**** 1/2 Giant Turtle vs. Giant Vampire Bat!

With the previous two Gamera movies a success, Daiei decided to make a third one. This time, Gamera is distinctively a nice turtle, and there is a little kid running around to. Gamera isn't exactly the "Friend of Children Everywhere" like the next movie and beyond, but it is getting there. The main bad guy, Gaos, went on to be the favorite bad guy, appearing in four more Gamera movies, more than any other Daiei monster other than Gamera.

Volcanoes start erupting on a particular fault, and this includes Mt. Fuji. Of course, the Mt. Fuji one wakes up a monster, one giant-supersonic-laser-beam-shooting-bat-that-looks-like-a-fox, known as Gaos (or Gyaos, as some people call it). Well, the bat makes a mistake by trying to eat a kid, and Gamera shows up! He saves him, but gets hurt in the process. While he's healing, the humans try to stop the bat themselves. Well, nothing works and Gamera shows up again when Gaos attacks a city, but Gaos escapes and the humans get an idea from the little kid: put fake blood on a giant spinning restaurant so Gaos will come and get dizzy so he can't hide when the sun comes (the vampire doesn't like sunlight)! Well, this doesn't work of course, and the kid's next plan is to start a forest fire so Gamera will show up and beat up Gaos! This almost doesn't work because Gaos can put out the fire with his powder (which looks like pee), but Gamera does show up and he does kill Gaos! No, he doesn't spin him around, get him dizzy and let the sun hit him; he chucks him in a volcano!

This here is actually my favorite Gamera movie from the original series. It was made before the budget fell out, so the special effects are really good, about as good as the last one and better in areas! Well, the monsters look cheap and rubbery as always, but not as bad as later movies also. The plot is good. It flows right, and has a good plot on both the human and monster sides. Except for the fact that the little kid in the story is the one that comes up with all the good ideas! In fact, the main conflict on the backplot, farmers not wanting to sell land to make a highway, is solved when the kid acts like a brat and throws his toys at the people saying "Stop it!". Well, they stop it. Adults are idiots, and the kids are the only ones that are smart. Well, at least the kids aren't the only factor in saving the world, like later movies. The plot and special effects are great compared to the rest of the Gamera movies, but it still is really, really silly! Goofy, nuts, and hilarious! Camp city! It has the monster plot that true fans crave, the silliness that camp lovers crave, and for people like me, both! It all goes together real well, and that's why it’s the best Gamera movie in the classic series.

They seemed to have set out to improve upon the last movie, and they succeeded in most parts. For one thing, it's shorter! Nice quick flick. The battle is really good. Gaos puts up a challenge for Gamera, but Gamera gets innovative and wins the day. Well, the whole "drag monster by neck with teeth into a deadly liquid" thing was done in the last one, but this was a volcano! Speaking of which, along with the monsters flying, a helicopter getting chopped in half, and Gaos'es foot shrinking, the volcano eruption is one of the many special effects highlights! Daiei may look stupid-looking rubber monsters, but the rest of the special effects are great! As a whole, it's a silly, fun, and very entertaining movie. It's so good that it kind of spawned a remake, "Gamera: Guardian of the Universe"! A lot of the battle sequences where redone almost exactly in that movie. The special effects are obviously better in the new one, but with its silly charm and better plot, this one is actually slightly better! A Gamera fan essential!

Great Plot

Great special effects (for the time)

Silly, yet dramatic

Great battle sequences

Did I mention that it's my favorite old Gamera movie?

Gamera sleeps on the job at times.

One seen has a blood bath! (literally)

How come the little brat comes up with the best plans?

Somehow setting a forest on fire doesn't seem worth it!

Cheesy, so much so that the monster look like they are made of cheese!

Credits