Reptilian (1999)
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- For the Godzilla: The Series monster, see Reptilian.
Reptilian (용가리 Yonggari, lit. Yonggary) is a 1999 South Korean kaiju film co-produced by Younggu-Art Movies and Zero Nine Entertainment. A loose remake of Yongary, Monster from the Deep, it was released to South Korean theaters on July 17, 1999, followed by an extended version with improved special effects on January 20, 2001. It was released internationally later in the year.
Plot
A team of archeologists led by Dr. Campbell explore a cave full of dinosaur bones. Dr. Wendell Hughes, having wandered off on his own, is stunned to discovered an alien fossil as well. Campbell in charge of the expedition ignores his cry and presses on. One of the archeologists strikes a glowing red vein on a stone pillar with a hatchet, setting off an explosion. Only Hughes and Campbell survive, though Hughes is presumed dead. The explosion reveals a tablet full of hieroglyphics, which Campbell views with triumph.
Two years later, as a Galaxion spaceship approaches the Moon, Campbell's efforts to excavate a dinosaur skeleton "50 times the size of T. rex" are well underway. Bud Black, a reporter, arrives unannounced at the dig site. Campbell is impressed to learn he was published in Time and welcomes him, though his lead assistant Holly Davis is unmoved. Meanwhile, the spaceship shoots down a Space Shuttle and a satellite.
Presumed dead since the explosion, Hughes returns to the dig site. He demands an end to the excavation, believing that it will lead to the resurrection of the dinosaur, which he calls Yonggary. Campbell scoffs and has him forcibly escorted away. Later that night, fighters deployed by the spaceship fire on the dig site, killing two workers. Their deaths go unnoticed until morning, with Campbell destroying Black's film when he tries to photograph them. He blames their deaths on a live wire and orders the others back to work, offering to double their salaries. It is the third such accident in the past week. Holly, aghast at Campbell's callousness, resigns. The U.S. military detects the spaceship hovering over Earth, but the Galaxions press on with their plans.
Yonggary's teeth fly out of the ground and return to his jaw, killing another worker in the process, while his skeleton begin to regrow. Again, Campbell blocks Black's efforts to document his death. He even convinces Black to help him hide the body, only for another worker to die later that night. Facing a revolt, Campbell threatens to report the remaining workers, who are all undocumented immigrants, and they fall in line.
Hughes follows Holly to a bar, where he repeats his warning about Yonggary, first told to him by a shaman in Southeast Asia. According to this prophecy, the dinosaur will be reborn to destroy the world. He reveals that he took the alien fossil to the U.S. government, which became too preoccupied studying it to bother with Yonggary. Holly doesn't believe him at first, but is convinced upon reading that carbon dating estimated that the Galaxion fossil was 220 to 250 million years old. They return to the dig site as Yonggary's skeleton is fully revealed. The spaceship fires a ray which rapidly restores Yonggary to life, with a jewel called a Daemon forming on his forehead. Campbell, gripped by madness, tries to communicate with the monster, only to be stomped flat, along with most of the workers. The spaceship teleports Yonggary away.
The military sends infantry to the dig site, and Hughes and Holly try to explain the situation to Captain Parker, who is incredulous until he sees one of Yonggary's footprints. The Galaxions beam down the monster in front of their jeep, but he hesitates to attack them, with Hughes explaining that his vision is based on movement. A squadron of helicopters surround him, allowing them to escape, but their weapons prove ineffective. Spitting fireballs, he destroys most of them.
Stunned by the defeat, Lieutenant-General George Murdock meets with Stanley Mills, an agent from the highly-classified National Space Investigation Agency. He shares Hughes' discovery with them, admitting that he knew the Galaxions could return six months ago. The aliens deploy Yonggary to Los Angeles, where he goes on a rampage. Infantry attacks him to no avail. In the war room, Hughes and Mills have a testy reunion, as Hughes left the N.S.I.A. with a CD containing tablet translations. Fighter jets target Yonggary next, but he evades most of their missiles, leading to massive collateral damage, and returns fire to devastating effect. The President of the United States informs Murdock that he has five hours to stop the monster before he will order the use of nuclear weapons. After Yonggary vanishes again, the military learns that he has a force field which interfered with the missiles' guidance systems.
Out of options, the military turns to Project T: infantry armed with experimental jetpacks and laser cannons. Using the tablets, Hughes and Holly determine that the aliens are using the Daemon to control Yonggary. The T-forces intercept Yonggary before he can reach a nuclear power plant, but the campaign seems futile until Hughes and Holly instruct them to target the Daemon. Before they can hit it, the Galaxions teleport Yonggary away, aware of their discovery. Using infrared, T-forces determine Yonggary's destination as a nuclear-armed stealth fighter heads towards Los Angeles. He damages Captain Parker's jetpack, though the soldier survives the fall, and Lieutenant O'Neil destroys the Daemon with a suicide attack. Freed of the aliens' control, Yonggary saves a group of civilians from a building toppled from another errant missile salvo.
