eating innocent people, regenerating lost body parts and blowing up cities, awesome. There's even a scene where he drinks blood. The battles are bloody and quite fun, and the score is nicely done. This is definitely one of the better vintage kaiju movies and one I recommend to fans of classic sci-fi cinema.

I really wish people would stop comparing Gamera & Gojira.I would like to see a movie with Gamera,Giant Robot,The original Ultraman & Gojira team up as the Kaiju version of the fantastic 4.All of these took some serious hits to save mankind from danger.A true Kaiju fan would not put down all films.In this film Gamera gave fans what happens when Monsters really go at it.They were literally trying to kill each other.I thought this was an awesome film.The special effects in this film were very good.The details in this film were good even in the scene where the reporters were trying to get Gyao's picture and he cut the car in half with his sonic beam.The mid air battle over the baseball stadium.Those earthquakes at the beginning of the film.Let's face it for a film made in the 60's this was probably the best Kaiju films in that era.

SPOILER: This silly but enjoyable film begins with an airplane being sliced in half by a ray. Then the ray is revealed belonging to a ray firing, flying, man-eating super vampire monster named Gyaos. But when Gyaos tries to eat a boy named Eiieechi, it's Gamera to the rescue. Gamera saves the boy, but almost gets his hand sliced of by Gyaos's ray. Gamera heals his wounds again and arrives when Gyaos attacks Tokyo. He manages to bite off Gyaos foot but is again hurt in the process. So the foot floats ashore and scares people. Then it is discovered that Gyaos can be hurt by sunlight and will die if exposed to the sun. So they decide to make a spinning fountain of drugged blood and Gyaos will get dissy and drugged and not be able to return to his cave and will die in the sun when it reaches dawn. However, a malfuntion in the mechanism causes the plan to fail. This is a good Gamera adventure with a zany plot and good effects.