LET ME IN: CROSSROADS #1 Comic Review

COMIC REVIEW

LET ME IN: CROSSROADS #1

STORY: Marc Andreyko

ART: Patric Reynolds

PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics

REVIEW: Mark Mackner

As anyone with any taste can tell you, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is easily the best vampire movie of the last decade. I didn’t get a chance to see the American remake yet, but I’ve heard good things. LET ME IN: CROSSROADS is the official prelude to the American film. What causes young girl vamp Abby and her mysterious caretaker to set up shop in a new town at the beginning of the movie? Why does Abby’s budding friendship with a young boy raise a red flag for the caretaker? This comic series seeks to answer those questions, in a presumably horrific fashion.



One thing that I find so intriguing about Abby (her name is Eli in the novel and the original film) and her caretaker is the mystery surrounding them. She leaves little nuggets here and there about her history, but there are still so many questions. Who exactly IS the caretaker? What’s his relationship to her? Why does he commit such atrocious acts in order to protect her and provide for her? How was she “turned”? How did she get by before she met the caretaker?

THAT’S what makes these characters so compelling. In this age of prequels and remakes that over-explain the origins of everyone from Wolverine to Willy Wonka (When it’s usually best left a secret), it’s refreshing to have characters that leave you wondering. Which is precisely WHY a prequel to this particular story is so alarming. My first thought was NOOOOO!!!! Don’t tell me any more about these characters! We know just enough to care about them and still by fascinated by them. Any more information will shatter the mystique, and that could ruin everything.



But, I’m happy to report that this new series from Dark Horse has no intention of shattering any mystique whatsoever. It’s merely an earlier chapter in the lives of Abby and her caretaker. A previous adventure, if you will. All the mystery is still there, the characters are simply in another setting, in a different situation.

This time, instead of the frozen, snowy backdrops of the films, we get a dried-up dustbowl in the Midwest. Instead of teen bullies, the villains are a greedy real estate tycoon and his drunken mess of a son-in-law. Seems they want to build on Abby and her caretaker’s property, and are trying to force them to move out. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that I’m pretty sure they’re gonna end up dead. That’s the inherent problem with prequels. It’s kinda difficult to build up suspense when you already know that the protagonists can’t be killed off. And the villains here are such one-note douchebags that you know they’re going to meet with a gruesome fate. These kinds of guys never see the light and change their ways in horror films/comics. They’re just written to be so unrepentantly evil that when they finally get their bloody comeuppance, you’re cheering it on.



This is one of those monster stories where the protagonist may be a monster, but the regular humans are the REAL monsters. It’s a timeless theme, and I’m sure there are many creative interpretations of it yet to be seen.



Another captivating element to the story is the fact that Abby was turned at a very young age, and now she’s trapped in a child’s body forever. She’s been around for ages, but she’ll never know what it’s like to be treated as an adult. Even her only friend, the caretaker, takes a parental role in her life. That expands the dramatic possibilities here, and makes Abby an understandably melancholy and tragic figure.



So far, there’s nothing uniquely gripping about this new story, but the artwork is terrific, and as I’ve said, the characters continue to be untainted by too much backstory.



If you felt the films and novel said everything that needed to be said about Abby/Eli, then there’s really no reason to get this. BUT, if you found yourself enthralled with the character, and wish to support her rise as a potential multimedia horror icon and believe that she has many thrilling stories yet to be told, then get to your local comic shop, and pick this up!

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When not hanging out at The Horror Hotel, Mark Mackner can be found creating such local indie horror gems as DAISY DERKINS: DOGSITTER OF THE DAMNED!, EVIL BREW, THE HALF-LIFE HORROR FROM HELL or: IRRADIATED SATAN ROCKS THE WORLD!, and EMBALMO!  He’s also the resident Spider-Man scholar over at geek site POPTARDS where he writes SPIDEY’S WEEKLY WEB-UP.  In 2011, he’ll be directing his latest original script PROM NIGHT ABORTION! 



