Hey everyone! Joseph (or Joe) here! I run an account called @tokusatsubts on Instagram and on YouTube!
As the title suggests, I was able to attend the 35mm screening of Space Monster Wangmagwi, on September 9! All thanks to the beautiful efforts of Film at Lincoln Center who screened this, and as well as Yongary, Monster of the Deep (in 35mm). I originally was supposed to go to both screenings, however, fate had other plans, and I only attend Wangmagwi. Not only that, but the traffic to New York was so bad, I missed the first 12 minutes of the movie… that really bummed me out! But from what I was able to watch, I was not disappointed (mostly just in confusion & hysteria).
I’m a sucker for films being shown in film. Whether it be 16mm or 35mm, I’ll be there. Throughout this movie I could tell some scenes were not taken care of well enough (obviously since this was a thought-to-be lost movie). The film damage was more noticeable during the aircraft scenes, it was all dark and you can see a lot of dirt and scratches in them. I’m not sure if it’s the same for the SRS Cinema Blu-Ray, but that’s what I had experienced.
Spoilers ahead!
Long story short: Jeong-Hwan (an air force pilot) was set to marry Ahn-hee. However, the wedding was delayed due to a Typhoon. This is when the aliens approach earth, and reveal they had a monster at their disposal to take over the world. Wangmagwi (the monster) was regular human size in the ship, but soon grew into an enormous size. Once Wangmagwi arrives on earth he does the good old monster trope of destroying the city. I feel that the destruction scenes were underwhelming at best. It felt a lot slower than it should be, and most of the time it looked like the suit actor was waiting on someone to tell them what to destroy.
Anyways, the monster kidnaps the bride, and walks off with her, like King Kong. This doesn’t exactly go anywhere, until the end at least. Then, in the middle of the whole movie, there seems to be these comedy sketches. One where two dudes try and stay during the monster’s attack to see who’s the bravest. It drags on way too long. Then another in a crowded building where a man is in desperate need to defecate, while at the same time, a woman is giving birth. Why?? I have no idea!
A little later, we’re introduced to this boy named Squirrel, who climbed onto Wangmagwi to stab his freaking eardrums! The kid later found the device where Wangmagwi was being controlled and managed to destroy it. One of my favorite parts had to be where the aliens gave credit to the humans for being smarter. The aliens just decide to easily give up and blow up the monster.
Such an abrupt ending to the film! I also have to mention that the bride soon adopts Squirrel as her brother for “good luck”. All in all, this is one weird and funny film. The fact it’s been lost for years amazes me. But, the real question is…should this movie have stayed as lost media? I’ll leave it up to you guys to answer.
Big thanks to the folks over at Film at Lincoln Center for showing some South Korean monster goods! And thank you to the viewer for taking the time off to read this! Hope to do more in the near future. Till then, see you soon!
