Superhero Media: Gamera Vs Guiron

For those, like me, working through the Gamera series in order, who have found the last couple a bit underwhelming, Gamera Vs Guiron is when it starts to pick up again. Mysterious signals from space are dismissed by leading scientists as natural phenomena, rather than originating from an intelligent source, but two young boys suspect the answer is aliens. Shortly, the boys find a flying saucer and are whisked off to Earth's twin planet, on the opposite side of the sun, where two beautiful women in silver jumpsuits explain that the planet is dying and they need to escape. When the planet comes under attack from silver "Space Gyos", the women summon their guardian monster, Guiron, a lumbering quadruped with a knife for a face. Guiron quickly dispatches the Gyos, slicing it into bits with his face-knife, and the boys agree to help the women flee to Earth, but something's not right; why is Gamera trying to recuse the boys, and what are the space-women really up to? 

You'll be shocked to learn that the plot is much thinner on the ground than I've let on, but Gamera Vs Guiron is a lot of fun, with plenty of 1960s high-camp science fantasy dressing and sets, plus the film features that Gamera clip of him doing gymnastics on a building. I really like the sets, actually, all of the bubble-domes and orange plastic aren't the kind of sci-fi buildings you really see anymore and would make a great wargames table. Guiron is ridiculous to look at, but he presents a real threat to Gamera that Viras certainly didn't, and I kind of love the idea of genetically engineering a monster with a knife face and shuriken that shoot out of its head. There's kind of a Doctor Who vibe going through Gamera Vs Guiron, though probably not deliberately, with the alien planet looking like something from the 1960s Dalek films and the idea of "twin planets" being tied in heavily to the Cybermen history from the classic programme. 

As with my "The Pitch: Gamera", I could see a contemporary adaptation of Gamera Vs Guiron working for a relaunched Gamera franchise. Sexy aliens who turn out to be cannibals, a dying planet, genetically engineered monstrosities, pseudoscience and Gamera carrying a spaceship in his mouth would all still play fine, with a postmodern sheen and a bit of CGI, of course. Hell, Godzilla II: King of the Monsters made a giant moth a compelling character, why not a giant, spinning turtle? This marks me being around halfway through the Gamera Collection in my DVD rack, which I'm feeling good about, because it means I'm getting close to the 1990s films and that I'll be able to move onto another series of films soon. I love Gamera, watch the films pretty regularly, but making myself watch through all of them, in order, in quick succession, probably wasn't my best decision.