Monster Movie of the Week: Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris

GAMERA: REVENGE OF IRIS (1999)

aka Gamera 3,

Gamera: The Awakening of Irys

Gamera: The Incomplete Struggle

Director: Shusuke Kaneko

Genre: Kaiju Eiga

THE MOVIE

Japanese director Shusuke Kaneko is the modern master of the kaiju eiga genre. With Gamera: Revenge of Iris, he surpasses the high benchmark he had set in the great Gamera: Attack of Legion. In the twisted destinies of the Gamera and Godzilla franchises he manages to make a movie that is far superior not only to any Heisei Godzilla movie but possibly to any Godzilla movie up until that time. This is ironic for several reasons. First, Gamera was created as a cheap Godzilla knock off with a reputation for poorly produced kid-oriented movies (although the Godzilla movies would eventually embrace this more profitable approach in the 1960’s). So the fact that a modern Gamera series would be relaunched which employed modern near-Hollywood quality special effects at a time when the Godzilla series gave us such non-classics as Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla was a serious challenge to the always competitive Toho Studios. I personally believe that the success, acclaim and quality of the ‘90’s Gamera movies as well as the horrible reception of the American Godzilla movie both led directly to Toho’s decision to bring the Godzilla series back in 1999 and they informed the kinds of movies that we saw in the the Millenium Series.

Secondly, Shusuke Kaneko is a lifelong fan of Godzilla and never particularly cared for the old Gamera movies. He had lobbied in the early 1990’s to direct a Godzilla movie and was declined. After the success of the Gamera movies, he was finally given his chance to take on Godzilla and gave us the great Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack, which many consider to be the finest Godzilla movie to date and, like Gamera 3, is a certain contender for best kaiju film of all time.

Iris takes place a few years after Legion and features some returning characters from Gamera: Guardian of the Universe as well as some new characters. Mayumi Nagamine, the ornithologist from the first movie returns as do the giant Gyaos monsters which are popping up with increasing frequency around the world. The movie also introduces us to Ayana, a young girl whose parents were killed during the battle between Gamera and Gyaos in the first movie and who also harbors a deep hatred of Gamera because of this. This is an interesting storyline as it puts a face on the all of the people that are killed off screen during a kaiju battle. One of the things that this movie does very well is remind us that even though Gamera may be “heroic," he is still a monster and he causes a great deal of death and destruction where ever he goes. Ayana eventually comes across a mystical Japanese artifact that hatches into a strange creature that she names Iris, after her cat that was along with her parents. Iris grows into a giant monster that Ayana raises to battle Gamera, developing a dark version of the bond shared by Gamera and Asagi from the previous movies.

Gamera 3 is a millennial movie and like many movies made in the late ‘90’s , there is a feeling that the world is out of balance and that disaster is just around the corner. This aspect of the movie is not developed as much as I would like and raises more questions than is satisfactorily answers. For example, early in the movie a submarine discovers a graveyard of fossilized Gameras on the seafloor. This is a really striking image but what does it really mean, other than that the ancients created “beta versions” as one character explains. The return of the Gyaos seems to be related to environmental collapse (as determined by a “game” run on a Sega Dreamcast of all things) and somehow this is related to Japan’s consumption of “mana.” Maybe one day we'll get a sequel trilogy that addresses some of these plot issues.

THE MONSTERS/EFFECTS

Gamera gets a slight redesign here continuing the trend of making him darker and meaner looking. Compared to the relatively cuddly costume from Guardian, this Gamera has lots ridges frills and dangerous bits. He really looks good in this movie.

There is even a special “Nightmare Gamera” that is featured a couple of times in this movie when Ayana flashes back to when her parents were killed we see what Gamera looks like in her memories and we see a version of the character that is even dark, white-eyed and evil looking. This Gamera is a visual cousin to the Godzilla featured in Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah.

Iris, is a bit of a mixed bag. The final form of Iris is an anthropomorphic collection of biomechanical blades and tentacles. My biggest complaint is that Iris lacks a real “face” with eyes we can identify with. However, he is a striking monster particularly when it is able to take flight on membranous wings.

The Gyaos get a great makeover in this movie and their flying scenes are done digitally and they look amazing (no more Rodanitis.) One thing that the movie really succeeds at is unobtrusively using CGI to supplement the suitmation effects, which is something Toho has historically been shy about (or possibly cheap about) in their Godzilla movies, insisting on exclusively using the old techniques to bring their characters to life.

MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE

Gamera battles a pair of Gyaos in and above Tokyo’s Shibuya district. This is perhaps the greatest and most exciting kaiju action sequence ever, probably rivaled only by Rodan’s attack on New York in Godzilla Final Wars.

HOME VIDEO AVAILABILITY

No too hard to get. You can get it individually or in a three pack. There are some good interviews and stuff on the DVD, including some scenes from the movie redubbed for comic effect.

Gamera 3 has also been recently released on Bluray. Unfortunately, it is being treated as a budget release and has not been restored or cleaned up for its HD release and the image quality is only marginally better than the DVD release. On the up-side, you can get the whole trilogy on Bluray for less than $15 on Amazon.

SEQUELS

This movie ended the Heisei cycle of Gamera movies. Gamera: The Brave was released in 2006 and brings the series back to its roots in a pretty solid kids movie.

SEE ALSO

Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack (2001)

Patrick Garone
Follow Me On Twitter
Author of City of the Gods: The Return of Quetzalcoatl

Monster Movie of the Week: Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)

GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE (1995)

Director: Shusuke Kaneko

Genre: Daikaiju eiga (Japanese giant monster movie)

THE MOVIE:

Poor Gamera. For years he was viciously mocked on MST3K and for good reason. Gamera was created to capitalize on the kaiju craze in the mid 60’s. He starred in a bunch of Godzilla ripoff movies that were cheaply made and designed to appeal to children.

You brought this on yourself, Gamera.

Even for a giant monster, Gamera is ridiculous: He is an 80 meter tall bipedal turtle who is a “friend to all children,” with the ability to retract his extremities into his shell and replace them with jets which allow him to fly around like a pin-wheeling UFO. Makes Mothra seem downright plausible, doesn’t it?

So when Daiei studios resurrected the character in the mid 90’s to compete with the revitalized Godzilla series nobody expected much. Gamera: Guardian of the Universe was a pleasant surprise in that was at least as good as any of the contemporary Godzilla movies (in fact, it was released the same year as Godzilla vs. Destroyah). The movie even garnered a positive review from none other than Roger Ebert (who relishes its sense of fun while failing to contextualize it as an important giant monster movie).

The movie itself is standard kaiju stuff. Gamera awakens from a long slumber to defend Japan against the threat of Gyaos, a race of predatory reptilian birds. The movie reintroduces us to Gamera and gives him a new origin story and sets up for the two sequels that follow. The Gamera Trilogy is one of the rare movie series in which each movie is better than the one before it therefore Gamera: Guardian of the Universe is the weakest of the three but the best place to start.

The bad thing about being Gamera, is that when you smile you run the risk of poking your eye out.

THE MONSTER/EFFECTS:

The special effects certainly are not up to Hollywood standards for the time (remember we’re a couple of years after Jurassic Park here.) Most of the monster effects are through suitmation, miniatures, and puppets. Unfortunately, CGI is very sparingly used in this one.

The Gyaos effects in particular are bad. Some shots are very clearly puppets and the wings don’t to seem to beat fast enough to keep the animal in flight (a disorder I call Rodanitis.) The Gyaos design is also a little too retro for my tastes.

Gamera is well-realized and nicely updated from his Showa roots. The suit is a little bulky here but improves throughout the series.

Kowabunga dude!

MONSTERS FEATURED:

Gamera and Gyaos.

MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE:

There is a wonderful shot of Gyaos in silhouette, perched on the remains of Tokyo tower against the setting sun. The shot is beautiful and awe-inspiring and sums up what is great about this genre.

The noble kaiju in its natural habitat (the ruins of a Japanese building).

HOME VIDEO AVAILABILITY:

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe was released on DVD in the US and can be watched dubbed or subtitled (the dubbing is horrible, I suggest going with the subtitles.) There are also some extras on the DVD such as promos and interviews with the special effects director.

The movie is also available in a cheapo Bluray set with Gamera 2. Still, it's kind of cool to be able to watch Gamera on Bluray, even if it isn't a loving restoration packed with extras.

Actually it's rather understated for a Japanese movie poster.

SEQUELS:

Gamera 2: The Attack of Legion, Gamera 3: The Revenge of Irys.

SEE ALSO:

Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidora: Giant Monsters All Out Attack.

TRAILER: