War of the God Monsters | aka The Flying Monster (1985) Review

“War of the God Monsters” Poster

AKA: The Flying Monster
Director: Kim Jung-yong
Cast: Kim Ki-ju, Nam Hye-gyeong, Kim Da-hye, Moon Tae-Seon, Kim Uk, Jang Cheol
Running Time: 85 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

Korean cinema was in a strange place during the mid-80’s. After military strongman Chun Doo-hwan essentially elected himself as the country’s president in September 1980 following months of martial law and the infamous Gwangju Massacre in May, filmmakers needed to be extra cautious not to be seen as criticising Doo-hwan’s junta-like rule. To try and take peoples mind off the grim direction that Korean politics seemed to be sending the country towards, it was often cited that Doo-hwan introduced a ‘Three S’s’ policy – representing sex, screen, and sport – to keep peoples minds occupied. The policy was perhaps most ironic for the film industry, as while stories about social problems, real life-events, and any political content was strictly banned, restrictions around showing nudity were actually relaxed.

This led to the erotic cinema boom of the 80’s, and in 1985 the licensing system was changed to a registration one, also allowing for many smaller independent production companies to start making movies. This background is worth detailing, since it was 1985 that director Kim Jung-yong decided to release The Flying Monster onto the world, or as it was to be released in the west, War of the God Monsters. Korean kaiju flicks aren’t exactly common, especially one’s made in the 1980’s, however they’re also not unheard of. In 1967 director Kim Ki-duk made Yongary, Monster from the Deep (which would be remade by Shum Hyung-rae in 1999), and anyone who’s seen the 1976 Korea-U.S. co-production A*P*E isn’t likely to forget it.

As a director Jung-yong specialised almost exclusively in making local kung-fu flicks, as well as working as an assistant director on Korea shot Hong Kong productions such as John Woo’s Hand of Death and Peng Chang-Kuei’s Tiger of Northland. After working with the likes of Casanova Wong (Rivals of the Silver Fox) and Dragon Lee (The 18 Amazones) in the 70’s, it would be the 80’s where Jung-yong would cross paths with the man who’d seemingly become his muse – Elton Chong. Yes, if you’ve ever wondered who is responsible for creating some of the most grating slices of Korean kung-fu, Jung-yong is that guy. He’d helm practically every production Chong starred in, from early 80’s efforts like The Snake Strikes Back and Invincible Obsessed Fighter, through to attempting to turn him into a sex symbol in the latter half of the decade with titles like The Double Trumpets in the Nation and Double Bed Commotion.

In War of the God Monsters Chong is nowhere to be found, although watching him unleash his kicks against kaiju monsters is an admittedly appealing proposition. Instead, we get kung-fu luminary Kim Ki-ju (Golden Dragon, Silver Snake, Dragon, The Young Master), here playing it straight as a doctor convinced that dinosaurs are coming back to life. Watching War of the God Monsters in 2023, Ki-ju’s theories that blame climate change (even if it’s not referred to using those exact words) sound more convincing than they likely did at the time of its release. A journalist played by Nam Hye-gyeong (who’d only appear in 3 other movies – the kung-fu flicks The Gate of Flying Tiger and Divine Power and Magic Martial Arts, and the erotic drama Open Mouthed Pomegranate) wants to cover Ki-ju’s theory, but since it was ridiculed he’s gone into hiding with his daughter, played by Kim Da-hye (Whale Hunting 2, Korean Boy).

Either thanks to, or in spite of, her awesome perm and detective skills, Hye-gyeong tracks down Ki-ju to his remote home up in the hills, and soon installs herself as the new housekeeper the local hospital have sent, disguising herself by placing a mole above her lip. Yep, a note to the Clark Kent’s out there, carrying around a handy fake mole in your pocket could be much easier than always having to find a phone box. But why does Hye-gyeong carry around a fake mole? Never mind, that’s not what War of the God Monsters wants you to be concerned about! Instead, we have to endure watching Hye-gyeong and Da-hye bond together through dancing lessons and doll hair brushing, while Ki-ju staggers around some undisclosed foliage and rocks with nothing but a hammer (it’s Korea after all) trying to find proof that dinosaurs have come back. 

