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War God (Chinese Title: Wang Yu or Guan Yu) A 1976 film.

A Chinese film that seems influenced by tokusatsu/Daimajin films. The giant guy walking around is Guan Yu.
Several Photos ganked from here, which ganked them from somewhere else in the Circle of Ganking that is the Internet. Here is another site that has a review and photos (I am sure you are fluent in reading Chinese!)

More info:
Kaijuphile
Chinese Movie Database

A Babelfish translation of the plot:

Some people asked in I first two Jin’gang mentioned the Duke Guan fights the alien is any thing, do not suspect! Really has this piece, but the content said really I am not clear, because I have not looked, wants to look that could also not find Arab League Arab League…Isn’t that time has many this kinds to imitate the date to absorb the movie especially, has Hong Kong’s China to exceed others in ability, actually very definite is this piece of Duke Guan who Hong Kong or Taiwan shoot fights the alien (war-god), but also has the comparison later period pieces and so on big snake king who lucky pulls in accordance to the elder brother appears. However this piece of Duke Guan fights a piece which the alien is probably I most wants to look, the Duke Guan idol manifesting a spirit war invades Earth’s alien! Is really ? to lets the human think the backward somersault Arab League Arab League Arab League Arab League Arab League Arab League Arab League!!! Outside below the star monster’s picture looks not clearly…However is probably similar old dives the water carrier hard helmet to bring changes…I have mail a letter the Taibei movie material hall to inquire whether my friend does have this piece, but he is probably is disinclined to manage me, before there has the piece which one is also dazzles, is called the chivalrous person sika, is a person puts on the plum blossom road to dress up…, has looked the human bursts certainly out laughing! The bottommost has this chart playbill to supply the reference, what I knew at least is…The Taibei movie material hall should have this piece of sika…In brief! If war-god this piece some who do know to where some looked…Asks to inform me!

Arab League? Plus half of this translation is the guy trying to find the film, so that probably makes any effort by you or me not look that hot, either. I want to find this film, but as long as I don’t know if it still exists, I can’t add it to my top ten want list. Off to the “If it still exists” pile, which is sadly far too long already.

More photos!

Popularity: 22% [?]

We tremble…

Popularity: 14% [?]

Everyday there is news of new monster movies. Some of them are indy films, some of them are bigger budget, and some of them look very awesome. So here are a few of the stories in the internet ether:

David “The Rock” Nelson, producer of over 30 genre films, is getting a TV special October 31st on channel WGN 7am to 9am (I am guessing central time zone) to premier several of his latest films:
The Giant Horny Toad Monster
the double bill Killer Cicadas and Attack of the Giant Cicadas
and the shorts The Giant Grasshopper Monster and The Giant Cricket Monster.
More news at Undead Backbrain

Waiting for Gorgo
a short film creator MJ Simpson has been mentioning off and on at the Retromedia Forums has become a reality:

The basic gist of the film is that these two ancient civil servants have been stuck in this office for 40 years, since Gorgo attacked London, and nobody knew they were there. The young auditor who finds them has to persuade them that Gorgo was just a movie - their whole department was the result of a bureaucratic cock-up - and they try to persuade her that it was real.

MJ Simpson’s website - filled with reviews and interviews related to cult films.
MJ Simpson’s Waiting for Gorgo page
Fangoria Exclusive

RoboJapan is reporting that ghost images are appearing on the set of Jennifer Tilly’s new movie.
Some sort of lame viral marketing, I bet. Jennifer Tilly movies aren’t exactly bringing in the fat moneys. Notice how I don’t mention the name of the new movie. Take that, viral marketing!

Speaking of ghost images appearing in movies, the awesome Captain Disillusion destroys the urban legend of a ghost kid in Three Men and a Baby:

His whole channel is pretty good, so get to watching as it is better than lame videos of fat people complaining that they feel sad.

Well, four news items is enough for today. Join us next time as we will have more random news for random people.

