Yonggarry is a remake of a 1967 movie named Yongary, Monster from the Deep, directed by Shim Hyung-rae. Interestingly, despite being a Korean produced movie by Korean creators, the cast is primarily western actors and the movie seems to have been filmed in English and take place in a western country (probably the US). I'm not an expert on Korean cinema by any means so I have no idea if this is particularly significant, but definitely seemed worth noting. Like the previous film we covered, the titular monster does not have a (credited) suit actor, being a full CGI creation. Though suits were used in the production of the film, there's no trace of this in the final product. While I'm sure there was an actor inside said suit, I haven't been able to find their name.
The only really interesting background fact of this movie is why we're covering the 1999 remake instead of the 1967 classic and it's simple: the original is a lost film. While a short cut/version has been found in the years since it was initially thought lost to time, it's still not the complete film. Rather than do that film a disservice in speaking on an incomplete cut of it, I decided to watch the remake instead so I could get a full Yonggary experience. Hopefully it pays off.
If You Haven't Seen it Before
- A group of archaeologists are exploring a cave. Coming across some creepy shit, they get exploded and a bunch of people die.
- A photojournalist, Bud, goes to the dig site and meets one of the only survivors from the previous party and the new leader, Campbell, as well as his assistant Holly. The giant bones they are uncovering is said to be "the most important discovery in human history."
- Mysterious incidents begin to happen to the camp, with men from the dig site dying in "accidents" which are very clearly not accidents. Campbell doesn't care at all, simply telling the workers to dispose of the body and continue working, at one point threatening to turn them in for being undocumented.
- The former leader of the archaeologists, Hughes, appears again, warning of a horrible fate to befall the Earth if the dig continues. He is ignored and taken away by the workers but inspires Holly to quit.
- When the bones are finally unearthed, they are revived by an alien spaceship which has been established to exist in the movie already. The creature, giant and angry, kills many of the workers, including Campbell.
- As Yonggary, the giant monster, is snatched away by the aliens, Hughes and Holly are taken into military custody. They are eventually confronted by Yonggary again. A helicopter squadron attacks it but is predictably destroyed, but gives Holly and Hughes enough time to escape.
- A showdown between the military and Yonggary ensues, revealing that Yonggary is a weapon for the aliens to weaken Earth and allow them conquest.
- Hughes and Holly eventually figure out that Yonggary is being controlled by the aliens using a node in its forehead.
- The node destroyed, Yonggary becomes a bit of a hero, trying to help people rather than harm them.
- The aliens, as predicted by H&H, send another monster (Cykor) to destroy Yonggary.
- Cykor is eventually destroyed by Yonggary after initially getting the upper hand, and Yonggary is safely transported to a remote island where it can live peacefully.
Kaiju Notes
- Yonggary looks... terrible. Not just due to the bad CGI, though it is quite bad, but also because it's just a very generic design for a very generic monster. It's vaguely reptilian but lacks any real defining features or weight. Pretty disappointing for the star of your monster movie.
- Cykor is actually better than Yonggary, being some sort of chimera which is at least interesting if still 90s-CGI-ugly. Though it lacks a face, it at least has a distinct shape and purpose: a weapon. With wrapping tentacles, many claws, at least four legs, and a thick tail that can be used for leverage, this is the only creature that adds some character to a movie that otherwise lacks any.
- Cykor also gets up after being fully decapitated by Yonggary. It raises the question of why the aliens waited for Yonggary to be revived. While the titular Y-man did eventually win the fight, Cykor seems plenty able to wipe out all militaries all by its lonesome. The aliens would have plenty of time to dig up Yonggary themselves and then have 2 monsters under their control.
This movie absolutely sucks.
Next: Godzilla 2000!
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