DAIGORO VS GOLIATH (1972) – This neglected kaiju (giant monster) film from Japan is one of the most obscure of them all in America. That’s odd since the movie was a joint project between the creators of Godzilla AND the creators of Ultraman, two very popular characters here in the west.
Sad to say, it’s not worth the effort of seeking it out. Daigoro vs Goliath is disappointing all around. Except maybe for very young children. Or very dumb children.
Not even the worst Gamera movies are as silly and pointless as this little honey is. Daigoro – who looks like a dog/ duck/ Billiken hybrid – is the offspring of a mop-topped mother monster who crashed on Earth from outer space and was killed while trying to trash Japan. She looked much cooler than her son but got killed off very quickly.
Ever since then, parts of Japan and some of its people have been pushing themselves toward famine and/or bankruptcy trying to keep Daigoro fed. The human characters who sacrifice nearly everything to feed the growing monster are among the most irritating figures in kaiju history and that’s saying something!
One of the supporting humans is an eccentric inventor whose contraptions usually fail but he does manage to win a million yen on a Japanese gameshow centered around new inventions. The sub-Gilligan’s Island slapstick antics of the inventor are exceeded only by those of his fat, idiotic married friend.
A female relative of the inventor keeps trying to secure a marriage contract from eligible bachelors, but they are always driven off by the foolish behavior and dangerous creations of the inventor.
One day an object from space plunges into the ocean off Japan and from it emerges Goliath, a giant horned beast with energy powers which comes ashore to smack around Daigoro, who is then inert for much of the film, just like Gamera in some of his adventures.
Eventually, Daigoro masters the ability to shoot flames from his mouth just like dear old Mom (at left) and he defeats Goliath. The inventor and company rig a device which flies Goliath back into space and Daigoro becomes a national hero who is considered worth all the money and food he consumes.
At film’s end Daigoro takes a dump in a giant porta-potty constructed for him along the waterfront and struts out looking like he would say “Which way to the beach, ladies?” if he was able to speak.
To me the giant porta-potty out-weirded the rectal bleeding finale of Yongary, Monster from the Deep. Oh, and Daigoro vs Goliath features incredibly bizarre songs that would fit in perfectly with the Jet Jaguar ditty at the end of Godzilla vs Megalon.
Describing this movie can’t help but make it sound like a So-Bad-It’s-Good classic but actually the fun parts are few and far between. Most of it is a trial to sit through.
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