Customer Reviews

Death Kappa

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In the convoluted story for "Death Kappa", a young woman makes a promise to her dying grandmother to look after a kappa, a mischevious Japanese water goblin. Things go badly when the girl and the kappa are kidnapped by insane secret agents and a trio of deadly aquatic mutants. Things become worse still when an atomic bomb is set off and the kappa and a remaining water mutant mutates in the giant monsters Death Kappa and Hangyolas...

I was highly, highly dissapointed by this movie. As one who has watched Godzilla and Gamera films since he was about five, I was a bit amped up for a brand new Japanese kaiju flick coming straight to America so fast, especially since movies like "Deepsea Monster Reigo vs The Battleship Yamamoto" and "Deepsea Monster Reiga" don't seem to be showing up anytime soon; likewise with the Godzilla and Gamera franchises. I just have to ask: Why the childish, self-aware parody atmosphere? This isn't a loving homage as was implied by the director; it's more like if some prick saw two or three Godzilla movies and managed to round up $2 million just to sarcastically poke fun at all things kaiju and sci-fi-related. We have characters mugging at the camera, laughing at the top of their lungs, mutant ninja fishmen, inbreds, jet pilots wearing eyeliner, and characters literally just tossed aside, forgotten. NONE of this ever happened in the classics, so why all this idiodic parody?! Why make fun of something you supposedly admire? What ticked me off the worst were the special FX; wires are clearly (on purpose) holding the monsters' tails and the model jets and the like. This was always proffesionally handeled; rarely would the wires ever be visible!

Having ranted, there were a few minor details about this film I did enjoy. The kappa and Hangyolas suits were memorable and well-designed, and their fight scene in the city, though occasionally a bit too silly as well as anitclimactic, was still pretty entertaining. Then we have the sound effects. A great deal of what we hear are old-school Toho-style sound FX, from the sizzling ray of the much-welcomed death cannon to the footstomps of the monsters, from the Godzilla-styled sound of the kappa spitting his BLUE atomic breath to the whirring of a helicoptor's engine, it all managed to bring a smirk to my face. Lastly, I'd like to mention a running joke in which everytime someone dies horribly, they tend to yell "Mommy!". I don't know why, but I just got a kick out of that.

Overall, despite a few fun and nostalgic moments here and there, I was sorely dissapointed by this movie's goofy, odd, self-aware, and sometimes just plain idiotic parody atmosphere, all of this coming from a guy who proudly owns all the Godzilla movies.

The only thing good about this flick is the cover art. It was all down hill once the turtle like monster started dancing in the back yard with the kids... and it was a short hill to begin with.

I bought this movie in a store. It was advertised as a straight kaiju eiga (monster movie) but it absolutely is not that. Rather, it takes all the qualities of the Godzilla and Gamera movies of the 60s and 70s and either mocks them or subverts them. Plus it adds in a dose of mockery for 50's American monster movies, splashes in some mock John Woo gore, and adds a bunch of cackling villains whom the heroine reacts to by shouting "You're insane" about a hundred times (as if that would help).

The first half of the movie is goofy but not funny. It opens with a bald white guy sitting at a desk labeled, if I remember right, "Dr. Serizawa" (he's the scientist who killed Gojira) lecturing the audience about the penalties of ignoring mythical monsters. We then meet the heroine, a former pop singer returning to her home village because she has realized that she has "absolutely no talent." She is played by Misato Hirata, who, judging from a Google image search, is primarily an underwear model. She is really very cute and plays the role straight. In a scene of mock pathos, her grandmother is killed by a group of youths riding around in a convertible shouting incoherently. About forty minutes in, the heroine is kidnapped and gets into the hands of the wack villains, who range from a bitter parody of the late insane ultranationalist Yukio Mishima to an insane mad scientist's granddaughter who pushes her grandfather's mummy around in a wheelchair in a way that I personally found revolting. The kappa, which earlier was dancing about as badly as a child in a heavy padded suit can dance, arrives and starts with the sumotori and other martial arts. trying to save the day.

Then an atomic bomb goes off with some ludicrous, ludicrous, LUDICROUS special effects.

Then any attempt at plot consistency is discarded as a dumb-looking suitmation monster called Hangyolas rampages through a city. Here the movie comments on the Toho tradition in various ways that, although clever, seem like a series of slaps to someone like me who likes the older movies despite their known faults. I won't list all the jokes or the mockery, but there is a lot of it, focused partly on exposing the cheesy model work and the wires, partly on making fun of the Japanese Self-Defense Force, partly on making fun of the older movies. I'm not sure exactly how funny it is in Japan to have a whole unit of soldiers holding up their rifles but unable to fire at the monster because they are all too afraid, or how funny it is to have a jet pilot wearing eye shadow, or how funny it is repeatedly to show an officer with a severe overbite who looks like a bad stereotype of a mentally retarded person. I was stunned, but I didn't laugh. I felt that this humor was nasty and vicious all the way through.

Other reviewers have complained in their Death Kappa reviews about Dai Nipponjin/Big Man Japan. I don't get all the topical Japanese-culture reference in that movie, but it is subtle and character-driven and has plot consistently up until the last fifteen minutes. I didn't find it mean-spirited like Death Kappa.