Thanks to Avery for some of the news here.

Popularity: 24% [?]

$quid is an upcoming movie in 2009 that is an extension of a short film from 2007. In the short, two men in a boat get attacked by a giant squid, because that’s what giant squids do, evil boat-attacking stuff. Here is the short, so watch it as it is free.

Official site

Imagine Anaconda directed by the Coen Brothers; a ‘creature feature’ driven by character rather than action. Then imagine a giant squid attacking a singles cruise on the out skirts of the Brisbane River. That is the inspiration for the feature film, $quid.

“Their debut feature film is in a class of it’s own. About a giant squid that terrorises a New Year’s Eve cruise on the Brisbane River, the film $quid, which is the brainchild of Brisbane Boys Daley Pearson & Luke Tierney even has it’s own genre.

“We’re calling it a Romster Comedy.”

“That’s a genre we invented which is a romantic, monster, comedy.”

Pearson & Tierney wrote and will direct, produce and edit the new film, which is being shot on location at the Brisbane River.

It will star Aussie actors Ed Kavalee [Thank God You’re Here, Boytown], Josh Lawson [Thank God You’re Here, Sea Patrol], Christian Clark [Neighbours], Henry Nixon [Noise, The Pacific], Brooke Sheehan and Lauren Lillie.

The feature film is based on the award-winning short film of the same name.

More on the cast here

Thanks to Avery again!

Popularity: 23% [?]

Another note from Avery:

“SACRIFICE”[a.k.a.; “Bob’s Giant Monster Movie”] : Link Have you ever wanted to make your own giant monster movie?? Who hasn’t right?? Just stop and think for a second how totally awesome that would be Yeah I know…gets you a little choked up and brings tears to your eyes huh?? How cool would it be to be able to brag and tell your friends, family, co-workers, boSses, arch-nemesises, school mates, enemies, and eventually grandchildren that you had some small role in the making of a great kaiju film?? Well, I’m here to tell ya that yes it could happen:This is your opportunity to do just that. To be a part in the making of something potentially great. Bob[zilla] Nelson stands here humbly before us asking for our help in making his very ambitious new giant monster film; “Sacrifice”. A film that he’s making especially for us the truest and most obsessive of kaiju fanatics. He doesn’t want to just make just another cheesy/crappy, horrid, straight-to-dvd wreck of a movie, no, he wants to make us the very best looking and most exciting giant monster epic possible!! However he needs our help. I know…you’re thinking ‘oh great this nutcase wants us to donate a bunch of money to make his movie and we get nothing in return’. Not this time friends. Nope. He’s got something great to offer up;
“Starting on September 22nd, we’ll be making the first two chapters of the movie available- one will be a free download, one will be $1.25. It’s important to note- this is how we are raising the money to fund the movie, so we are asking for the support of the Kaiju/sci-fi/fantasy community to- at the very least, give these first couple chapters a spin. If it’s a good story to you, we certainly like it, then hang with us and you can pick up each chapter as it comes out.

Also, we have scheduled an internet chat session with the “Gang”; myself, Kent, Michael and Brent, so that people can talk about the chapters, and ask about where we are at in the project. That is scheduled for September 30 at 7:30pm Pacific Time. More details will be available after we do some major updates to the Brick Cave Media site this weekend, but i think we look forward to sharing our excitement with you and starting the next stage of the project. ” OK you guys LOVE a good kaiju fiction right?? You’ll really LOVE this one!! If you can’t afford to toss up $ 20.00 right away no one’s saying you have to. It’s just $ 1.25 a week!! That’s dirt cheap!! What in the %&*& can you buy these days for that?? How about downloading the first ‘free’ chapter and giving it a read and see if you’d like to stick around with the rest of us and help make a monster movie?? They’re already lining up helicopters, humvees, military equipment…Yeah, you don’t want to be left out!! Now, I’m not saying; give us your money. I’m just asking you to check it out and see for yourself if you’d like to be a part of it all.[NOTE]: I should probably point out that this film is meant as a legitimate release and NOT a ‘fan film’. It’s creator’s are planning on releasing it through a regional theatrical release with some targeted theaters then following that run releasing the DVD through an official distributor. They even hope to be able to present it at next year’s “Comic Con”. THANKS!!: More details: Undead Backbrain

Sounds like an interesting way to raise some cash, and with the free download intro so you can see what you are getting in case you are wary about throwing around your money.

