SPACE MONSTER WANGMAGWI (1967) – This attempt by South Korea to compete with Japan in kaiju films came out the same year as the much more famous Yongary, Monster from the Deep. Space Monster Wangmagwi was produced by an all-South Korean team, while Yongary was made with Japanese assistance.
Obviously, neither of those South Korean movies redefined the genre, but in my opinion Space Monster Wangmagwi, despite being in black & white, is nearly as much fun as Yongary, Monster from the Deep. That former flick begins with aliens from the planet Gamma arriving near Earth in an interesting-looking spaceship. Not revolutionary, but eye-catching.
The Gammans have oddly-colored faces but that’s all we can see of them in their suits of armor, which are like the Tin Man meets the Cybermen. The conversation among these aliens as they orbit our planet is the usual grim but hilariously contradictory alien gibberish in kaijus about how Earth stands no chance, or maybe we do, and their monster Wangmagwi will eat everyone on Earth and THEN the space fleet will move in. Or he’ll attack in unison with the fleet. Hey, just keep it cazh, dude! Continue reading
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