Daimajin (1966)

By CinemaSerf

A small Japanese village finds itself in turmoil after a revolution kills their kindly lord and replaces him with a brute. A few loyal supporters manage to smuggle his two young children away, though - and they seek the protection of the God of the hill that overlooks their home. Ten years later, the children have grown to adulthood and the nasty new Lord sends a gang of his warriors to destroy a statue of the God to prove he is all powerful. A combination of prayers from the villagers and these vandals awaken the spirit of "Daijamin" who is not exactly forgiving... This is an engaging, if a bit disjointed, fantasy adventure that combines the worst in human nature with a bit of sentimental optimism, some Samurai integrity and a great "Talos" like stone man on a bit of a mission. My problem was the rotten dubbing - it was so exaggerated as to render much of the dialogue little better than silly. The acting - especially the feigned looks of shock - is fun and it's got quite an enjoyably destructive last fifteen minutes. If you like these mythical style films with a bit of nature thrown in, then this is for you.