CULT CORNER // FILM // Attack of the Super Monsters

1982

Directed by - Toru Sotoyama; Tom Weiner

Starring - Dan Woren; Robin Levenson; Joe Perry; Cam Clarke; Mike Reynolds

The tricky thing about doing these ‘cult film’ articles is the balance between recommending films that are entertaining, and films that are ‘good’ in a conventional, critical way. Cult films are often exactly the kind of ‘paracinema’ that Jeffrey Sconce writes about in his book, Trashing the Academy – to quote his definition, paracinema is “a counter-aesthetic turned subcultural sensibility devoted to all manner of cultural detritus… [celebrating] cinematic ‘trash’, whether such films have either been explicitly rejected or simply ignored by legitimate film culture.” To put it another way, films that are sub-par in a traditional sense, whether it be the acting, direction, writing, or just the budget, take on a ‘so bad it’s good’ quality which, for those with an appreciation of celluloid strangeness, provides a level of entertainment which can’t be gleaned from ‘well made’ films. Attack of the Super Monsters definitely sits in this camp; baffling and illogical, yet in a way which is weirdly compelling and frequently (inadvertently) hilarious.

Edited together from a few episodes of a Japanese children’s show from 1977 called Kyôryû sensô Aizenbôgu, and Americanised with dubbed dialogue, Super Monsters can’t help feeling somewhat slapped together, because that’s exactly what it is. Its story concerns the re-emergence of dinosaurs from the centre of the earth, marshalled and controlled by an evil Tyrannosaurus Rex called Emperor Tyrannus, who uses psychic powers to make the other dinosaurs do his bidding in his attempts to destroy the human race. If that sentence alone isn’t enough to make you want to watch this, then I’m not sure what else I can say to convince you. 

Anyway, defending the planet from Tyrannus and the rest of his saurian minions is ‘Gemini Force’, an intrepid adventure team who fights for the human race. Gemini Force is made up of completely flat, one-dimensional characters: Doctor Kharmady, who looks distractingly like a more broad-shouldered, square-headed Hitler; clumsy, good-natured Jerry; bespectacled token scientist Wally; and twins Jim and Gem Starbuck (who have been turned into cyborgs so they can merge physically and mentally into a singular super-powered entity known as Gemini, which has some creepy and incest-y undertones and makes no sense whatsoever, but what the hell, just go with it).

This leads us on to perhaps the weirdest thing about Super Monsters, at least technically speaking. The human characters are all animated (with uniformly terrible voice acting), but their dinosaur foes are brought to life with ‘suitmation’, the ‘guy in a rubber costume’ effect seen in many Japanese monster movies such as the Godzilla franchise. Some will find jarring, perhaps annoying, the film’s combination of animation and miniature sets being smashed up by live-action, low-budget dinosaur suits. But for the type of viewer the concept of paracinema appeals to, there’s something fascinating in just how bizarre and incongruous it all is to look at.

For all the good-natured shots I’ve taken at Super Monsters so far, it isn’t devoid of worth. The scenes of the dinosaurs laying waste to their surroundings are actually quite well done, considering the budgetary restrictions. And when Gemini Force meet their foes in battle, the whole thing becomes a not-so-subtle toy advert focusing on their Gerry Anderson-esque militarised vehicles; a jet plane with a giant drill, and what can only be described as the Gemini Force Batmobile, are lovingly lingered on by the camera in a blatant attempt at making some cash off these playtime-ready designs. It’s cynical and obvious, but seriously… Gemini Force Batmobile. It splits into two parts, the front half acting as a battering ram/tank and the rear half becoming a VTOL vehicle. I want one of those.

Then there’s our evil antagonist, Emperor Tyrannus. He’s amazing. Stomping around, growling and laughing evilly, constantly shouting “DESTROY”, just in case his dinosaur lackeys forget what they’re supposed to be doing, he really needs to be seen in action to fully appreciate. The logic of his genocidal scheme is irrefutable; after all, say you’ve just telepathically enslaved an army of dinosaurs and led them from underground passivity. What would you do? Take control of a bunch of domestic dogs and turn them into ravenous red beasts hungry for human flesh? Obviously! He tries the same trick with bats, too, and the whole time he cackles and warns Gemini Force that they’re doomed, even as his plans are effortlessly thwarted. Never change, Tyrannus.

Attack of the Super Monsters is the kind of movie you watch late at night with a few friends, with pizza and booze or other mind-altering substances if so inclined, laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of what’s unfolding on the screen in front of you. But despite how easy Super Monsters is to laugh at, it has a charm all its own, no matter how ironic.

And personally, I’ll never get bored of Emperor Tyrannus.

“DESTROY!”

(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FOR SHU OUT OF THE VOID - https://shuoutofthevoid.wordpress.com/2015/06/10/cult-corner-attack-of-the-super-monsters/)