Mills jams the war room's communications with the President before the nuclear attack can be called off as well. He's determined that Yonggary's death will cause the aliens to descend to Earth, allowing them to be captured and studied. Murdock gives him the code to leave the war room, but Sergeant Archie is waiting on the other side of the door to disarm him.
With electric rays from his tail and raw strength, Cykor gains the upper hand over Yonggary, but Parker distracts him. Yonggary recovers, blasting off Cykor's right claw with a fireball. Tentacles emerge from the stump and ensnare the dinosaur, electrocuting him. When Cykor closes in, however, Yonggary decapitates him with a fireball. The alien keeps coming, but another fireball fired into his neck blows him to pieces. Yonggary collapses, while the nuclear strike is terminated just in time.
The Galaxions opt to retreat "before Yonggary discovers his true strength." Helicopters transport the groggy monster to a remote, deserted island.
Staff
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Shim Hyung-rae
- Story by Shim Hyung-rae
- Screenplay by Marty Poole
- Produced by Shim Hyung-rae
- Executive Producers David A. Smitas, P.J. Leone, Yong Ho Lee
- Music by Sung-woo Jo
- Cinematography by An-hong Kim
- Edited by Steve Swersky
- Production Design by Birdy Lee
- Assistant Director Jin Man Jo
- Visual Effects Supervisor Sunny Ryu
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Dan Cashman as Lieutenant-General George Murdock
- Bruce Cornwell as Mr. Mills
- Dennis Howard as Major-General Jack Thomas
- Matt Landers as Major-General Don "Boom Boom" Howell
- Richard Livingston as Dr. Campbell
- Donna Philipson as Holly Davis
- Wiley M. Pickett as Lieutenant O'Neil
- Brad Sergi as Bud Black
- Eric Briant Wells as Captain Parker
- Harrison Young as Dr. Wendell Hughes
- D.J. Robbins as Editor
- Derrick Costa as Sergeant Archie
- Johanna Parker as Sergeant Romiski
- Alex Walters as Sergeant Michaels
- Les Brandt as Sergeant Sanchez
- Karl Calhhoun as Sergeant Andrews
- Allan Grifka as Sergeant Smitty
- Julie Kessler as Bartender Sarah Saunders
- William Hankins as Man at door
- Wilborn Monroe Kilpatrick Jr. as Dudly
- Kurt Leitner as Voice Performer
- Matthew Perniciaro as Man at bar
- Marvin Poole as Private Lewis
- Ken Wayne as Soldier/Pilot
- Chan-ho Seo as Worker
Appearances
Monsters
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Weapons, vehicles, and races
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Gallery
- Main article: Reptilian (film)/Gallery.
Soundtrack
- Main article: Reptilian (soundtrack).
Alternate titles
- 2001 Yonggary (2001용가리; 2001 South Korean re-release title)
- Yonggary vs. Cyker (English South Korean re-release title)
- Reptile (Réptil; Brazil)
- Yonggary - The Reptile (Yonggary - O Réptil; Portugal)
- Resurrection of Godzilla (哥斯拉复活; Mainland China)
- Yongari (French working title)
- Yonggary - The Space Monster (Yonggary - Az űrbéli szörny; Hungary)
- Upgrade Yonggary (업그레이드용가리; Korea)
Theatrical releases
- South Korea - July 17, 1999 [view poster]; January 20, 2001 (Re-released extended version titled 2001 Yonggary) [view poster]
- Japan - November 10, 2001 [view poster]
Video releases
- Region: 1
- Discs: 1
- Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Special features: Original trailer, Yonggary profile (3 minutes), photo gallery
- Notes: Out of print.
Videos
Trailers
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Other
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Trivia
- The version of the film that premiered in South Korea in 1999 had unfinished CGI due to a lack of funding and an inflexible release date.[2] It has never been released on home video.
- Before engaging Yonggary with the T-force, Captain Parker declares, "Compared to this guy, Godzilla is a pussy!"
- A deleted subplot involving Bud Black has the reporter obtaining the aliens' secrets of genetic resurrection, the same method used to bring back Yongarry to life, and returning to the archaeological site with its cave of dinosaur fossils. Supposedly, Bud Black was to be the antagonist of the unfilmed sequel.[3]
- Concept art done for the unproduced sequel Yonggary 2 featured a Mechagodzilla-style robotic version of Yonggary.[4]
- The Reptilian logo used for Sony's VHS and DVD releases of the film mimics the logo of GODZILLA.
External links
References
This is a list of references for Reptilian (film). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
Comments
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