Popularity: 24% [?]

Coming soon, the new daikaiju flick Nights in the Rodan!

Sure, the poster has a translation error and put the “the” in the wrong spot, but who isn’t looking forward to more Rodan? After we spend out nights in the Rodan, let’s spend some days with Mothra!

Popularity: 27% [?]

Cleavagefield is an erotic parody of the Cloverfield film from the mind of Jim Wynorski. What started out as a joke on the Retromedia forum has blossomed into a full-scale movie production, filled with naked chicks and a giant monster.

Plot:

A bunch of hot chicks are having a slumber party for their friend Tiffany, who’s off to Sweden to make a high end Triple X movie. The festivities are in high gear; but then a giant monster inexplicably invades Los Angeles. One girl videos everything as the babes make a run for it through the city. But there are more things to beware of beside the monster. According to some naked hotties seen in an alley way, the monster is covered with moth-mites that drop off its slimy body then attack unwary female victims, chewing off their clothes. It’s a harrowing night for all involved.

Blimp Boy substituting for the head of the Statue of Liberty:

Sent by Jim himself to Deadly DVD!
More images as Undead Backbrain

Not the only Cloverfield-style film coming out. The Polonia Brothers, who gave the world Feeders, Feeders 2, and many more movies some people would rather forget, have one last film coming out. (Last due to the untimely death of John Polonia at 39) This film is called Monster, and . Oddly enough, the Asylum ripoff movie of Cloverfield ended up simply being called Monster, and by all accounts it was the worst movie the Asylum ever did. Will Mark and John Polonia redeem the movie title Monster?

Bigger and badder than CLOVERFIELD… more intense than BLAIR WITCH… it’s America’s most monstrous home movies! Eight rolls of badly damaged 16mm film reveal one of the most bizarre cover-ups in the annals of true-life events. Suppressed from the public, the contents of the film cans unspool, telling the simple documentation of four buddies and their weekend outdoors, but quickly turning into a terrifying menace in the form of strange reptilian lizards. Did they rise from the lake? What was left of the town they trampled underfoot? Could they be tied in to all the disappearances? Don’t believe everything you see… experience it!

Trailer:

Pictures of one of the Monsters here

More monster fun in 2008!

Thanks to Avery!

Popularity: 22% [?]

I got this email recently from Avery:

Now’s our chance guys!!!! They’re giving us a chance to let them know if we want ‘GUALAGON’ and they’ve given’ us a better explanation of the project; on the official website there is now[at the left hand bottom corner] an option for English: “A hearty Hello to all of you international Kaiju Fans out there! We’ve noticed, that our Gualagon project has created a lot of interest in the community, so we decided to include this text on the website as well.
First of all, let us clear up some misunderstandings. Gualagon will be a radioplay (although the term radioplay is not quite appropriate, since this will not be played on the radio, therefore we prefer the term audioplay) and not a movie. Apparently there had been two facts that led people to believe, that Gualagon will be a movie. Although it is correct that the main creative person behind the project is indeed the same Ralf Lorenz who helmed the (in)famous Kongula Movie Project, this time he decided to create and produce an audioplay. This was not done due to budgetary reasons, as some people believe, but because this time he wanted to make sure that he would have a team behind him to ensure the completion of the project. The other reason for people to think we would be doing a movie, was the button marked ‘trailer’. There will be a trailer on our homepage soon, alas it will be an audio trailer only.
Also there were reports that there will be a comic book etc. for Gualagon. Neither a comic book nor other variations of the project are planned right now. There was also speculation on an english version of the audioplay. Sorry to disappoint you again, but so far we are not considering this as anything that will happen soon, if ever. Of course we would love to do all those things, but at the moment our tight budget will not permit us to do so. However, we are considering to release the soundtrack separately, including an English booklet, if there is enough demand for it. So send us an E-Mail: : kontakt@gualagon.de and let us know what you think.” Speak now or forever hold your peace. Maybe, they’ll except donations as well, since their budget seems to be the issue?? Anything you can offer would be of help. All it takes is one e-mail!!!!Even if you’re not able to donate, at least send them an -mail to let them know how bad you really want “GUALAGON”.

