In this outing, our colossal, jet-powered guardian-turtle has to deal with both a giant, knife-headed advisory and a pair of brain-eating space-babes. Briefly, two boys sneak onto a flying saucer that takes them to a 'counter Earth' (a planet orbiting unseen on the other side of the sun) inhabited by Barbella and Florbella, the two sexy, silver-clad aliens, their enslaved monster Guiron, and a host of 'space-Gyaos' (similar to the one that attacked Earth in 1967's "Return of the Giant Monsters"). The women, ostensibly kindly and courteous hosts, turn out to be evil and only Gamera can save the two boys (and perhaps all of humankind) from consumption. The movie is a budget concoction, with time-filling clips from previous films (as the girls study the boys' memories for weaknesses) and all of the kaiju 'action' taking place on a single, inexpensive looking 'alien world' set. Like most of the original Gamera films, kids are the target audience but the movie has a surprisingly brutal edge. The opening battle between Guiron and one of the Gyaos ends with the flying monster being dismembered while still alive (this scene seems to be commonly edited out: it is not on my DVD or on the free on-line versions I checked, and I don't remember it from way back when I watched this movie on TV, but its purple-gruesomeness can be found on You-tube). There is also a scene where one of the boys has his head shaved in preparation for cutting open his skull to get at his brain (stopped just in time) and numerous shots of a wounded Gamera bleeding. The special effects vary in effectiveness. The scenes on the alien planet and in the spacegirls' base are imaginative examples of budget-tokusatsu, with 'teleportation' booths and a surreal backdrop, but the monster brawls are simplistic and silly (relatively speaking), with one scene of Gamera doing a number of rotations around a 'high bar' before proudly sticking the landing in front of a bemused Guiron. I watched dubbed version that was an odd of mix of (sort of) scientifically correct (it would take a many years for an Apollo spacecraft to get to another star) to ridiculously wrong (the boys, both amateur astronomers, mix up 'star' and 'planet'). In addition to the aliens and the boys, we get a little sister continuously pouting because no one will believe her about the UFO, a comic-relief cop, and the boys' mothers, one of whom keeps offering amateur child-rearing psychology. The story is pretty typical of the first generation Gamera films and the movie is on par with the rest of the series, so if you liked the towering turtle's earlier adventures, you'll probably enjoy this one as well (but try to find an edgy, uncensored version for maximum impact).
Review of Gamera vs. Guiron
