Never, and I mean NEVER in my lifetime did I think I would ever get the opportunity to watch Space Monster Wangmagwi, let alone review it. Showing my age somewhat, I had first heard of this film and been wanting to see the movie for at least thirty years. SRS Cinema has done what for me felt like “the impossible” by acquiring the rights to Space Monster Wangmagwi and releasing it on Blu-ray making Kaiju movie lovers like me ecstatic.
This South Korean film is about a giant monster (Wangmagwi) that attacks and destroys Seoul, the capital of South Korea! He is sent to Earth by aliens that intend to take over the planet with their monster as the main weapon. Wangmagwi is a man-sized beast but the atmosphere on Earth causes him to grow supersize! In the film, there appears to be a tribute to King Kong where Wangmagwi captures a lady who is about to get married and is in her wedding gown!
After waiting all these years to watch Space Monster Wangmagwi, I can honestly say that I did enjoy it and was worth the wait. I will mention that the movie is not some Oscar Award Winning feature. It’s a great cheesy Kaiju film which fits right in with the other monster movies being made at the time. While it is not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, the film is as entertaining as other giant monster movies from the sixties. There are some pretty damn goofy moments and there are a few firsts, some crazy shenanigans that I’ve never seen in a Kaiju film. I thought the special effects were decent, mind you they aren’t up to Godzilla standards, but still were well-done. In case anyone wonders how this movie stacks up against other Kaiju and other monster movies, I would say this movie is better than The X from Outer Space, A*P*E* and Gamera: Super Monster. I don’t think it’s as good as Yongary, Monster from the Deep, which is the most well-known monster movie from South Korea. To me it is on par with the last of the Showa Era Gamera films, from Gamera vs. Viras up to Gamera vs. Zigra, films like The Giant Claw and Reptilicus. Make no mistake, I had a lot of fun watching Space Monster Wangmagwi do his destructive thing.
SRS Cinema has released Space Monster Wangmagwi on Blu-ray. The picture quality for the film overall is excellent. Outside of some stock footage scenes with military jets that are substandard with visible lines on the left-hand side of the full frame image, Space Monster Wangmagwai looks fantastic with an even greyscale, strong blacks, and clear whites. There was one scene midway through that had some serious print issues that lasted for a second and there were a few jump cuts and speckles here and there, but nothing terrible. The pictures does have strong texturing for the most part. The cinematography by Chang Gi Ham also stands out well with a lot of detail to the scenery.
The audio is Korean Dolby Digital 2.0 with easy-to-read English subtitles. The soundtrack by Jong-kun Jeon (which is similar to the soundtrack in Yongary) along with action noises, gunshots, the monster’s roar, all come in clearly with nothing being overly too aggressive. The dialogue and other sounds are all clear and balanced. No hissing or drop-offs were detected. English subtitles are offered for this release.
Space Monster Wangmagwai even comes with extras! There is a commentary track by Sueng-hoon Jeong (Assistant Professor of Film and Electronic Arts at California State University Long Beach) and Author and Kaiju Historian John Goodrich. The two of them discuss the background of Space Monster Wangmagwi and other Kaiju movies.
Other extras include:
Acquiring Space Monster Wangmagwai where SRS Cinema Owner Ron Bonk provides linear notes on how he was able to finally acquire the movie and is worth a read. It is split up into chapters and just use your remote to go to the next chapter.
Fans Speak Up! – Love for the SMW Release. This has interviews with people like me who were looking forward to this release from SRS Cinema. Some are shot on video, others are also linear note style.
Kaiju Fan Trailers plus an abundance of Kaiju trailers (Nezura, Raiga, etc.) including one from SRS Cinema round out the extras. Lucky patrons also get a Space Monster Wangmagwai poster, a postcard and a bookmark!
Kaiju fans should be elated that Space Monster Wangmagwi is finally, yes FINALLY available on Blu-ray and I cannot imagine anyone into the genre not getting this movie. The movie has excellent audio and video quality, plus a commentary track and some trailers to make this a very highly recommended release. I’ve waited half my life for this release and appreciate the effort to acquire and release the movie on Blu-ray. This will be the holy grail of releases for years to come.
Space Monster Wangmagwi
Director- Kwon Hyeok-jin
Cast- Han Eun-jin, Kim Hie-gab,Won Namkung,Kim Seon-kyeong
Country of Origin- South Korea
Distributor – SRS Cinema
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date –1/19/2023