DEATH KAPPA review - like Kaiju? Who doesn't.....

DVD REVIEW

“DEATH KAPPA”

Directed by: Tomo’o Haraguchi

Written by: Masakazu Migita

Starring: Mika, Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi

Released by: Tokyo Shock 

 reviewed by :Mark Mackner

Giant monster fans rejoice!!!! It brings me immense, kaiju-sized pleasure that in 2010, man-in-suit giant monster slugfests are still being produced by our good friends in Japan. There was a whole cycle of GODZILLA films released in the 00’s, followed by GAMERA THE BRAVE, MONSTER X STRIKES AGAIN, and now comes the strangest kaiju film I’ve seen in a long time, DEATH KAPPA. 

DEATH KAPPA takes a handful of genres and grafts them together with all the grace and humanity of a mad scientist. And, if you know me, you DO know that I mean that as a compliment. This film is many things, and even if it’s not for you, you could never call it BORING. It starts off as some kind of creepy ghost town movie, then goes into I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER territory, then makes a sharp left turn into E.T., before careening into HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP, and then into insane Japanese ROBO GEISHA-esque fare. And that’s just the first half hour!!!! And THEN it becomes a kaiju movie!!!! 

So, let’s slow it down about so we can fully appreciate what they’ve done here. A young girl has given up her dreams of J-Pop stardom in Tokyo, and is heading back home to the sleepy little burg that she hails from. When her grandmother is suddenly struck and killed by a speeding car full of drunken young hooligans, she swears to continue her grandmother’s vow of protecting the local kappa. Kappa are a form of YOKAI, mischievous goblin-like creatures from Japanese folklore. 

Soon after her grandmother’s death, our hero (Played by a stunningly beautiful young woman whose name I couldn’t glean from the credits OR the imdb page) discovers a real live kappa that just so happens to LOVE her music. We’re then treated to a ridiculous (yet thoroughly entertaining) extended montage of the hero and her friends, playing and dancing and just generally having a great time with the kappa. 

And here’s where things get ugly. Those drunken young hooligans get their karmic retribution in the form of some weird, reptilian/fish kinda creatures. It’s here where I was happy that I decided to screen this before I watched it with my kids. My kids enjoy watching GODZILLA and GAMERA films with me, and I thought about letting them watch this one with me for my first viewing of it, but this scene features lots of limbs being ripped off and some really bloody and gory deaths. I figured that the FROM THE PRODUCERS OF MACHINE GIRL AND TOKYO GORE POLICE tag on the front was something of a warning against letting children watch, and I’m glad I abided. 

So what were these strange creatures that attacked the speeding grandma killers? Well, that scene is followed by a wild scene of absurdist brilliance that addresses that question. There are some villains that are conducting strange experiments and trying to create an army of monster soldiers to avenge Japan’s defeat in WWII, and take over the world. They’ve captured our hero, as well as the kappa. This scene… man… mere words can not do it justice, but I’ll try. It takes elements from HELL BOY, The ’66 BATMAN show, TROMA, and POWER RANGERS, and delivers the most singularly schizophrenic spectacular of the year. If this scene were a short film, you’d have a damn fine film in just 10 minutes time. You’ve got a hot mad scientist chick in a lab coat and lingerie, skipping and dancing while pushing her dead grandfather around in a wheelchair. You’ve got hot bikini babes with fish gills. You’ve got a kappa sumo wrestling the villains, kung fu fighting, an atomic bomb, and all kinds of other craziness. 

And immediately after that it becomes an all-out, old-school kaiju movie. The entire second half of the movie concerns the sudden appearance of a giant monster named HANGYOLAS. And that part is friggin’ hilarious! A beautiful reporter cuts in and says “We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to tell you that a giant monster has appeared and he’s walking around town like he owns the place.” Then, 2 seconds later, she says, “The cabinet has just decided that the monster’s name will be Hangyloas”. That’s a welcome in-joke for fans of the genre, where the government/military/scientists regularly pull odd monster names out of the blue the moment something rises out of the sea and proceeds to level Tokyo. 

