The Great Buddha Arrival

The Great Buddha: Arrival is only about an hour long, so I can keep this brief. It's a sort-of remake, sort-of sequel to a film that's since been lost to time: a 1934 fantasy and/or horror movie that might stand as the first true kaiju movie. It would of course be amazing to see that if it still existed, but unlike other times where lost films have been found, this one seems unlikely, given it was apparently destroyed during World War Two (another way that war sucks, beyond the more obvious reasons).

This film is an interesting enough experiment, but I do think its existence is more impressive than the execution. It has a strange narrative that did at least subvert what I was expecting, going in. It plays out in a way that blends old and new, and while I don't think it was as clear or expertly put together as it could've been, it was at least engaging and unique. It also clearly looked like it was made on a very low budget, and so given its limitations, it came together pretty well, and should be of interest to kaiju movie fans.