Yonggary (1999 film)

Yonggary
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Shim Hyung-rae
Produced by
  • Shim Hyung-rae
  • Yang Jae-hyeok
  • Lee Yeong-ho[1]
Screenplay by Park Hui-jun[1]
Starring
Music by Jo Seong-woo[1]
Cinematography Kim An-hong[1]
Edited by Go Im-pyo[1]
Production
company
Zero Nine Entertainment[2]
Hyundai Capital Corp.[2]
Korea Technology Finance Corp.[2]
Sinbo Investment Corp.[2]
CKD Investment Corp.
Samboo Finance Ent.
Suwon City
Distributed by Media Film International
Release date
 July 17, 1999
Running time
 90 minutes[1]
Country South Korea
Language English
Budget US$13.5 million[3]

Yonggary (Hangul: 용가리; RR: Yonggari) is a 1999 South Korean science fiction monster film directed by Shim Hyung-rae and is a reimagining[4][5] of the character Yonggary, originating from the 1967 film Yongary, Monster from the Deep. Despite being a South Korean production, the film's principal cast consists of Western actors such as Harrison Young, Donna Phillipson, Richard B. Livingston, Briant Wells, Brad Sergi, Dan Cashman, and Bruce Cornwell.

Yonggary was released in South Korea on July 17, 1999 and was later re-released with an altered plot and updated special effects on January 20, 2001 as Yonggary: 2001 Upgrade Edition. The 2001 version was distributed in North America as Reptilian.[6][7][8] The film was considered the most expensive South Korean film produced at the time of its release.[9]

Plot

Based on the 2001 version. The 1999 version has never been released on home video on any market.

In Southeast Asia, an archaeological party explore some caverns underground. Dr. Campbell and Dr. Hughes are the two leaders of the archaeological expedition, and get separated. While Dr. Hughes finds an alien corpse with a fossilized diamond, Campbell finds hieroglyphics at the cost of the party except for Hughes and himself. Two years later, an alien mothership arrives near Earth’s orbit, which destroys two American satellites that gets the attention of Parker, who reports it to General Murdock of the United National Defense Agency (UNDA).

Bud Black, a cameraman, learns from a colleague about a dinosaur dig, led by Campbell along with his assistant Holly. Dr. Hughes, who has been believed to be dead for the last two years, shows up at the dig site to warn Campbell but is quickly removed from the site. Subsequently, the alien ship sends beams to reanimate the dinosaur but at the cost of some of the diggers’ lives.

Holly confronts Campbell about the mysterious deaths and quits after Campbell refuses to launch an investigation. Dr. Hughes manages to find Holly and reveals to her about the legend of Yonggary, the alien fossil, additional hieroglyphics, and that he has been held by the US government as a "guest" for the last two years. She dismisses his claims at first but comes around after he shows her classified data concerning the alien fossil.

They return to the dig site to stop Campbell but arrive too late when the alien ship sends one final beam that fully resurrects Yonggary, killing Campbell in the process. The alien ship dematerializes Yonggary and Holly and Dr. Hughes are taken into custody by Parker. Yonggary is then teleported right before them and manage to escape before a helicopter squadron engage Yonggary in battle, only to be defeated. The National Space Investigation Agency (NSIA) sends Stanley Mills to share information regarding the aliens with General Murdock and General Howell.

Mills explains that a paleontologist provided the NSIA with scientific evidence that an alien civilization visited the Earth 200 million years ago and that vital information in defeating the aliens was stolen. Mills vouches in capturing the aliens alive but General Howell wishes to destroy the aliens instead. Yonggary is then teleported to a city and proceeds to go on a rampage.

Dr. Hughes and Holly arrive at the UNDA base, only to be confronted by Mills, who reveals that Dr. Hughes was the paleontologist who shared his discoveries with the NSIA and later stole information from their lab. Dr. Hughes counters that he told the NSIA that the hieroglyphics were a warning and they chose to ignore them. Mills attempts to take the stolen data disc back from Dr. Hughes but fails and attempts to leave but is forced to stay by General Murdock.

As the UNDA continues fighting Yonggary, the US President tells General Murdock that he will give them five hours to destroy Yonggary or a nuclear bomb will be dropped on the monster. Looking at all their limited options, General Murdock orders General Thomas to dispatch his experimental Project T Forces to attack Yonggary.