There’s lots of gags like that in this film, from the visible wires on the fighter jets, to the little plastic people smooshed in Hangyolas’ footprint. I’ve seen a couple reviews for this film that complain that the kaiju action doesn’t get started until halfway through, but isn’t that MOST kaiju movies? If you’re lucky? Even in many of the classics, you might get one brief city destruction scene midway through, and then the monster will come back for last 10 minutes or so. 

Not so in DEATH KAPPA. Once Hangyolas shows up at the 39-minute mark, you get 40 solid minutes of kaiju mayhem, including city destruction, a fight with the military, and an epic Death Kappa vs. Hangyolas slobberknocker that features elbow drops, airplane spins, and buildings used as nunchucks. Add all that to such glorious dialogue as “What’s the status of the Gorgon Monster Death Ray Unit?”, and you’ve got yourself a WINNER!!!! 

Oh, and that Gorgon Monster Death Ray is an homage to the Mazer Cannons from the classic TOHO Showa era (the 50’s through the 70’s), in both appearance and sound. Nice! Fun miniature work, too. The Hangyolas creature design is terrific. He reminded me of TITANOSAURUS from TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA. I hope they make a toy of him. I’d totally get it. Kappa, well, even before he grows to kaiju size, he’s pretty ugly. 

Cast-wise, I know no one watches these kinds of movies for the acting/characters, but this one has two standouts worth mentioning. One was the female reporter covering the Hangyolas attack. Again, the credits are in Japanese, and the imdb listing does not have character names, so I have no idea who she is, but she is AMAZING!!!! The other is this guy in the war room where the military plans out their attack

on Hangyolas. This guy doesn’t say a word, but his facial expressions and his grunts of “Mm?” and “Uh?” cracked me up every single time. Really, it’s a small part, but that guy OWNS it! He’s a genius. 

With so much madness going on, it’s no surprise that not EVERYTHING works. If they just had the visible wires on the jets shown for a second, I think that would’ve been funnier than showing them clear as day EVERY time the jets flew by. Because once, it would be like, “Ha! Lookit the wires!” But 10 times, and you’re like, “OK, even in the older, lower budgeted fare like YONGARY, the wires didn’t show THAT much.” Also, many characters scream “Mommy!” before they die, and that gets old fast. Plus, there’s all kinds of WTF stuff, like the main jet pilot (A man) wearing blue eye shadow for some reason, but I don’t mind some random quirks here and there. 

This is the kind of movie that would be an absolute blast to watch with friends, whether sober, drunk, or high. It proves that you CAN make a great giant monster movie that doesn’t feature any already-established creatures whose names start with “G”. DEATH KAPPA is new to DVD and BLU RAY. GO GET IT!!!!! You’ll be glad you did. 

REPORT CARD…

DIRECTION: A

SCRIPT: A

MINIATURES: A- . The minus is for the overuse of visible wires. The buildings, tanks, cannons, etc are wonderful).

MONSTERS: A. Kappa himself is kinda weird-looking. More like an especially ugly beaked toad than a rad dinosaur or dragon. But he’s organic-looking. The suit is well-made. And Hangyolas is everything you want in an enemy monster. Just a massive dragon with fire breath and a long, pulverizing tail.

OVERALL: A. Action-packed and loads of laughs. The first half is bugnuts brilliance, and the second half is kaiju-rrific!!!!

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When not hanging out at The Horror Hotel, Mark Mackner can be found creating such local indie horror gems as DAISY DERKINS: DOGSITTER OF THE DAMNED!, EVIL BREW, THE HALF-LIFE HORROR FROM HELL or: IRRADIATED SATAN ROCKS THE WORLD!, and EMBALMO!  He’s also the resident Spider-Man scholar over at geek site POPTARDS where he writes SPIDEY’S WEEKLY WEB-UP.  In 2011, he’ll be directing his latest original script PROM NIGHT ABORTION!  

