I had once believed Gamera vs. Viras to be the worst film in the Gamera franchise. I was wrong. The ways that film hurt me are nothing compared to the desires of the sweet release of death that this film made me wish for on so many occasions. Gamera vs. Zigra is bad. Bad, bad, bad! I hated, hated, hated, hated this movie! It...it-I, make the bad movie go away, Mommmy! Gamera vs. Zigra has terrible music, an awful plot, annoying children, a Gamera suit that has clearly seen better days, and, actually, a rather intelligent villain, to be honest. Unfortunately, Zigra himself may be the high mark of this "film" as it stands, as this movie is also very boring. It takes forever for it to really go anywhere after the 20 minute mark, and when the monster action, which is what I watch most of these movies for, finally arrives, it fails to deliver on so many levels. The only real exception is the Zigra prop, as a lot of work obviously went into making it. The film also has an environmental message, similar to Yoshimitsu Banno's film, Godzilla vs. Hedorah, which came out the same year. Unlike the strange, energetic, and weirdly creative Godzilla vs. Hedorah, however, Gamera vs. Zigra is nowhere near bizarre enough to be entertaining on any level. The Gamera Song is as annoying as ever, and I really, really, really, really miss the work of Tadashi Yamauchi and Chuji Kinoshita. Despite how bad this film is, it's still marginally better than 1980's Gamera Super Monster, although that's not saying much, to be honest.
Gamera vs. Zigra, or How I learned to forgive Gamera vs. Viras
I had once believed Gamera vs. Viras to be the worst film in the Gamera franchise. I was wrong. The ways that film hurt me are nothing compared to the desires of the sweet release of death that this film made me wish for on so many occasions. Gamera vs. Zigra is bad. Bad, bad, bad! I hated, hated, hated, hated this movie! It...it-I, make the bad movie go away, Mommmy! Gamera vs. Zigra has terrible music, an awful plot, annoying children, a Gamera suit that has clearly seen better days, and, actually, a rather intelligent villain, to be honest. Unfortunately, Zigra himself may be the high mark of this "film" as it stands, as this movie is also very boring. It takes forever for it to really go anywhere after the 20 minute mark, and when the monster action, which is what I watch most of these movies for, finally arrives, it fails to deliver on so many levels. The only real exception is the Zigra prop, as a lot of work obviously went into making it. The film also has an environmental message, similar to Yoshimitsu Banno's film, Godzilla vs. Hedorah, which came out the same year. Unlike the strange, energetic, and weirdly creative Godzilla vs. Hedorah, however, Gamera vs. Zigra is nowhere near bizarre enough to be entertaining on any level. The Gamera Song is as annoying as ever, and I really, really, really, really miss the work of Tadashi Yamauchi and Chuji Kinoshita. Despite how bad this film is, it's still marginally better than 1980's Gamera Super Monster, although that's not saying much, to be honest.