War of The Gargantuas (1966) Review | Godzilla Island Archive

The Plot

A man is at sea during a storm when a giant octopus attacks him. Just as he’s about to die, he is released by the octopus. Looking out the ship’s window, he sees a giant green, humanoid beast fighting the octopus. The monster, called Gaira, defeats the octopus and then turns on the ship, sinking it and killing its crew. One sailor survives and tells the story of being attacked first by a giant octopus and then by Gaira. He claims that Gaira ate the rest of the crew. Doctors dismiss the sailor’s story as shock-induced hallucinations.

When news of the sailor’s story spreads, journalists begin interviewing Dr. Stewart and his assistant Akemi, who once cared for a baby Gargantua named Sanda. They ask whether the escaped Gargantua could have eaten the sailor’s crew. Dr. Stewart dismisses the questions, insisting that Sanda would never harm humans and would return to the mountains where he was first discovered.

Soon after, another fishing boat is attacked by Gaira off the coast. At the same time, a sighting of a Gargantua is reported in the mountains. Dr. Stewart begins to suspect there may be two Gargantuas. He heads to the mountains with Akemi to search for Sanda, while their assistant Dr. Majida investigates the coastal sighting. Gaira rises from the ocean and attacks an airport, feeding on people. Sensitive to light, Gaira retreats when the sun comes out.

Japan’s army uses spotlights to disorient Gaira and tries to drive him into the mountains. Just as Gaira is about to be defeated, Sanda appears from the mountains and carries him off. Dr. Stewart later discovers a piece of skin in a river running from the mountains to the ocean. He concludes that Sanda’s skin cells drifted downstream, mutating into the evil Gaira. Akemi is upset, knowing Sanda is gentle and loving, while his brother has become a man-eating monster.

Gaira, now evil, begins sprinting back toward Tokyo. Dr. Stewart pleads with the military to focus on Gaira, but they ignore him. In Tokyo, Gaira feeds on humans, using lights as a guide. Sanda arrives to confront his brother, and the two monsters battle. The military sides with Sanda, concentrating their fire on Gaira. The fight moves into the ocean, where an underwater volcano erupts beneath the battling Gargantuas. The volcano consumes both monsters, burning their cells and preventing further mutation.

My Thoughts:

I find it amusing that this movie is sold on the same DVD as “Rodan,” since both movies share similar endings two Kaiju perishing in lava-filled volcanoes. This film is great and was originally intended as a sequel to Frankenstein Conquers the World, though the connection is barely referenced.

As a kid, I found War of the Gargantuas genuinely scary. Gaira feeding on humans was horrifying for me at five years old, even though I had already watched Godzilla movies. Today, I appreciate it as a classic Kaiju film. Parents introducing their children to Kaiju movies might want to save this one for a slightly older audience.

Something interesting about the story is how Gaira is created from Sanda’s cells mutating. Even though the monsters are incinerated at the end, one wonders about all the cells shed by Sanda and Gaira during their lives. Could other cells have mutated elsewhere! Surprisingly, no sequels or remakes ever happened for this movie. I strongly recommend it to anyone new to Kaiju films.