DC Universe Halloween Special 2010 review - Better than last year??

COMIC REVIEW 

DC UNIVERSE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL 2010 (One-Shot) 

STORY: “Trick for The Scarecrow” (Batman), by Billy Tucci. “Robin the Vampire Slayer” (Batman & Robin), by Joe Harris. “Time or Your Life” (Flash), by Alex Segura. “A Night to Remember” (Wonder Woman & Deadman), by Vinton Heuck. “Medusa Non Grata” (Miss Martian & Blue Beetle), by Bryan Q. Miller. “Fears of Steel” (Superman & The Demon), by Brian Keene.

ART: Billy Tucci, Lee Garbett, Kenneth Loh, Dean Zachary, Trevor McCarthy, Stephen Thompson.

PUBLISHER: DC

AVAILABLE: Now, at your local comic shop! 

REVIEW: Mark Mackner

Greetings once again, ghouls and ghosts! Tis I, resident Spider-Man scholar, MARK MACKNER with a review of the brand-new DC UNIVERSE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL 2010!!!! 

Last year, we were given a whopping 13 Halloween tales. This time, it’s just 6. But quality rules over quantity, right? So, do slightly longer stories make for an overall better book? The answer is (In this case, anyway), no, not really. 2010’s Special isn’t any better than 2009’s. But it’s just as good! Anthologies such as this are always a mixed bag, with some stories shining, others tanking, and some just not really making any sort of an impression at all. Some of them pass by so quickly that you don’t even have time to formulate an opinion on them, one way or the other. But, if you’re like me, and you eat these things up, then there’s plenty to enjoy here, though. And, if you’re also like me in that you have kids that you love sharing the joy of comics with, I’ll let you know which are kid-appropriate, and which are questionable. To wit, a rundown of what you’ll find in this year’s collection… 

BATMAN in “TRICK FOR THE SCARECROW”, by Billy Tucci. Scarecrow breaks into a home on Devil’s Night (aka Mischief Night, for those of us who don’t live in THE CROW’s universe), accidentally sprays himself with his fear agent, and is terrorized by two little kids in Batman costumes with a grudge. You see, Scarecrow stole their candy in the 2009 Special, and now it’s payback time. I liked the bit with the Mom, and seeing Dick’s more lighthearted Batman get a chuckle out of the whole ordeal. Breezy Halloween fun, suitable for all ages. Grade: B. 

BATMAN & ROBIN, with I… “VAMPIRE in “ROBIN THE VAMPIRE SLAYER”, by Joe Harris and Lee Garbett. Andrew Bennett (I… Vampire) leads Batman and Robin into a nest of some especially nasty vampires known as “The Cult of the Blood Red Moon”. But can Bennett be trusted? What’s his gripe with these vamps? Or is he setting a trap for the Dynamic Duo? A decent enough supernatural action yarn, spun in just 7 pages! Some action, but not bloody, so you could share with the kids. Which is good, because my kids will definitely be down for some Dynamic Duo vs. vampire action. Grade: B. 

THE FLASH in “TIME OR YOUR LIFE”, by Alex Segura and Kenneth Loh. Monsters stalk the streets while a Halloween festival is going on in the city. Frankenstein’s Monster shows up, and people fear him because he’s stitched together from parts of multiple corpses and also he’s freaking HUGE. But is he the true threat? Or is he there hunting something far WORSE? The other monster in this looks like something out of a Sam Raimi film. WAY “Army of Darkness” or “Drag Me To Hell”. A text message brings Barry Allen, THE FLASH, to the rescue! There’s a decent scrap between The Flash and Frankenstein’s Monster, which I guess is cool in and of itself, but there’s not much else to hang your hat on here. The boobs on the other monster and some blood might make you wanna skip this one if reading with your little ones. Grade: C.

