1967's "Return of the Giant Monsters" ("Daikaiju Kuchesen: Gamera tai Gyaosu" or Giant Monster Midair Battle: Gamera vs. Gyaos) was the third Gamera entry, following on from "War of the Monsters" to confirm the titanic turtle's transformation from occasional menace into a protector of children, little Eiichi the 6 year old protagonist (the last time a single boy would gum up the works). His new foe is a close relative of Toho's Rodan, as winged reptile Gyaos can shoot supersonic rays from its mouth that cut like a knife, or issue a yellow mist from its chest that serves to blow out fires by its vast wingspan. Our introduction to it is unique and more than a little frightening, as Eiichi leads a nosy reporter into the cave where the monster is awakened by volcanic activity, causing an earthquake that shows the cowardly press to have a more pressing engagement, leaving the boy to perish in the rubble while trying to escape, only to be devoured by the man eating Gyaos. The human cast is again led by Kojiro Hongo, as a construction foreman whose crew is first stymied by locals who refuse to sell out, then the appearance of this bat-like creature with a scowl on its face, and a similar aversion to sunlight. Eiichi is saved from becoming dessert for Gyaos by the timely arrival of Gamera, unable to ward off those cutting lasers yet still dropping off the kid before recuperating somewhere beneath the sea; their second tussle finds our hero gaining the upper hand until more well aimed lasers give poor Gamera a severe headache before he can drag his opponent below the water's surface (he does manage to painfully bite off two toes that float to shore). An attempt to hold the blood drinking bat at bay until dawn via spinning wheel doesn't quite get the job done, until Gamera drags him to his doom inside the still active volcano (much like the demise of the original Rodan). It's rather a shame that Eiichi sounds like he was dubbed by an annoying girl's voice, but the monster action is evenly spaced for each third of the film, Gyaos one of Gamera's most impressive antagonists.
Review of Gamera vs. Gyaos