Sounds great, but you are probably wondering “WTF is Gualagon??” Well, here you go!:

Gualagon - Frankenstein’s Schreckengigant (Gualagon - Frankenstein’s Fright Giant)

Official Website

The Story (rough translation)

In 1966, just off the Japanese coast, the freighter Asahi Maru fights its way through a heavy storm, when something incomprehensible happens: the ship is destroyed and the only survivor maintains that it was destroyed by a gigantic kraken-like monster! Professor Tamblyn, specialist at the Serizawa institute in those forms of gigantism caused by radiation, examines the wreck of the ship and is dismayed to realise that a tremendous danger threatens Japan! While the military mobilises and naval forces patrol the coastline, reporters Keisuke Kusano and Isao Ogawa come upon traces of the monster Gualagon — and thereby put themselves in deadly danger. Panic breaks out when the monster comes ashore one night and attacks Osaka… The race is on for scientists to develop new weapons to deal with the fright giant of Frankenstein! From the depths of the sea he comes! Inexorably, gigantically, all destroying!

So it is a German daikaiju audio play done in the style of the classic Japanese monster movies. Note some of the Godzilla-universe names in the summary. Sounds like this will be a nice tribute. If you are interested, be sure and tell them so!

Article on Gualagon at Undead Backbrain

Thanks to Avery!

UPDATE: This article has an incorrect email, kontakt@gualagon.de is the correct email.

Also, there is more info for Gulagon here: http://roberthood.net/blog/index.php/2008/08/29/update-gualagon/

Popularity: 15% [?]

Here is a movie that went all over the web except here, thanks to me being too busy to write about it. Better late than never!

Outlander, directed by Howard McCain

* James Caviezel as Kainan
* Sophia Myles as Freya
* Jack Huston as Wulfric
* Ron Perlman as Gunnar
* John Hurt as Rothgar

“Outlander begins when a space craft crashes into the majestic fjords of ancient Norway and into the time of the Vikings. From the wreckage emerge two bitter enemies: a soldier from another world – Kainan – and a bloodthirsty creature known as the Moorwen. Man and monster both seeking revenge for violence committed against them. As the Moorwen ravages the Viking world, killing everything in its path, Kainan forms an unlikely alliance with the primitive but fierce warriors. Combining his advanced technology with ancient Iron Age weapons, the hero leads a desperate attempt to kill the monster - before it destroys them all.”

Vikings vs monsters from space, what is not to like? And joined by Space Jesus who hunts the monster as well. This film looks like it will be a lot of fun, and that’s just what these movies should be: fun. We don’t need people talking for an hour before fighting the monster, we need constant monster fights, vikings chopping things, and fun fun fun. Hopefully, Outlander will live up to the hype it has generated online.

The film has already opened in Latvia, the home of movies about vikings fighting alien monsters.

A Fan website

First Trailer:

Moorwen Creature Design

Second Trailer:

Pictures of the Moorwen, who looks wicked cool:

Thanks to Avery!

Popularity: 28% [?]

