Nightmare Fuel 2016 Day 16: War of the Gargantuas

My love of Godzilla is pretty well known by this point, but the Big G ain’t the only kaiju that holds my interest.  You’ve got Gamera, the space turtle who’s friend to children everywhere; there’s Mothra, the giant moth creature; and a number of other, decidedly lesser-known monsters that fill the silver screen.  From Godzilla’s own Toho Studios, today we remember the wackiness that was War of the Gargantuas.

As basic as I can make it, here’s the gist:  A pair of furry critters, stemming from cells of the defeated giant Frankenstein monster (from a different movie, Frankenstein Conquers the World, also by Toho), develop into large, hulking monsters.  One was raised around people (scientists, in fact), the other wasn’t.  As such, the latter goes on the usual kaiju rampage through Japan until he’s confronted by his human-sympathizing “brother”.  When it’s clear to them both that their ideologies don’t mix, an all-out brawl ensues between them, shaking Japan to its core in the process.  Literally.

So, yeah, it’s kind of a mindless kaiju flick, with a pair of dudes in outrageous costumes and makeup beat each other up and throw each other around for a while, all while mostly helpless people find themselves caught in the crossfire.  I’m sure there’s an actual plot involving said people, but it’s thoroughly eclipsed by the bombast of the titular War.  There’s just something magnetic about the absurdity on the screen, as is common in these films.  Sure, there’s a bunch of shoddy blue screen effects, and there’s a completely unnecessary musical number (a strange torchlight-style ditty ironically about the difficulty to communicate one’s emotions at desired times), and the acting is about as so-so as it comes in these productions, but the War and its inherent fun just make everything worthwhile.  As others might say, this is pure popcorn entertainment, something to turn your brain off to and just sit back and enjoy for the sake of it.