DanTheMan 2
AIP Version
The story of a Kaiju with Seoul. Yongary, Monster from the Deep has been on my radar for a while, the infamous South Korean kaiju flick where the original version has long since gone. Produced to replicate and rival the success of the Kaiju boom that Godzilla had created, and similar in tone to Godzilla, Yongary is a film that captures the Korean's fears of the Korean War restarting living in constant fear of a reignited conflict.
As a family celebrates the wedding of an astronaut, the groom receives a call on his wedding night that he is needed for a reconnaissance flight during which he observes a nuclear test that triggers an earthquake in Korea. Strangely, the quake's epicentre keeps moving towards Seoul. A photographer who was documenting the moving temblor's damage notifies authorities that its cause is a gigantic underground creature making its way toward Seoul. Martial law is declared. As the creature, Yongary emerges, it begins to wreak havoc on the city.
Directed by Kim Kee-duk, known for his use of subversive and social issue tackling films, he was looking for a new genre to tackle that allowed him to be more politically palatable and his inspiration came in the form of Godzilla. The film's direction is nothing special, charming but very rough around the edges. Flat in conjunction with an obsession for Dutch angles and coupled with the very stark comparative shots of the model work they tend to stick out poorly.
Speaking of the model work, this one makes even the poorer Showa Godzilla and Gamera films look godlike by comparison. It's clear South Korea didn't have the equivalent of Eiji Tsuburaya even going as far as to bring Japanese effects artists over to work on the film. There's heaps wrong but given the budget you can kind of forgive it, Yongary himself is never fully in shot, cockpit shots of fighter aircraft have stationary backgrounds and the poor blending of the actors with the miniature sets, the list is nearly endless. There's little attempt to hide the secrets to the craft. But it carries with it an unshakable charm in its attempt to rival Godzilla but with a budget nowhere near Toho Studios.
The name "Yonggary" is a combination of two Korean words: "Yong" (meaning dragon) and "gari" (derived from Bulgasari), he was crafted by Masao Yagi, the man behind the original Gamera suit two years prior. He's a great looking creation but he's shot in the most unflattering of manners but possesses a charming little personality which shines through in many moments but equally emulates way too many of Gamera's quirks; be it being birthed by an atomic blast of a foreign power, breathing flames, consuming oil refineries or befriending the most unlikable of children.
As a Japanese and Korean co-production, a lot of Yongary actually borders on illegal. The South Korean government banned all Japanese cultural products following the Japanese occupation of Korea. And yet, not only was Kim Kee-duk cloning a fundamentally Japanese movie genre but also hiring Japanese technicians to work on the film. Even when making a quote on quote, kiddy film, the man couldn't help but be subversive. The film isn't without its political subtext, Yongary first appears in Panmunjom, the same location where the Korean Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953, symbolically resuming the fight. Yongary even cathartically destroys remnants of Japanese colonialism, like the former capital building, yet mercifully and conspicuously spares Korean historical landmarks.
Overall, in spite of Yongary's familiar appearance to Kaiju fans, he's no mere rip-off, he's a cultural ambassador. But his film itself is very much give or take.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/23/23
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Monsol E
Another Zilla-like. The story and characters are STIFF, & the monster is kinda lame, although he does boogie to some surf-rock. The best thing about this was the nice mini-city sets.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
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delysid d
typically insane 60s kaiju movie. not bad
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
05/17/20
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Audience Member
Not the worst I have seen. The "dancing" monster scene was weird, but overall it was pretty bad.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
01/15/23
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Audience Member
This is the most inspirational film ever made. Jesus loves this film!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/09/23
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Audience Member
Not a Japanese monster film, but a Korean monster picture. An earthquake turns out to be caused by a giant monster, Yongary. The monster is fueled by eating gasoline and then goes on a rampage threatening Seoul. As cheesy as the Godzilla films are, I'm not sure i appreciated them enough and how true bad they could have been until I saw this film. In this film, the costume looks terrible, with the jaw being the only articulated piece (the eyes move). You can see a pipe in the monsters mouth when it breaths fire. The monster also seemed to destroy the same mountainside set for the entire film. Oh, and there is one scene where the monster dances with a little boy. I suppose the one thing this film has going for it, is that it's almost continuous monster actions and not a lot of the puny humans talking about how to stop the monster. However, the film is just stupid.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
Full Review
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