WONDER WOMAN and DEADMAN in “A NIGHT TO REMEMBER”, by Vinton Heuck and Dean Zachary. Deadman tails a lowlife to a cult ceremony led by FELIX FAUST, who’s had CHEETAH steal something from the museum in order to complete the ritual. Wonder Woman shows up and cleans house, and Deadman gets the brief pleasure of a woman’s touch, when Wonder Woman rewards him with a kiss on the cheek for his heroics. This was a nice story. I liked Deadman’s voiceover, and Wonder Woman vs. Cheetah is always fun. Grade: B. 

MISS MARTIAN and THE BLUE BEETLE in “MEDUSA NON GRATA”, by Bryan Q. Miller and Trevor McCarthy. KLARION THE WITCHBOY (And his cat TEEKL) go out trick or treating, and wind up being laughed at by a couple who answer their door, expecting to see kids there. Klarion doesn’t appreciate the reaction he gets, so he turns the couple to stone. He then starts turning EVERYONE to stone! Meanwhile, Blue Beetle is teaching Miss Martian about Halloween, and accompanying her on a walk through the neighborhood, stopping for treats of their own. Klarion’s antics grab their attention, and a quick conflict ensues. I rather enjoyed this one. The flirtation between the heroes is endearing and cute, and Teekl the Cat totally steals the show as Klarion’s familiar. “I can haz ur soul?” is the best line in the whole book. No gore, a talking cat, and art that looks to be pulled directly from a TV cartoon show means the kids will probably dig it, and I think most comic readers can relate to both the Blue Beetle AND Klarion in this story. “I detect an inflated sense of self worth. From the cat.” Nicely played. Grade: B. 

SUPERMAN and THE DEMON in “FEARS OF STEEL”, by Brian Keene and Stephen Thompson. Some kids out for Halloween fun in Metropolis stumble upon a very distressed Superman. They’re not sure what to make of it, but we the readers can see that he’s got an invisible parasitic demon on his back, attempting to take over the Man of Steel’s mind. The fiend has him seeing all the things that rattle him most: Lois dying, his Earth and Kryptonian fathers seeing him as a disappointment, etc. THE DEMON shows up and talks Supes out of it, makes him see that people care about him and that he has nothing to fear. If all this sounds kinda hokey, that’s because it IS. Blah. Grade: C-. 

Overall, I’ll give the book a B-. SOLOMON GRUNDY’s presence is sorely missed here, as he’s featured prominently on the cover, and he’s a natural fit for a Halloween story, yet he’s nowhere to be found inside the book. I would’ve liked to have seen more season-appropriate villains, like TOYMAN maybe, in some creepy kinda stories, but the only villains included are Klarion, Felix Faust, Scarecrow, and Cheetah. Still, if you’re just in the mood for some spooky fun, and don’t feel like being bogged down

with crazy continuity issues, you’ll find many iconic heroes here, in stories that are instantly accessible to all. But if you only have money for ONE Halloween special from the Big Two, Marvel’s TOMB OF TERROR is a bit better. Though, that one’s certainly NOT for children!

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When not hanging out at The Horror Hotel, Mark Mackner can be found creating such local indie horror gems as DAISY DERKINS: DOGSITTER OF THE DAMNED!, EVIL BREW, THE HALF-LIFE HORROR FROM HELL or: IRRADIATED SATAN ROCKS THE WORLD!, and EMBALMO!  He’s also the resident Spider-Man scholar over at geek site POPTARDS where he writes SPIDEY’S WEEKLY WEB-UP.  In 2011, he’ll be directing his latest original script PROM NIGHT ABORTION! 

Tomb of Terror - Marvel's One Shot - Any Good? ....Read on True Believers

TOMB OF TERROR #1 (One-Shot) 

STORY: “Descent of The Beast” (Man-Thing), by Paul Hornschemeier. “Silence” (Son of Satan), by Rob Williams. “The Cure” (Werewolf By Night), by Joe Pruett. “The Heist” (The Living Mummy), by Joe R. Lansdale. 

