(aka, Gappa; Monster from a Prehistoric Planet)
It’s amazing. I know I watched this movie. It couldn’t have been that long ago.
And yet I can barely recognize any of it.
I’ve been trying to go back and revisit many of the classic Kaiju Eiga films in their original, uncut Japanese form, so I knew I would have to take another look at Gappa when I stumbled across a subtitled Japanese copy of the film on Youtube.
That may seem like a weird film nerd quirk to you, but it probably would surprise you if you saw how much of a difference this can make in the Kaiju films of this era: the distributors edited them heavily for the American Market, often making dramatic changes in the plot or eliminating some rather obvious anti-American biases.
Gappa is nearly forgotten these days, although it still pops up on bargain bin videos now and then under the title Monster from a Prehistoric Planet. It has the curious distinction of being the only Kaiju movie made by Nikkatsu studios, at the time when two powerhouse studios, Toho and Daiei, dominated the market for giant rubbery monsters.
Nikkatsu is better remembered for its so-called “borderless action” films, for starting Seijun Suzuki’s directing career, for lots of youth, gangster and action films, and for its later turn to pornographic “pinku” films. But you can understand why they tried to get into a lucrative new market.
But it is apparent that they simply did not have the resources or knowhow to compete with the big boys. The detail on the models is very soft, and some of the technical work — like a scene where they added incoming flood waters to a composite shot with a model and people on a real street using an optical effect — is absurdly obvious. The creatures themselves aren’t too bad, if, again, a bit soft on detail, but they just don’t have Godzilla’s strong personality.
Now most reviewers will point out that the plot is very similar to that of the British Giant Monster film, Gorgo (1961) as there is a big monster trying to come to the rescue of its baby.
Well, two monsters this time around. But the basic idea is the same.
However, this isn’t the only Kaiju movie they’ve “borrowed” from: the whole notion of a company sending an expedition to a tropical island to promote a major project came straight out of King Kong vs. Godzilla [Kingu Kongu tai Gojira] (1962), and they even repeat the scene with Kong being airlifted to his big match off with Godzilla. Only this time, it is two blimp-like barrage balloons towed by helicopters holding Gappa up, and not all the little balloons they used for Kong. We also have call backs to Mothra, with the Westerners carrying away the creature the natives worship, and it is really hard to miss that Gappa looks remarkably like Rodan.
But they are trying awfully hard here, and Gappa is a fun little Kaiju Eiga film, despite its weaknesses and copycat nature. I was particularly struck by one shot, for example, where we see the (fake looking) wave sweeping towards a model dock lined on both sides with what look like toy boats, and a group of people running for safety down the dock. It is one of those memorably framed shots and it really stands out — even though it is so obviously fake and unreal.
And you can see quite a few moments like that, where the idea is better than their ability to carry it off.
Even if they’d had a bit more money, I really doubt if Gappa would have been as good as Toho’s Kaiju movies, but I really see a lot of potential here: the story isn’t too bad, even if largely familiar; the effects are a bit inept, but show signs of how much better they might have been if they had Toho’s expertise.
It really is a shame that Nikkatsu never tried again. But then, the studio nearly went bankrupt not that long afterwards, and even though Gappa was clearly a fairly modest production, it still must have cost quite a bit.
You can label it as a goofy guilty pleasure, as one of those films that’s just for kids, or as a bit of dumb fun.
Or you can grumble that it just isn’t as good as Godzilla or Gamera and miss out on an entertaining minor effort.
I know which one I would choose…
rivets on the poster 