Gappa (1967) | WS | English | (VHS) | SEALED

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Title: Gappa: The Triphibian Monster (1967)

Genre: Science Fiction / Kaiju

Plot Synopsis
A scientific expedition ventures to Obelisk Island where the natives worship a monstrous deity. Two members of the team explore a forbidden cavern and discover a giant egg, which hatches into a creature known as Gappa. Despite warnings, the scientists take the baby back to Japan, attracting worldwide attention. Meanwhile the adult Gappas emerge from underground waters, ravaging everything in their path as they head toward Japan to reclaim their offspring. The expedition members, together with a native boy, plead with a greedy tycoon to release the baby; ultimately the creature is reunited with its parents, and those involved return to Obelisk Island.

Cast and Crew

• Director: Haruyasu Noguchi

• Writers: Iwao Yamazaki; Ryuzo Nakaishi

• Cast:

  • Tamio Kawachi as Hiroshi Kurosaki

  • Yoko Yamamoto as Itoko Koyanagi

  • Yuji Okada as Daize Tonooka

  • Koji Wada as Mashida

  • Tatsuya Fuji as George Inoue

IMDb Link: Gappa: The Triphibian Monster (1967) 

Reviews from Letterboxd

1. Gavin – ★★☆☆☆
   “Essentially a Japanese take on Gorgo, which is rather fitting since that film almost took place in Japan. However, unfortunately it is also a bad take on Gorgo. I want to like this one more because the monster scenes are really enjoyable, even if they’re less accomplished than Godzilla or Gamera, but the human story really drags it down. The human characters are largely insufferable and the film is rather appallingly regressive in almost every way: you have the condescending treatment of “native islanders” in brownface, and the relationship between the hero and heroine is maddeningly sexist even for 1967! So I can really only recommend this one to kaiju completists. But if you do give it a shot, there are some fun details to watch for–like the mama Gappa inexplicably having a giant octopus in her mouth when the parents first land in Japan.”

2. Scumbalina – ★★★☆☆
   “: G Everything seems to be in order here. Cute weird monster, island with giant statue, total destruction of miniatures. When I first got into kaiju, I went hard and watched most of the Godzillas back to back, so much so that they’re kind of a blur in my memory. When I wedged in one of the outliers it would evaporate into the general memory bank of Giant Monster confusion. I liked this fine but it’s hard to get excited or even talk about because I’ve been exposed to the formula so much that I can hardly even pay attention. Oh something’s going on in the ocean/science guys go to island/Monster attacks everything. It’s fun, it’s fine, but for me this will never be more than late night sleepy time fodder.”

3. NI_Stu – ★★½☆☆
   “As much as I love a classic Kaiju film, this one didn’t do it for me. It had some good models and fun suitmation effects but the story really dragged with plenty of scenes that should have been cut down or cut out completely. I think Gappa would have gotten 3 or 4 stars with a 60 minute runtime and better translation for the subtitles. It’s okay and silly/fun in places but Gappa is more ‘Big Bird’ than prehistoric monster and there are zero likeable characters.”

4. Henry – ★★☆☆☆
   “Gappa is yet another entry in the long line of Japanese monster movies where the creatures are basically men in rubber suits who trample miniature versions of Tokyo. This time out a biological expedition finds a baby Gappa (combination bird reptile and animal) on a Pacific Island. They bring it back to Japan and their patron – a greedy business tycoon takes the creatures for his own benefit. Shortly after mama and papa Gappa (somewhat larger and with firebreathing capabilities…”

5. moviemicrorw – ★★★☆☆
   “Titolo italiano: Gappa il mostro che minaccia il mondo”

Meta Description:
A 1967 Japanese kaiju film where island myths, monster parents, and human greed collide in catastrophic battles. Perfect for monster movie fans and kaiju collectors.