ART: Man-Thing, by Mark Texeira. Son of Satan, by Pablo Peppino. Werewolf By Night, by Jordan Raskin. Living Mummy, by Giuseppe Camuncoli. 

PUBLISHER: Marvel. 

REVIEW:  Mark Mackner

Greetings, ghouls and ghosts, guys and gals! OK, so maybe there aren’t any actual gals reading, but let me just cling to my fantasy, will you? It’s these little illusions that keep us going sometimes, you know? Anyway, Tis I, Poptards’ resident Spider-Man scholar MARK MACKNER with a review of Marvel’s Halloween spook-tacular, TOMB OF TERROR!!!! 

And who better to consult about HORROR COMICS than life-long comic geek and horror film luminary MARK MACKNER, eh? No one, that’s who. I knows my comics and I knows my horror. Two of my most intense passions, truly. I pick up Marvel and DC’s Halloween offerings every year, and I really do look forward to them. Halloween is just a more fitting holiday to celebrate in comics, when compared to the others, with their messages of peace, joy, and togetherness. 

 

So how does Marvel’s new TOMB OF TERROR rank among past Halloween offerings from the Big Two? Well, usually, they go the humor route, with DC’s entry last year serving up several of their big heroes in a mostly light-hearted take on All Hallow’s Eve. And a few years back, Marvel had their wonderful MARVEL MEANS MONSTERS series of one-shots, featuring the likes of FIN FANG FOOM, DEVIL DINOSAUR, and other monstrous Marvel creations not seen since the glory days of TALES OF SUSPENSE and JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY. But, again. Those were all fun and games, though I kinda wish they would go that route every year. Really, Marvel. We deserve a FIN FANG FOUR adventure once a year. I can’t be the only one who’d love to see that. 

But this time, with TOMB OF TERROR, they’re really getting dark and gritty. HOW dark and gritty? Well, it’s actual HORROR this time, folks. Presented in glorious BLACK & WHITE, just like the recently resurrected CREEPY. So, yeah. Totally different mood here. No jokes. No irony. Just a straight up, old-school horror comic. People get ripped in half, infant triplets are murdered, werewolves eat hikers. Hey, I’ll take it! It’s a classic formula, the horror comic anthology. I don’t get these too often, so it’s a fun holiday treat. 

The first story, DESCENT OF THE BEAST, starring MAN-THING, is told mostly as an internal monologue. Man-Thing has been granted a brief period of consciousness as a human by Dr. Strange, and we catch him as he heads back into the swamp, preparing to become a monster once again. Some rednecks are chasing a black man, and Man-Thing interjects. 

Up next is SON OF SATAN in SILENCE. Yes, you read right. SON OF SATAN!!!! How long has it been since you’ve seen THIS character? Just the fact that it’s a Son of Satan story is cool enough, but let’s not go handing out free passes just yet. Here, Daimon Hellstrom visits the son of an astronaut who mysteriously vanished during re-entry after a space mission decades ago. The other astronauts were still in the shuttle, brutally murdered. The astronaut’s son is driven to commit evil acts by voices in his head. Is it his father? Or Daimon’s father, SATAN???? 

That’s followed by WEREWOLF BY NIGHT in THE CURE. Our hero, JACK RUSSELL (Yup, that’s WBN’s actual name) is investigating the brutal murder of two hikers in the woods. He’s attacked by another werewolf, and is taken in by an old Native American man who lives out there. This is my favorite out of the bunch. First, it’s a monster story. Second, it expands on the werewolf mythology (If one kills another, the curse is lifted), and third, it had a neat twist ending. Not bad for 10 pages. 

Rounding out the anthology is something REALLY different, THE LIVING MUMMY in THE HEIST. This is different in that it’s NOT a comic story. It’s a work of short fiction, accompanied by a few illustrations. Three treasure hunters seek fortune, and end up with more than they bargained for. You know. That story.

