GAPPA

The Gappa are beaked bird-lizards –seemingly from a monster genus close to Rodan’s — who inhabit the volcanic Obelisk Island in the South Seas. There, they are worshiped by a primitive tribe, and, in return, protect the natives. This harmonious codependency ends after the brusque publisher of Playmate Magazine sends an expedition to the island in search of exotic animals for a new resort zoo. The leader of the expedition finds a Gappa egg in a forbidden cavern, and pirates the baby off to Tokyo.

All hell breaks loose after the Gappa parents discover the theft. They stamp out the native village, a prelude to the havoc they will wreak on Tokyo and surrounding cities as they come flying in tandem to retrieve their precious spawn.

Gappa, the Triphibian Monster, released in 1967, was the first and only Kaiju film produced by the Nikkatsu Corp., coming out immediately before the studio retooled itself as softcore porn specialists. In the United States, a dubbed version of the original movie, minus a few theme songs, was released as Monster from a Prehistoric Planet. Although Nikkatsu abandoned making monster movies, the gangly Gappa survived, and have made several screen appearances. They have few distinguishing traits, except they can emit a destructive blue ray, much like Godzilla’s spiral ray.

Tomorrow’s featured monster: Gigan