... aka: Monster Yonggari
... aka: Yongary
... aka: Yongary, Monster of the Deep
... aka: Yongkari, Monster of the Deep
Directed by:
Ki-duk Kim
I'm not a huge fan of older giant
monster movies from Asia so I'm not sure what exactly possessed me to
watch Yongary this evening. Was it because I liked the colorful
poster, which promised fire-breathing reptile action, rockets, helicopters
and fighter jets? Was it because it's been awhile since I've
actually sat through one of these things? Was it because this was actually
produced in South Korea instead of the Kaiju mecca of Japan and I was hoping
for something maybe a little different? Or was it because I'm desperate to
update my Y index and started running out of titles? I cannot say for
sure, but what's done is done. Despite the change in location, this doesn't
stray far at all from the familiar Godzilla format. It's your standard
issue
man-in-a-rubber-suit monster stomping around on model sets stuff. In fact,
this could easily be seen as a Godzilla rip-off, cause that's pretty much
what it is. Not only does it have a near-identical plot, but even the
creature design (a simple upright-walking lizard), the creature's ability to shoot
fire from its mouth and even the weird elephant-like sound that comes out
of the creature's mouth are very Godzilla-like.
During the first, monster-free 20 minutes we meet dedicated young
scientist Elu (Yeong-il Oh), whose famous scientist father "died of
overwork" himself, his would-be girlfriend Suna (Jeong-im Nam), who
actually doesn't seem to like him all that much, an annoying, thieving
little 8-year-old named Icho (Kwang Ho Lee) and a pair of newlyweds; an astronaut and his
wife. On the night of his honeymoon, the astronaut is called away by
government officials to do some kind of top secret 2-day reconnaissance
mission over the Middle East to see if they're doing secret nuclear
testing. While he's in orbit, a strange and powerful earthquake begins,
which cuts off his radio signal. Panic lends to relief as he safely
returns to Earth, but what exactly caused such violent tremors in the
first place? Why, it was just Yongary shifting around under the Earth's
surface. A crack forms and the giant, hungry lizard pops out. The military
is called in to try to extinguish the threat but, as the beast casually
withstands bullet hits and missiles attacks, they soon discover taking
this sucker out isn't as easy as they initially thought. And I hope you're
not as bored reading this as I am writing it...
Yongary does the usual routine on Seoul while terrified people run through
the streets screaming. He reduces buildings to rubble with the swipe of a
hand or the wag of a tail. He rips up electric lines. Toy tanks shoot at
him so he roasts them with his fire-breath and stomps on them. He shoots
down jets with a laser that comes out of his horn. He picks up a guy and
eats him. Some moments are actually very funny and there are some
great random "What the f" things that occur here and there. Spaced-out
people at a dance club and men pigging out in a restaurant refuse to stop
what they're doing even with the monster fast approaching. From out of nowhere,
some guy shuffles through the streets with a giant cross shouting "Repent
you sinners!" Yongary loves to drink oil and gasoline but, when he's
deprived his tasty treat, he does this hilarious shuffle-dance as rock
music plays. My favorite moment, though, is when the monster first emerges
from the Earth and he yawns and stretches. Yawngary!
On the downside, this movie may have the most irritating little kid ever
seen in one of these things. His idea of a prank is blinding drivers with
a laser ray so that they almost crash and die, he never listens to his
mother and keeps running off and getting himself into dangerous
situations. However, I must admit that I did actually start liking the
brat toward the very end simply because he was the only person who seemed
to show a glimmer of humanity in regards to the beast. On the plus side, the miniature model sets aren't all
terrible. Some are actually quite good. The monster suit (save for the
eyeballs) isn't bad, either. It's all pretty fun, upbeat and amusing in a
juvenile kind of way and, damn it, if I didn't find myself feeling kind of
bad for poor Yongary when it was time for him to take an ammonia bath and
shuffle off this mortal coil.
Historically, Yongary is actually a bit more than a Godzilla
rip; it was also the very first notable genre film to be made in South
Korea. Because of its notoriety in its homeland, the creature was
unearthed (literally) again for Hyung-rae Shim's Reptilian
(aka 2001 Yonggary); which remains the most expensive film ever
produced in South Korea. Starting in the late 90s, the South Korean film
industry finally got the attention of genre fans on a global scale with such cross-over hits
as the Whispering Corridors series (1998-2004), A Tale of Two
Sisters (2003), R-Point (2004), The Red Shoes (2005) and
The Host (2006).
★★
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