AAAAAANNNNNND, here’s the wrap-up!!!!!! 

DESCENT OF THE BEAST (MAN-THING): Story, C-. Story-wise, this one’s pretty blah. Man-Thing’s consciousness is quickly descending from a man’s to that of a monster. And in these final moments, he makes a human decision to do something that, while heroic in a sense, is still quite monstrous in itself. The twist was appreciated, but nothing brilliant. Art, B. Tex puts in more decent work here. Nothing revelatory, but it works well within the B & W scheme here. 

SILENCE (SON OF SATAN): Story, B. Now this story was kinda intriguing. I liked the intro in space, and where it led us. The triplet murdering was uber-creepy, and we were left with some questions at the end. What the hell DID happen to the astronauts? I like the mystery here, and was craving more. Plus, it was nice to see SON OF SATAN again, however briefly. Art, B+. This had, in my opinion, the best art in the book. Best use of B & W, easily. Simple, yet effective, with skillful use of the shadows. Nice! 

THE CURE (WEREWOLF BY NIGHT): Story, A. This was a really good Halloween horror story. Two werewolves. Old Indian guy with a secret. The voiceover bits were well-written, and there was some action in this one. Great twist at the end, too. THIS doggie is the pick of the litter! Sorry. Couldn’t resist. Art, C+. The art was OK here, but the werewolf fights were confusing. Who was winning? It was like the fights in the TRANSFORMERS movies. They looked too similar, and the B & W made it harder still to differentiate.

THE HEIST (THE LIVING MUMMY): Story, C-. Nothing original here. You’ve read this story a thousand times before, and it was probably better than this. Not that it’s terrible, it’s just nothing new. People try to get rich quick raiding the Mummy’s crypt and get ripped apart. The End. Yeah, that’s all it is.

In summary, the bookends (Man-Thing and Living Mummy) are pretty weak, but the meat in the middle (Son of Satan & Werewolf By Night) makes for a tasty Halloween treat, if you’re into this sort of thing.

And THAT is THE WORD!!!! 

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When not hanging out at The Horror Hotel, Mark Mackner can be found creating such local indie horror gems as DAISY DERKINS: DOGSITTER OF THE DAMNED!, EVIL BREW, THE HALF-LIFE HORROR FROM HELL or: IRRADIATED SATAN ROCKS THE WORLD!, and EMBALMO!  He’s also the resident Spider-Man scholar over at geek site POPTARDS where he writes SPIDEY’S WEEKLY WEB-UP.  In 2011, he’ll be directing his latest original script PROM NIGHT ABORTION!

Gamera vs. Barugon reviewed - SHOUT! Factory gives us a reason to SHOUT!

GAMERA vs. BARUGON

Director: Shigeo Tanaka 

Writer: Nisan Takahashi 

Cast: Kojiro Hongo, Kyoko Enami, Koji Fujiyama 

Released by: SHOUT! Factory 

Review by: Mark Mackner 

Hello, my fellow monster movie maniacs! Tis I, Mark Mackner, with a review of an old classic given a long-overdue remastered, uncut release! GAMERA fans, rejoice! We’ve been waiting for this moment, and it’s finally arrived!

A couple years back, we kaiju fans were blessed with the release of Classic Media’s TOHO MASTER COLLECTION, in which several classic GODZILLA titles were remastered, and we were given both the US and Japanese versions on one disc. PLUS, they gave us both versions of RODAN and WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS! Oh, what a time for kaiju fans! I’d never seen any of those Japanese versions, and they are magnificent, indeed. Then, whenever you feel like watching them as you remember from your childhood, you can watch ‘em with the English dubbing, too. 

Well, it’s taken a little time, but now (Thanks to the good folks at SHOUT! Factory), our favorite giant prehistoric radioactive flying turtle Gamera is getting the same treatment. Hooray! Until now, all VHS and DVD releases of the Gamera Showa series have been abysmal. Blurry, unfocused picture, lackluster sound. I grew up watching these movies, and I can tell you with 100% confidence that these films have NEVER looked or sounded better than these SHOUT! releases. 

