VARAN THE
UNBELIEVABLE (1962)
Tagline: From a World Below, It Came to Terrorize - To Destroy - To Revenge!
(Sci-Fi, Drama, Kaiju Mayhem) [G]
Note: The MPAA did not give a rating for this movie, but I am guessing it would have been a [G].
In this one a joint U.S.-Japanese military command is set up
on an isolated Japanese island, where a salt water lake is, to try and see if
they can cheaply purify the water for
drinking. Because the best way to save the world, is always to kick a bunch of people off
an island, if you are a scientist in a sci-fi movie. However, their purifying
experiments wake the prehistoric monster Obaki from a big time nap at the
bottom of the lake. Then it proceeds to jack up Japan even though it gets
massively worshiped on the island. So you know… Sunday services for that damn
thing are now cancelled. Apparently this was going to be a collaboration
between TOHO and ABC, but ABC walked out so TOHO just ended up doing a decent
job on their own.
I wasn't crazy about the sexism in this movie, but historically you just have to deal with that when you are looking back at these things instead of trying to edit them out or finding a way to be offended by them. Outside of that the dialog, simplistic storyline and overall plethora of damage in this is as good as it gets regarding TOHO films from the time period.
VARAN’s suit from far away looks great, but it looks like the head is a different piece than the rest of the suit in the close ups and he’s got a pretty damn goofy looking face. The version I watched was the American version of the film where Myron Healy, does a pretty good job as Cmdr. James Bradley. I also kinda loved the narration because it gave this movie a 50’s sci-fi feel to it. While this is NOT GODZILLA or RODAN, I do think it was better than a lot of other similar movies coming out at the time (like FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD, DOGORA, GORATH etc.). While some claim the full Japanese version released in 1958 was better, I am just looking at this film and found it very enjoyable.
I wasn't crazy about the sexism in this movie, but historically you just have to deal with that when you are looking back at these things instead of trying to edit them out or finding a way to be offended by them. Outside of that the dialog, simplistic storyline and overall plethora of damage in this is as good as it gets regarding TOHO films from the time period.
VARAN’s suit from far away looks great, but it looks like the head is a different piece than the rest of the suit in the close ups and he’s got a pretty damn goofy looking face. The version I watched was the American version of the film where Myron Healy, does a pretty good job as Cmdr. James Bradley. I also kinda loved the narration because it gave this movie a 50’s sci-fi feel to it. While this is NOT GODZILLA or RODAN, I do think it was better than a lot of other similar movies coming out at the time (like FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD, DOGORA, GORATH etc.). While some claim the full Japanese version released in 1958 was better, I am just looking at this film and found it very enjoyable.
For true old school Kaiju fans, this is a must see. About 45
minutes or more of this thing is just full blown carnage. For a weak ending, I
give VARAN THE UNBELIEVABLE a 4 out of 7. You won't have to go far to find this flick, it's currently streaming for free on several streaming services.
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