Yongary, Monster from the Deep (Taekoesu Yonggary)
Directed by Ki-duk Kim
Written by Ki-duk Kim and Yun-sung Seo
1967/Korea
Keukdong Entertainment/Toei Company
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] Tagline: A Monster from another age … with terrifying destructive powers …[/box]
Take the cheesiest Godzilla movie you can imagine, ramp the cheese factor to 11, and you get this awesomely bad Korean giant monster flick. Goes into my pantheon of best bad movies ever.
A new Korean groom is called away from his wedding night to investigate mysterious earthquakes that are rocking Korea. His bride’s annoying little brother accompanies him every step of the way. Soon enough, we are introduced to Yongary, a Godzilla look-alike with a giant rhinoceros horn that changes color with the monster’s emotions. Yongary apparently has come to the surface to gorge on gasoline, its favorite food. Little Brother forms a special bond with the monster that allows him to save the day by figuring out how to kill his friend. Plenty of sit-com situations to go with the giant monster action.
This movie has, by far, the worst miniature effects I have ever seen. The various badnesses of the enterprise had me howling with laughter about once a minute. Not to be missed is the bit where Little Brother and Yongary dance together to rock and roll music. Connoisseurs of this stuff should be thoroughly entertained, as I was. Full feature currently available on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqvIGn11ttk
Clip – When will they ever learn?