Which brings us to the subject of today’s review, the second film in the Gamera Showa series, GAMERA vs. BARUGON aka WAR OF THE MONSTERS. To many, this is considered the last “serious” Gamera film of the Showa era. But that’s just silly. The first film was pretty wacky, and this one is even more so. But I mean that in the most loving way possible. 

The plot, of course, is simple. A man who fought in the South Pacific during WWII hid a giant opal he found on a remote island before the Japanese surrendered. Now, 20 years later, he rounds up some men for an expedition there, to retrieve the opal that will surely make all of them rich. 

So these guys then venture into the dreaded VALLEY OF THE RAINBOW to find this thing. That’s right, the place whose very name strikes terror into the hearts of the natives is called THE VALLEY OF THE RAINBOW. Sounds NIGHTMARISH, doesn’t it? Anyway, the opal turns out to be an egg, from which hatches forth the legendary BARUGON, who shows up every thousand years to fuck shit up. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what the tribal elder said. 

Barugon is a fascinating creation to behold. Kaiju fans will note that his name is almost identical to the Toho monster BARAGON (One of my personal favorites), who first appeared in the film FRANKENSTEIN vs. BARAGON, which was released before GAMERA vs. BARUGON. So, is Barugon a total ripoff of Baragon? Well, no. Not really. I mean, they’re both primarily 4-legged dinosaur-like monsters with large nose horns. That much, they share. 

But, whereas Baragon is a burrowing, subterranean beast, Barugon makes no effort to keep hidden. He travels above ground wherever he pleases. But it’s his methods of attack that REALLY set him apart from Baragon, and every other kaiju for that matter. 

First, Barugon has a long, sticky tongue that emits an ice-cold mist that freezes everything it touches. And then there’s his coup de grace, the rainbow ray that shoots out of his back and destroys everything in its path. Yeah. He’s a dragon that shoots deadly, destructive rainbows. Wildly original! 

Oddly enough, Gamera isn’t really in this movie very much. The first ten minutes explain what happened in the first film, and how Gamera returned to Earth. After that he doesn’t return until about halfway through, only to get his shell handed to him by Barugon. From there, he doesn’t come back into the picture until the VERY end to save the day. 

But there’s still loadws of monster action to admire here. Barugon gets gobs of screen time, and in this remastered version, his rainbow attack looks terrific. This is a great kaiju film, and this new edition is a must for kaiju fans. The packaging is awesome, with the anatomy of Gamera on the inside layout. And the booklet inside has the anatomy of Barugon, as well as character bios and more. 

The only negative to this new release is that there’s no English dub option. I mean, I don’t really care, I have no problem with subtitles, but my kids aren’t really ready for ‘em yet. But otherwise, this is definitely one you could enjoy with your kids. 

SHOUT! will be releasing the rest of the Gamera Showa series as double features. GYAOS and VIRAS will be on one set, GUIRON and JAIGER on another. They’ll both have two English dubs on all the films, including the infamous Sandy Frank versions. Plus, they’ll feature the Japanese language option, with English subs. Those’ll be out next Tuesday. The final two Gamera Showa films, ZIGRA and SUPER MONSTER, don’t have a release date yet, but they’re coming.

GAMERA vs. BARUGON: A+

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When not hanging out at The Horror Hotel, Mark Mackner can be found creating such local indie horror gems as DAISY DERKINS: DOGSITTER OF THE DAMNED!, EVIL BREW, THE HALF-LIFE HORROR FROM HELL or: IRRADIATED SATAN ROCKS THE WORLD!, and EMBALMO!  He’s also the resident Spider-Man scholar over at geek site POPTARDS where he writes SPIDEY’S WEEKLY WEB-UP.  In 2011, he’ll be directing his latest original script PROM NIGHT ABORTION!