Kaiju independent film Deep Sea Monster Reigo is seeing the light of day after three years of news. First announced around 2005, there will finally be releases later this year! In theaters at first, but I would suspect it will show up on DVD soon after that. The brainchild of director/writer/producer Hayashiya Shinpei, who has several other kaiju offerings to his credits, as listed below. Quoted information is taken from the official Reigo website.

The original idea, planning, scene writing and direction are done by Hayashiya Shinpei, who has received rave reviews from special effects fans at home and abroad for his work on “Godzilla x Desugirasu” and “Gamera 4″

Gamera 4: Truth (Gamera 4: Shinjitsu) is a 45 minute fan film. Here is a well-written description of one of the sporadic screenings. Gamera 4 features a white Gyaos! I had not even heard of Godzilla x Desugirasu, but as Hayashiya is supposed to have a Godzilla fan film as well this must be it. It may also be titled Godzilla VS Seadora for us Americans. Searching for images from this film proved fruitless, but I did stumble across a bizarre Japanese website that may have something else even weirder on it, more on that in another update. If you have Godzilla vs. Seadora (Desugirasu) info, please let me know. As the director is from a fan film background, I am not expecting the best acting in the world, but he should at least know how to make something fun and well paced. That alone can forgive even the worst acting (unless they are annoying Kenny children, which hopefully aren’t on a WW2 battleship.)

The character design of Monster REIGO:

Reigo was designed by Amemiya Keita, who is known as the director of SF film “Zeiramu” and as the designer of characters for a number of special-effects films.
Based on his design, the character was made by Haraguchi Tomoo, well-known for the Heisei “Gamera” series.

Reigo looks like Godzilla humped a seal! Okay, it moves more dangerously in the trailer than this marionette, but still! Godzilla with fins…

The cast:

The leading role, Kaido Takeshi, is played by Sugiura Taiyo, who opened up a new phase in his career by playing in “Ultraman Cosmos.”
The heroin, Kojima Chie, is played by Nanami Mai, who also play the heroine of “Haru-urara”. This fresh couple gives an excellent performance as childhood friends who are attracted to each other but are separated under the wartime conditions.
Hotaru Yukijiro, who played the part of detective Osako in the Heisei “Gamera” series, appears in this film as Divisional Officer Osako, as well as Kurobe Susumu, who played the role of Hayata in the first Ultraman. You will notice Director Hayashiya’s homage to special-effects films expressed in various ways in this film.

The story:

In the midst of World War II, the battleship Yamato - the pride of the Japanese navy - along with the other ships of the Combined Fleet are lurking in the South Sea in the waters of the Truk Islands.

Ensign Kaido Takeshi, (Sugiura Taiyo) is one of the officers serving on the Yamato on the front lines of the naval war, while his childhood sweetheart, Chie, (Nanami Mai) awaits his return back in their hometown. They were lovers, but Kaido, uncertain of the future, went off to serve his country without publicly declaring his love for Chie. Yet, he still carries her photo in his jacket pocket, always.

One day, the Combined Fleet spots what is believed to be an enemy submarine and commences firing. The attack is a success, however what sinks to the sea bottom is not a submarine at all but a massive mysterious creature that will later bring disaster upon the fleet. That creature turns out to be the offspring of REIGO, a legendary deep-sea monster whose story has been passed down for generations in this part of the world

Seething with rage at the murder of its cub, the 80-meter long REIGO suddenly appears and lashes out at the battleship and escort vessels with awesome destructive power. Even though they have been caught off guard with the battleship and escort vessels heavily damaged, they regroup and work out a plan of attack, but….

Thoughts of family and lovers back home…fear at being confronted by an unknown enemy… conflict and confrontation among the officers and crew over attack strategies. Now the stage is set for the fierce battle that is about to unfold between the world’s biggest battleship, the Yamato with all its onboard human dramas, and the mysterious dragon-like REIGO that moves through the seas at will.

Someone is a little bit too much in love with the Yamato…

The Trailer:

Official Site
English

This should be fun.

Thanks to Avery for the story!

Popularity: 30% [?]