Gamera: The Giant Monster (1965)

“Gamera’s a good turtle!”

I’ve seen a few Godzilla films by now. so here’s a look at the first film in what for a time was a rival franchise. First impressions are that it’s, well, very silly indeed.

I mean that in the sense, in fact, of being far sillier than the Godzilla and related films. We have a giant turtle in the Arctic, revived by an atomic bomb from a mysterious plane, which can fly and looks like a UFO while doing so. We have earlier scenes featuring American airmen which contain possibly the worst acting in recorded history. We have a turtle obsessed kid who is upset at the very thought that this giant turtle might do bad things like, destroy Tokyo.

Speaking of which, the effects are very good, quite on a par with the other franchise, and the set pieces of Gamera destroying Tokyo are actually very good indeed. It’s nice to see the early appearance of the main monster, too, and just how much screen time it gets. Also good is that the film doesn’t attempt to outstay its welcome, and the very small amount of drama between the human characters is kept to a necessary minimum. More importantly, though, Gamera himself is well designed and works as a monster. Overall, while it looks as good, this is not so assured a production as its rival, but it’s a fun little monster film that’s just the right kind of silly.