Daikyojū Gappa aka 大巨獣ガッパ, “Gappa, The Colossal Beast” is a 1967 Japanese Kaiju film produced by Nikkatsu Corporation and was their only foray into the giant monster genre.
Also known as Gappa: The Triphibian Monster, Gappa and Monster from a Prehistoric Planet.
The movie was picked up by American International Pictures and released directly to television in the US under their American International Television banner and retitled Monster from a Prehistoric Planet. This version was one of many films syndicated to broadcasters nationwide by AIP-TV.
Plot:
An expedition from Tokyo heads to Obelisk Island, which the greedy Mr Funazu, president of “Playmate Magazine“, wants to turn into a resort. The natives of Obelisk welcome the expedition, but two members, Hiroshi and Itoko, venture into a forbidden area despite the pleas of a native boy named Saki. They enter a cavern blocked by a fallen statue and find a giant egg, out of which hatches a baby monster, a “bird-lizard”, referred to as a “Gappa”.
The natives plead with the sceptical scientists not to take the baby away, lest it anger the baby’s parents. Sure enough, they take the baby away, and soon, inside the caverns, its two parents rise from the underground waters beneath the volcano, destroying everything in their path. Saki, the only survivor, is rescued by an American navy fleet and brought back to Japan.
Meanwhile, back in Japan, the baby “bird-lizard” is making world headlines, not to mention being experimented on by scientists. To the shock of the expedition members, there is news of two giant flying creatures appearing over Sagami Bay. The Gappa parents ravage cities looking for their offspring…
