A happy little monster, yes!
Gamera vs. Barugon (1966), second in the Gamera franchise, is a clumsy, cautionary tale against the societal philosophy of individualism. In World War II, soldier Ichiro, stationed on a New Guinea island, discovered a giant opal and secreted it in a cave. It’s twenty years later, and Ichiro, now crippled, has arranged to send his younger brother, Keisuke, and Kawajiri and Onodera to fetch it. Only Onodera returns, carrying a tale of the deaths of the others from misfortune.
The real misfortune comes when Onodera permits the exposure of the opal to an ultraviolet ray meant to heal one of his wounds. Why?
It’s an egg, and it hates being sunny side up.
Meanwhile, supposedly dead Keisuke has allied with the island tribe, who sends him with a tribal woman and opal expert, Karen, to retrieve the opal. Making it back to Japan just in time to observe the birth of Barugon, they witness the first battle of Gamera vs Barugon, and how the latter’s mysterious rainbow ray drains whatever it hits of life – like Gamera. Taking advantage of Karen’t knowledge of myth, humanity uses an island diamond to attempt to lure Barugon to a watery grave, but Barugon, while tempted, fails to splash his way to his demise; a second attempt fails when Onodera, frantic for wealth, interferes. Indeed, Barugon makes a tasty lunch of Onodera and the diamond, leaving humanity despondent.
Special Guest Appearance in this Review: Medusa! She’s a trifle crabby today.
However, Keisuke has noted that mirrors reflects the rainbow ray, so they arrange to use a mirror to reflect the rainbow ray back upon Barugon; it’s almost Medusa-like. The ploy is partially successful, and Gamera reappears to finish the job.
It’s the excessive greed of Ichiro and his cohorts which leads to the disastrous birth of Barugon, and greed is the mark of individualism; only through the inadvertent teamwork of Gamera with humanity is Barugon persuaded to stop stomping Japanese cities.
And, yeah, it’s all fairly awful. Sure, we have a plot, and characters who are at least halfway drawn, but the special effects are rather awful. Barugon’s tongue, which shoots out some sort of deadly mist, might attract a cult following, but, unless you’re a fan of Gamera, “friend to all children,” this may not be for you.
