Gamera vs. Jiger (1970)

Movie Info

“Oh, Gamera. You crack me up…tell me another one!”

The 1970 World’s Fair is coming to Japan and one of the featured centerpiece is a recently discovered statue called the Devil’s Whistle.  When the Devil’s Whistle is removed from Wester Island, a creature called Jiger awakens.  Despite his strength, Gamera falls to Jiger, and Jiger might not be stoppable.  It is up to two boys named Tommy (Kelly Varis) and Hiroshi (Tsutomu Takakuwa) to try to save Gamera and stop Jiger.

Directed by Noriaki Yuasa, Gamera vs. Jiger (ガメラ対大魔獣ジャイガ or Gamera tai Daimajū Jaigā aka Gamera vs. Giant Devil Beast Jiger) is a Japanese kaiju film.  Following Gamera vs. Guiron in 1969, the film is the sixth entry in the Gamera series.  It was released as Gamera vs. Monster X in the US.

Gamera continues his run (and love of children) in this entry which tied in to the Expo ’70 (aka the World’s Fair) in Japan.  I do give Gamera this, he seems to take more licks than Godzilla and he certainly gets the crap beat out of him in this one.

Hey Mom & Dad, we’ve stolen a sub to do what you grownups are too chicken to do!!!

The plot is slightly more coherent than the previous film.  It is a rather typical kaiju storyline with Jiger being released and rampaging.  The movie kind of gets strange when Gamera essentially dies and has to be saved by the children entering Gamera and eliminating the baby Jiger inside of him.  The movie of course ends with a big Jiger-Gamera fight and the defeat of Jiger.

With Gamera being “a friend of kids”, the movies are more kid friendly and features more kid actors in the lead roles.  Tsutomu Takakuwa and Kelly Varis play the young heroes of the movie and with Katherine Murphy spend much of the movie yelling “Gamera” loudly and giving orders to Gamera.  The series’ kid focus has the kids doing jobs that the adults would normally do like Hiroshi and Tommy entering Gamera’s body (twice) in a submarine which it would have been left up to scientists.

Do you think Gamera minds that we’re crawling around his lung fighting with a monster?

I generally am impressed with Gamera’s rival monsters.  Jiger is an interesting design with horns that shoot like javelins and a tail that features a spike that can lay eggs.  Jiger’s attack on Gamera is rather intense with Gamera being spiked through his arms and legs and later injected in the shoulder (forcing a weird calcification of part of his leg and his head).

Like all kaiju movies, Gamera vs. Jiger is more about the experience and fun rather than plot, acting, or look.  The movie is relatively quick and now there are pretty decent transfers of the Gamera movies which used to often be the worst of the worst in transfers.  Gamera vs. Jiger was followed by Gamera vs. Zigra in 1971.

Preceded By:

Gamera vs. Guiron (1969)

Followed By:

Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)