Kaiju-Frankenstein and the underground monster Baragon Surprisingly, after a series of rather comical Kaiju films, Toho suddenly turned to the origins of the genre - to horror. "Frankenstein vs. the Underground Monster of Baragon" even with the seemingly absurdity of the plot - a film serious and not childish, continuing the tradition of "Godzilla" and "Radon" about the human impact on the environment and the cost of using the atomic bomb and the harmful effects of radiation.
In the forties, the heart of the Frankenstein monster was taken from Germany - the only surviving part of the monster, which always beats if fed. In order to save soldiers' lives in the war, for the study of regeneration, it was delivered to Japan, but then the atomic bomb was dropped.
Many years later, a mysterious savage appears in the vicinity, devouring dogs, cats, rabbits and other livestock. This attracts the attention of the three main characters - an American who came to Japan to cover up his sins, a Japanese doctor and their mutual assistant, imbued with sympathy for the mysterious creature.
The savage does not speak, shows bouts of aggression, and therefore is contained in a cage and in chains, gradually growing to giant sizes due to the absorbed radiation. As a result, when trying to film television material about him, the monster escapes to freedom and arranges real chaos in various areas of Japan.
At the same time, oil drillers awaken from hibernation the ancient animal lizard Baragon - an underground monster that also begins attacks on mines and settlements, but his excesses are attributed to the Frankenstein monster, which makes the main characters doubt the humanity of the creature they tamed.
Ishiro Honda got a great opportunity to make a classic movie about monsters, returning everything to where the genre began its movement in world cinemas. It's full of death, cruelty, gnawed bones, and Frankenstein's pretty creepy makeup. The picture is devoid of comedic elements, and rare jokes serve only as an excuse to humanize the main characters, for example, in an episode of a feast.
Events sometimes develop too quickly, passing years in an instant, but this gives the picture a greater dynamic in its development. There are not a few scenes that are not important for the plot, but they help the film either become deeper and more emotional, or better reveal its characters through various side scenes that are not related to the main story.
Everything looks cheerful and spectacular: Honda shoots a huge number of army extras, remembers the times when he focused on the life of ordinary workers, filming miners here for his work, and the monsters are a real disaster, not shying away from dismembering animals in the frame and feeding local residents.
The monster of Frankenstein is masterfully executed - beautiful makeup, slightly changing as the confrontation, makes the monster more intimidating. And interestingly, this giant is growing gradually. Starting his escape only four times taller than a common man, he gradually turns into something the size of Godzilla.
At the same time, Frankenstein (the monster can be called by the name of the creator, since he, they say, is his offspring) is represented by a very dual nature. This is a savage who does not shy away from cruelty, but at the same time is humanized in some scenes so touching and dramatic that one cannot feel sympathy for any of the endings of the film.
Here, in general, the main idea of the film, rushing through Dr. Bowen, is how to perceive this giant creation of nature. Who is he, man or monster? These contradictions break not only the main characters, but also the director himself, showing the most different facets of the monster, from brutal attacks to the rescue of one of the main characters.
There are also allusions to King Kong, both Hollywood and, for example, King Kong vs Godzilla - like that giant gorilla, Frankenstein is very fond of throwing stones and trees. In general, the ability to use a person in makeup made the monster on the screen agile and mobile.
It should also be noted that all the other kaijus encountered by the monster exceed its size. In the full “alternative” version of the film, at the end there is a brilliant sequence of the battle with the giant octopus Udako – already appearing in Godzilla vs. King Kong. In rolling and international versions in the end there is just an earthquake with a fall into a volcano.
The baragon is very decent for its time, it even has moving eyes and a sparkling horn on its face. In addition to the high-speed ability to dig underground burrows, he has strong hind legs that allow for incredible jumps, and a radioactive beam due to the susceptibility of atomic mutation.
Once again, the theme of war and bombing is the leading one, and the brutal monsters that ravage villages, mines and settlements embody the essence of an inhuman catastrophe. Fiction here side by side is intertwined with horror, and the sequel “Sanda vs. Gaira” came out and is much more cruel.
The special effects of the film are also great. Real forests in the frame thanks to the successful installation side by side coexist with high-quality miniatures, episodes when the monster pulls the trunks out of the ground turned out to be super-realistic and believable, and in the film made very successful mashups between people and monsters. Everyone has done their best.
The composer was again made by the famous Akira Ifukube - the music here is like a film: disturbing, tense and creepy. The truth is in many ways similar to the theme of King Gidora from Toho's previous genre picture - it was painfully powerful and sinister, echoes clearly sound even here.
The director atmospheric shoots both the prologue of the forties and the “modernity” of the sixties. There are not so many urban scenes here, but the transfer of the action to small villages even plays a huge plus to the film - gives more variety against the background of its counterparts, and at the same time there are enough scenes of attacks and destruction, as well as monster battles between themselves.
For the film “Sunday fight of two yakozoons” occurs several times – Baragon is a curious four-legged kaiju, standing on his hind legs, like the monster from “Varana of the Incredible”, having an illuministic horn, and noticeable ears, and a number of spectacular abilities – all this makes him a worthy rival for Frankenstein.
The battle of the two monsters here turned out to be tougher than in all previous films of the studio, although the murder of Angirus in Godzilla Attacks Again, perhaps surpasses the final of Frankenstein’s fight with Baragon. But the underground lizard will still appear in the films about Godzilla, but Kaiju-Frankenstein will be safely forgotten, even in the sequel being replaced by two other monsters (but in 2001 they will still give him a reference to “Monsters Attack”).
Ishiro Honda shot a real genre masterpiece, full of both original ideas and a return to the serious origins of paintings about giant monsters, when monsters were just monsters. Atmospheric, rich and serious film is filled with action and meaning, successfully mixing genre and disaster film with different symbolism, and spectacular fiction about the battle of giant monsters with each other.
10 out of 10
Original