"Stupid bird lizard!"
An expedition is sent looking for exotic animals and plants for a wealthy magazine magnate who runs Playmate magazine. He wants to build a resort called “Playmate Land” in Japan. The members of the expedition include scientists and a reporter. The expedition lands on Obelisk Island, A tropical island in the South Pacific.
At first the natives welcome the expedition. The native leader mistakenly believes they are people that he met years ago. He believes that now they have returned, Gappa will be appeased. George Inoue, Itoko Koyanagi and Hiroshi Kurosaki, not knowing who Gappa is, believe that it is probably the name of their volcano and that their mysterious god is the volcano.
Two of the expedition, Hiroski and Itoko go into a forbidden area. They enter a cavern and find a giant egg. The egg hatches and a baby Gappa is born. The natives warn that the baby’s parents will be angry if the baby is removed. The skeptical scientists take the baby back to Tokyo against the wishes of the island inhabitants. As soon as the baby is taken away the parents rise from an underground cavern and destroy the island. The only survivor from the island is Saki, a native boy. He is rescued by an American Navy submarine and brought to Japan.
In Japan the baby Gappa is growing at an alarming rate. The scientists are also involved experimenting on it. At least until Mom and Dad object.
“Monster from a Prehistoric Planet”, or “Gappa: The Triphibian Monster” was released in 1967 and was directed by Hiroshi Noguchi. It is a Kaiju movie from Nikkatsu. This is the only giant monster movie they ever made. The effects for the monster were created by Akira Watanabe who was formerly from TOHO. Gappa is Tokyo’s answer to Gorgo. Gappa et al are your basic guys in rubber suits. A Gappa looks like a cross between a bird and a lizard. They can fly and breathe blue fire.
The plot is thin, but hey, it’s a monster movie what do you expect? Its fun for anyone who likes Japanese monster movies or if you like any kind of monster movie and are not fussy about the quality of the plot or the acting, or the dialogue, or the special effects, or the dubbing.