[HorrorScience] Rodan – Children of the Volcano (1956)

Reading time: 6 minutes

Qualification

Sora No Daikaiju Radon

Year

1956

Duration

82 minutes

Director

Ishiro Honda

Distribution

Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Akihiko Hirata, Akio Kobori, Yasuko Nakata, Minosuke Yamada, Yoshifume Tajima, Haruo Nakajima

Script

Takeshi Kimura, Takeo Murata, Ken Kuronuma (original story)

Once again I dedicate this section to a Japanese giant monster movie (the genre known as Kaiju Eiga) directed by Ishiro Honda, the same man who directed half of the classic Godzilla feature films (from 1954 to 1974) as well as many others starring monsters, such as Mothra, Space Amoeba or the one we are going to see next.

Sora no Daikaijū Radon It was the first film of the genre shot in color, which would test the skills of the special effects technicians (with Eiji Tsurubaya at the helm) as they could not hide behind the dark black and white of the previous films. In Spain this film was initially titled The children of the volcano (proving once again that title translators had too much free time) but it is commonly known by the name given to it in the United States: They film The Flying Monster, or just like Rodan.

The film begins by showing us the life of some miners in a small town near Mount Aso. The first shock for the long-suffering miners comes from an underground flood in which several workers have been trapped. A subsequent investigation finds one of them dead with strange marks as the cause of his death, news that spreads like wildfire, causing rumors to indicate that the other missing worker is the murderer.

After a second investigation that ends in tragedy (with all those present dead) it begins to be seen that the person responsible for the misfortunes is not human (mainly because of the noise it makes when attacking). Somehow that being manages to get out of the mine and attack one of the protagonists, which will lead the army to the mine to try to eliminate it, a situation that will cause one of the protagonists to be isolated inside the mine at the mercy of those bugs, because yes, there is more than one.

[HorrorScience] Rodan – Children of the Volcano (1956) — The bugs responsible for the deaths

While the police and those in charge of the mine baptize the monster (Meganulon), an earthquake shakes the area, sinking part of the mine and freeing the man who had been trapped. Unfortunately his condition is critical and he appears to have lost his memory.

At the same time, some planes believe they see something flying in circles at high speeds (which would surely inspire the movie The Giant Claw which came out a year later). That being turns out to be a type of flying reptile (similar to a Pteranodon) that was inside an egg in the depths of the mine and for some reason is now free and has decided to fly around the world causing enormous damage with the blizzards it creates due to its size and speed. This monster (named Rodan) has also taken it upon himself to eat the Meganulons, so we can forget about them at this point in the movie.

From here comes the typical scene of the army trying to take down Rodan without much luck (but it serves as an excuse to listen to another of Akira Ifukube's melodies) at the same time we see Rodan destroying everything in his path. How will they get rid of him?

It is difficult for me to rate this film, mainly due to the fact that it is quite atypical in its approach compared to others. Kaiju Eiga. This is because the first part of the film has an atmosphere and style more similar to Ishiro Honda's horror films (such as Matango) and the final part is the typical giant monster movie.

I don't know if the script for this film was made like this from the beginning, or if we have a film that mixes ideas from two different projects, but it is obvious that the mixture is somewhat strange. It is a bit shocking to see that the monsters from the claustrophobic scenes inside the mine (the Meganulon) suddenly disappear and we see planes, tanks and other military elements attacking a giant Pteranodon.

The special effects are very successful in terms of the models, although the monsters don't come out so well. Rodan has some quite unfavorable shots, but that takes a backseat to the appearance of the Meganulon, which, far from being scary, provokes a certain amount of laughter, thus destroying the atmosphere of terror achieved at the beginning of the film.

Whoever watches the film to enjoy Rodan will have to be patient, since the flying monster does not appear until minute 40, and its first scenes are not very enjoyable, since it is shown from afar as an “unidentified flying object.”

These drawbacks slightly harm a film that is otherwise quite brilliant, especially for the variety it offers to the recent genre to which it belongs, since it completely distances itself from the style of the first film Godzilla either its sequel, to show us a story in a location far from the big city and with a monster that is nothing like the aforementioned Godzilla.

Curiosities about the film:

The original name of the flying monster is Radon, since it comes from the word Pteranodon, but in the West it was changed to Rodan.
Rodan reappeared several times in the Godzilla films as a supporting role. The Meganulon were also recovered for the film Godzilla Vs Megaguirus (2000)
The American version of this film was modified by adding new scenes and removing some from the Japanese version, however there are also some scenes that were discarded for the Japanese version and that were strangely included in the American version.
Rodan's design is clearly based on a Pteranodon, however initially this monster was going to be a type of prehistoric bird, as can be seen in some of the advertising posters.