You gotta give it to Media Blasters.First they gave us alot of obscure kaiju movies(Dogara,Gappa,ect...)now they produced there own kaiju movie.Death Kappa pokes fun at the genre but not to offend fans.We love kaiju but lets face it there campy and that's part of why we love them.It's a unique blend of yokai and kaiju wich is rarley seen in these flix.The monster suits are great and the storyline is fun.Lets hope Media Blasters production outfit Fever Dreams brings us some more original kaiju movies.

well my review is simple, its better than what else has come out. ive baught three recent movies that i wanted to be Godzilla or gameraish daikaiju style movies. the three were "big man japan" "demeking" and "death kappa".. i had high hopes for the three and they all looked good but in fact this one was the only one that was even close to what id call a good kaiju movie. Big man japan wasnt horrid but it was slow drawn out and was just wierd, demeking was utterly pointless and was just a stupid dream sequence. this is the only movie that had cool monsters that faught and reminded me of my childhood. Especially when they faught using the big ball, instant godzilla vs ebirah flashback... id give thus movies a five stars just for suceeding where others failed but honestly its more of a 3.5 or a 4

This could have been a good/funny movie...but it ain't. It has no heart. The humor is from the school of: "Just Act Stupid, It's Easier Than Writing Anything That's Actually Funny." This kind of parody really needs to be played straight. Intentionally bad special effects and all this winking at the camera and over-acting, and just plain bad writing makes DEATH KAPPA annoying and undercuts any attempt at humor. The (very, very) few times I saw something that was actually kinda funny in this movie I knew it was nothing more than a happy accident. Long review short: Just plain avoid this movie.

This movie will have you crying out for death, Kappa; but you will not receive such a merciful end... no, instead you will watch in disbelief, wondering how it is possible to create such a monster- no, not the Death Kappa; I'm talking about the movie. At least you will be able to hate it in high def!
Addendum: I was quite unaware of the director's other films and the fact that this is meant to be a comedy. (Thank you to the better informed reviewers) Believe it or not, I think you might actually enjoy this with a group of friends. Look for the blatant editing mistakes, and the "slightly" subtle ones. Example: The one guy in the convertible with the jacket on... I mean off.. no, I mean on, off- arrrghh!!
I'm raising my rating to a 3 star. (But you'll still probably hate it!)

I really cant put my finger on this movie. I knew it was a kaiju/comedy before I bought it so I was expecting something a little different. I have seen all the Godzilld and Gamera movies (minus Gamera: Super Monster) among plenty other related movies, spin offs, rip offs, remakes and the occasional homage film, so I was pretty aware of what I was suppose to laugh at. now with that all said this is my finger on the movie. If you dont know what kaiju means then this movie is probably not for you, unless your into random crazy movies that dont make sense. If you really do like kaiju movies you will most likley find this film extremely horrible and entertaining at the same time....unless you have a super ego...then you will hate it. You really got to be a fan of the genre and be able to make fun of yourself alot before watching Death Kappa.

"DEATH KAPPA", well, the title certainly grabbed me! A "kappa', for those who aren't enlightened, is a type of "yokai"(spirit/goblin, etc) in Japanese mythology. It is like a cross between a man, turtle, and a bird, and known for a fondness for cucumbers. It also has a sort of "dish" on its head which holds water, the source of the creature's power.
"Death Kappa" is a modern take on this myth.
It seems that there has been a nuclear war, and the fallout has created many mutations, including a giant sea monster called
Hangloyas, or something like that, which of course goes on the rampage.
A cute young pop-singer girl has ties to the kappa through her grandmother who is hit by a car and killed. After the fact, the kappa appears, and shows an immediate fondeness for the young girl's singing.
When hopes of stopping the other monster fail, the kappa grows to giant size...DEATH KAPPA, and battles the other monster to the death.
The movie is amusing, but rather uneven. It seems to be a kind of subtle parody of other japanese monster flicks. It is full of bizarre, rather psychotic characters, and the story seems to alternate between really slow scenes to action.
The special effects may have been done on the cheap intentionally if it is a satire. Hangyolas"s "rampage' really isn't that impressive, and the miniatures are not that impressive, either. Both monster suits are not bad, but they don't have much personality. Effects look more like something out of one of the older "ultraman" shows, but that is where the amusement comes in; anyone like myself that loved the ultraman shows will probably like this because of the campiness. Only problem is the battle between the monsters isn't very exciting; not enough mayhem.
This could have been really good and fun if the filmakers focused more on the action and better character development.
All in all, not a bad movie if you don't have high expectations for it!

There are some newer kaiju films out that are actually quite good like: "Long And Dark Haired Monster Geharha" aka "Gehara", "Big Man Japan", "Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle The Movie", "Deep Sea Monster Raiga", the new film simply called "X" (and not "Monster X Strikes Back"; which I haven't seen yet) and "Gamera The Brave". I had some real high expectations for "Death Kappa". If you can survive the silly, over-the-top and ridiculous beginning of the film (I could barely tolerate Kappa dancing), you are in for a real treat. Once the monster mayhem starts, the film picks up. The blatant fake tanks and cars are hilarious. The spotlights shining on the "wall" on the set behind the monsters and everything else in-between is absolutely hilarious. They even do the tail rip off stuff like something off of Ultraman. I just got in the import blu-ray for "Gehara". I can not wait to watch that. I also imported the blu-ray of "Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle The Movie". The dvd for "Demeking: The Sea Monster" releases on October 12th. I really, really hope that Legendary Films does a fantastic job with the new "Gojira" movie. I heard that it will be true to the nature of Godzilla and not a giant lizard running around. The CGI Godzilla in "Always Sunset On Third Street 2" is phenomenal. It even has the all-white eyes from GMK. Just don't go into "Death Kappa" expecting an epic film like "GMK" or "Gamera: Advent Of Legion" and you will be fine.