Basic details that are usually considered important to the language of cinema don’t exist in War of the God Monsters. Where exactly is Ki-ju exploring, and why does he have sudden outbursts that see him fall to his knees yelling “Why does everyone think I’m crazy!?” while throwing the local fauna everywhere!? At one point he literally finds a dinosaur skull laying on a beach, which is fair enough if we’re to believe he’s in some far-flung remote location, but just a few minutes later he’s talking to a local fisherman who’s complaining about how all the fish have disappeared. Surprisingly though, a lack of cohesiveness isn’t Jung-yong’s biggest issue as a director. That comes in the form of the fact he had zero budget for kaiju effects, effectively rendering his production dead in the water before it began.

Like the thawed-out dinosaurs that Ki-ju’s character speaks of, having no budget for the very spectacle your movie promises wasn’t enough to stand in the way of the director’s resourcefulness. War of the God Monsters was made at the same time as Hong Kong’s Godfrey Ho would begin to pioneer the cut ‘n’ paste style of movie making. In the case of Ho, his process involved filming new ninja footage with the local gweilo population (and Richard Harrison), and then inserting it into little known Taiwanese, Korean, and Thai movies he’d bought the international distribution rights to. Throw in some re-dubbing and debatable editing techniques, and the result was a new movie that could be marketed to appeal to the ninja craze of the time, made with minimal time and effort. Jung-yong’s approach was somewhat similar, only his was to re-use footage from Japanese tokusatsu shows and Taiwan fantasy flicks.

It’s impossible to know whether Jung-yong and Ho’s techniques influenced the other, however while Ho could at least claim to own the distribution rights to the movies he butchered, it’s more than likely that Jung-yong took a more liberal approach with the footage he used. Monsters from 3 series’ of Ultraman (Ultraman, Return of Ultraman, and Ultraman Ace) make appearances, as well as the short-lived Fireman series from 1973, and the 1971 Taiwan production The Founding of Ming Dynasty. The fact that the monster effects from these productions were already over 10 years old by the time War of the God Monsters hit the screens was presumably not a big deal, with perhaps the choice to use such old material being intentional so as to draw less attention to itself.

The final third essentially consists of a monster mega mix with barely a line of dialogue spoken, as a plethora of monster scenes that would have played out much further apart (or even more likely, in completely different episodes) are thrown together with reckless abandon. There’s a giant kind of chicken turkey hybrid, an underwater bat type creature, horned Godzilla-esque monstrosities, and a pair of random dragons. Basically, everything except anything that even vaguely resembles a dinosaur. Intermingled with scenes of Korean extras running around in every direction and some horrendous acting (one nameless couple sees the man yelling at his wife that they need to run because a monster is coming, to which she calmly replies “Oh, I need to pack my things, how close is it?” as if it’s just an everyday occurrence), the whole sequence feels like an unapologetically chaotic mess of explosions and rubbery suits.

War of the God Monsters is an undeniably bad movie. It almost feels like director Jung-yong wasn’t interested in helming the slices of erotica that were popular at the time, but at the same time was smart enough to know the kung-fu genre that had been his staple so far was no longer in fashion. This was the result, combining typical Korean genre melodrama tropes (you better believe in the end Da-hye asks Hye-gyeong to be her mother!) with a B-movie plot involving plastic dinosaur bones and re-cycled monster footage from the early 70’s. Still, it’s equally hard to deny that there isn’t an odd charm underlying the brazen lack of budget and fake moles, so as a uniquely Korean kaiju oddity, War of the God Monsters makes for a fascinating snapshot of the era.

 Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 5.5/10