When giant mutant monsters first stomped across Japan, the movies were aimed at an adult audience. They served a warming to the population about the horrors of atomic bombs. Nature could rise up when man doesn’t consider all the consequences of destructive science. After a few movies that played to grown ups, the producers discovered their most loyal audience bought kiddie tickets. Adjustments were made to appeal to their dominate demographic. Young children became spiritual sidekicks to the monsters. They knew what was really happening while the adults bumbled around with their worthless military weapons. Such was the fate for Gamera, the humongous turtle. Gamera Vs. Barugon had cutthroat explorers stealing an opal. No longer would this be a Gamera Vs. Gyaos and Gamera Vs. Viras: Gamera Double Feature brings in the youth element to prove that Gamera is a friend to children.
Gamera Vs. Gyaos (1968 – 86 minutes) opens with scientists and the press going up in a helicopter to see what Gamera is doing at Mount Fuji. The trip goes horribly wrong when a laser fired from below splits it in half, but the laser was not from the giant turtle. What’s lurking in the mountains? On the ground there’s a battle between a crew building an expressway and the local farmers. Little do they know their property is about to become a monster playground. A slimy reporter arrives to find the mysterious laser beam in the woods. He gets a little boy in a baseball cap to guide him to the area. Things go nasty when they go inside a green glowing cave and discover Gyaos. The reporter splits leaving the kid to be monster food. Gyaos is a huge bat-like creature with a flattop head and pointy teeth. He doesn’t quite look like Godzilla’s buddy Rodan although they could be cousins. What hope does the child have with Gyaos in pursuit? A lot since Gamera answers his call for help. The movie brings on the monster stomping as Gamera and Gyaos tear up the country side. The boy with the baseball cap element cropped up in the original Gamera: The Giant Monster, but it isn’t the same character. The big piece of trivia is this film features the first time Gamera bleeds. We also learn that he can regenerate body parts. It’s another prime slice of mutant turtle entertainment.
Gamera Vs. Viras (1968 – 81 minutes) slightly switches things up by offering up alternate headgear to the baseball cap. Instead we get two boy scouts bonding with the turtle. During their big camping trip, the troublesome scouts get control of a mini-submarine. After hanging out underwater with the turtle. the scouts get kidnapped by aliens. The flying saucer looks like a bumblebee. But there’s nothing comical in the UFO’s battle with Gamera. The scouts have to escape and help Gamera defeat a giant squid monster. Don’t look for things to make too much sense. Halfway through the film are recaps of Gamera’s previous major battles. This takes up 10 minutes of an already short feature.
If you’re going to double feature these movies for a Creature Double Feature afternoon, go for Viras first and let Gyaos be the headline fight. It makes sense for them to be ordered the opposite way on the DVD since Gyaos was the third film of the 8 original Showa series. When these films aired as part of Mystery Science Theater 3000, the gang referred to any of the boys in baseball caps as Kenny. While they weren’t the same character, the kids served the same purpose. They get in trouble, bond with Gamera and help the giant turtle earn total victory. While the films lack the adult mindset of Gamera Vs. Barugon, do you really think you can feel that grown up watching a giant turtle fly across the screen?
The video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfers of both films are so crisp and clean, you’ll swear Gamera will fly through your screen. This is so much better than the versions that ran on MST3K or the Creature Feature. The audio on Gyaos has the original Japanese dub and two English dubs. All are in mono. The second English dub doesn’t sounds as good as the first. Viras is both the original mono Japanese track and the English track. Either one sounds good. Both films have subtitles if you want to listen to the Japanese track.
Publicity Gallery contains numerous photos, sketches, and promotional material for both films.
Gamera Vs. Gyaos and Gamera Vs. Viras: Gamera Double Feature serves up a double helping of raging turtle. While both films focus on cute kids, that doesn’t cut back on the turtle violence. His battle with Gyaos gets brutal and bloody so it’s not completely family friendly. This mutant reptile fun is perfect for big kids.
Shout! Factory presents Gamera Vs. Gyaos and Gamera Vs. Viras: Gamera Double Feature. Directed by: Noriaki Yuasa. Starring: Kojiro Hongo, Toru Takatsuka and Mari Atsumi. Boxset Contents: 2 Films on 1 DVD. Rating: Unrated. Released on DVD: September 21, 2010.
