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Gualagon

What is Gualagon, I hear you ask? Well it’s a German-made, Japanese style kaiju film done as a radio play — inspired by such Toho classics as Furankenshutain tai chitei kaiju Baragon [trans. Frankenstein vs the Subterranean Monster Baragon] (1965; dir. Ishiro Honda) [aka Frankenstein Conquers the World (US, 1966)]. The play includes characters such as “Dr Tamblyn” and even a “Serizawa Institute”. If these names don’t evoke any memories, you’d better get out your Toho classics and re-watch them, starting with Gojira!

Gualagon — Frankenstein’s Schreckengigant [lit. Gualagon -- Frankenstein's Fright Giant] (directed by Konrad Halver; concept bby Ralf Lorenz)

Kaiju Search-Robot Avery stumbled upon this — using some canny skills of uncovering clues — and was intrigued to find Ralf Lorenz’s name attached to it. Lorenz is the force behind the long-unfinished German King Kong knock-off, Kongula.

But wait! Though Gualagon is a radio play, the creators have been visualising it as well:

Avery comments: “The monster’s design appears to be a conglomerate of Hedorah and Guilala”.

The Story (rough translation)

In 1966, just off the Japanese coast, the freighter Asahi Maru fights its way through a heavy storm, when something incomprehensible happens: the ship is destroyed and the only survivor maintains that it was destroyed by a gigantic kraken-like monster! Professor Tamblyn, specialist at the Serizawa institute in those forms of gigantism caused by radiation, examines the wreck of the ship and is dismayed to realise that a tremendous danger threatens Japan! While the military mobilises and naval forces patrol the coastline, reporters Keisuke Kusano and Isao Ogawa come upon traces of the monster Gualagon — and thereby put themselves in deadly danger. Panic breaks out when the monster comes ashore one night and attacks Osaka… The race is on for scientists to develop new weapons to deal with the fright giant of Frankenstein! From the depths of the sea he comes! Inexorably, gigantically, all destroying!

A trailer will be going up on the Gualagon website (eventually), which also says that there will be more plays forthcoming and perhaps a comic. Let’s hope they decide to do a movie as well!

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