Tacticalin
An absolute waste of money
SparkMore
n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.
Billy Ollie
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Aaron1375
This one had potential, unfortunately it moves so slowly that it kind of shoots itself right in the explosive tank. The film is about mysterious killings in a lake and does follow a basic 'Jaws' formula for the first bit of the movie. They wait awhile to reveal the beast then it is finally shown, killing a couple of guys who played a very bad prank. The film follows a man who wants to get to this area near Mount Fuji where there has been mention of a petrified egg. He thinks that perhaps there is money to be made from this discovery. Strange though that they mention this discovery as no scientist actually sees this, but rather a woman who falls into a cave and then runs from the forest in a panic and falls into a coma shortly thereafter. Why this makes the news is beyond me. Still, he gets there and there start to be strange incidents happening such as a horse with its head bitten off. After a bit the dinosaur comes in, chomps a few people and then near the end the bird of the title swoops in and makes an impressive first appearance. Of course, the two duel in a very unimpressive battle that made me lower my initial score of six to five. This one had potential, they just needed to have more bloody kills and less banter. Sure they were copying "Jaws", but this film was not going to be in that film's league as far as acting and atmosphere so you have to go the bloody route. They did, but not quite enough. They even managed to show the naked rear end of a lady, so for the most part this one was quite different from most Japanese monster films of its day. Just needed more monster action. Though one thing I notice a lot of people saying about this is that the people in the film seem to say that the appearance of the dinosaurs causes the volcano to erupt, but in actuality the scientist is saying that if there was a dinosaur present than the conditions are such to release it from its slumber and one of the conditions is that there is going to be an imminent eruption of Mount Fuji. However, for the most part the film has way to many plot holes and such and suffers from not enough monster action.
nevsky41
I saw this back in the late 80s on the USA Network (when it was still in its weird, still-trying-to-find-an-identity-among-all-the-other-basic-cable-channels days) on an edition of the sorely missed "Commander USA's Groovy Movies." My dad taped this movie from that show (like he did with many Godzilla and Gamera movies on that ancient, crappy VCR we had in the 80s). I think he regretted it for some time afterwards, b/c my mom was not happy.Basically, this is probably one of the most violent kaijus ever made, and even though I'm not easily shocked, I watched that ancient tape again the other day, and was surprised how violent this movie is, and how graphic the violence is. It's also fairly unoriginal, as it's merely one of many Godzilla knockoffs, made cheaply to make a quick buck. Still, if you want to watch a cheap kaiju knockoff with shock violence, it's worth hunting down a copy. I don't know if I'd let kids watch this, even though I saw it when I was 6 or 7 years old, I don't know if I'd let a kid that young watch it.
cburkemper
Well, I originally saw this on TV years ago. Its a pretty cool movie that most people are not too kind to. Sure the dinosaurs effects are cheesy, there are plotholes, etc., but the movie is pretty well made otherwise. Its got some good creepy moments, some good atmosphere, some stylized touches, a little sex appeal, and a really cool finale. Also, a really cool sound track. All in all, a really fun, good piece of Japanese Schlock cinema. Its too bad there is not a original Japanese version availible.
sogoishi
This is regarded as the worst kaiju eiga ever made. I believe people always have a right to their opinions but this is vastly underrated. This film, about an obsessed paleontologist(dubbed by Robotech's Greg Snegoff) who comes back to his home town in search of a plesiosaur living in the lake. A pteranodon also makes an appearance as they duke it out at the end of the movie. There is graphic violence in this film but it's used quite effectively in quick cuts sending a jolt to the viewer. Most notably is when we catch a glimpse of a girl's bloody thrown-up arm and a headless horse. The music by Masao Yagi is of the times but is often effective and very original. It's unheard of for any monster movie to have a stylish jazzy film score. The pre-credit sequence is eerie. The cinematography is atmospheric, showing the misty forests of the lake and MT.Fuji. I admit this is a bad movie, but one that should looked closer on artistic terms. However, the movie has some obvious logic missing. Why would the reappearnce of dinosaurs cause massive earthquakes? Why would the ever so dormant MT. Fuji erupt after such a long time? How could anything hatch from a petrified egg?Also, plesiosaurs and pteranodons ARE NOT dinosaurs. The best scene in the movie is when the ptreanodon attacks some villagers. The editing is top notch and the disco-esque music that plays over it adds to the fun. The most disturbing part of the scene is when the winged reptile picks up a victim, flies high into the air and sadistically drops him. The dubbing is also very good. If you're a fan of Kaiju Eiga or b-films, pick this up.