Dr. Hughes and Holly then decode the additional hieroglyphics and discover that the aliens are controlling Yonggary through a diamond shaped receptor on his forehead and that "another great light will be sent to do battle". As Parker and the T-Forces battle Yonggary, General Murdock is then told by the President that he has sent the bombers to nuke Yonggary, to the delight of Mills.

The T-Forces then manage to break the aliens’ control over Yonggary. Mills tries to convince General Murdock to destroy him but is ignored, which forces Mills to jam the UNDA's radars unless they let him leave, however, Mills fails and is then arrested. The aliens send a new monster, Cyker,[Note 1] to battle Yonggary. Cyker initially gets the upper hand but Yonggary emerges victorious in the end, forcing the aliens to flee. The Generals manage to successfully stop the bomber from dropping the nuke at the last minute and the following morning, the UNDA transports Yonggary from the city to a deserted island.

Cast

  • Harrison Young as Dr. Wendel Hughes
  • Donna Phillipson as Holly Davis
  • Richard B. Livingston as Dr. Campbell
  • Briant Wells as Parker
  • Brad Sergi as Bud Black
  • Wiley Picket as Lt. O'Neil
  • Dan Cashman as General George Murdock
  • Dennis Howard as General Jack Thomas
  • Matt Landers as General "Boom Boom" Howell
  • Bruce Cornwell as Stanley Mills
  • Johanna Parker as Sgt. Romiski
  • Alex Walters as Sgt. Michaels
  • Karl Calhhoun as Sgt. Andrews
  • Derrick Costa as Sgt. Archie
  • Les Brandt as Sgt. Sanchez
  • Alan Grifka as Sgt. Smitty
  • Marvin Poole as Pvt. Lewis

Production

Suits were produced and used during filming but were replaced with CGI during post-production.

In addition to receiving financial support from the Hyundai Capital Corp. and Korean Technology Finance Corp., the film received financial and technical support from the Korean federal government by allowing the filmmakers access to military bases, hardware, and locations such as the Historic War Museum in Seoul, a location where filming has never been permitted before.[11] The film utilized 124 miniatures and the designers spent 6 months designing Yonggary. Sculptures of the monsters were made in 6 months which were then scanned to digital screens for 3D work. Suits were produced for the monsters but were replaced with computer-generated imagery during post-production. The film was in production for 18 months and resulted in 45 minutes of computer graphics.[12][13]

2001 Upgrade Edition

After the film's successful opening, the filmmakers decided to expand the film with additional CG effects, new sets, an expanded story and additional characters, and began reshooting in December 1999.[11] This version would later be released in early 2001 as Yonggary: 2001 Upgrade Edition and as Reptilian for its North American home video release.[4]

Marketing

In 1998, a 2-minute preview titled "Yonggary 1998" was produced and shown at the Cannes Film Festival for potential international distributors, which generated interest from Warner Bros. and United International Pictures. Before entering production, the film already had prior sales of $2.72 million after signing nine contracts of copyrights with Germany, Poland, Thailand, Turkey, and others. Yonggary was given attention in magazines that were published during the festival.[12]

Release

Posters used at Cannes in 1998.

Theatrical release

Yonggary was released in South Korea on July 17, 1999.[1] The film opened at the Korean Culture Center in Seoul, the first time a film premiered at the center, and sold 120,000 admissions on its opening day and one million admissions during its opening weekend. The film was released in 85 theaters in South Korea, the highest number for any movie released in South Korea at the time.[11][12] The film was considered the most expensive South Korean film produced at the time of its release.[9]

The film was later re-released on January 20, 2001 with updated special effects and an altered story as Yonggary: 2001 Upgrade Edition, however, the re-release was a critical and commercial flop.[4][14]

Home media

The 2001 version was released on DVD by Columbia Tristar on August 21, 2001 as Reptilian, marking the film's only home video release to date.[8][7][15] Colombia TriStar later released the film on VHS on March 5, 2002.[16]

Reception

Chuck Arrington from DVD Talk gave the film a mixed review, criticizing the film's acting and dialogue, calling it "painful", but also wrote that the film was funny enough to merit renting it.[17] StompTokyo.com gave the film a negative review, criticizing the film's poor quality special effects, calling it "cartoonish".[18] Jim Craddock in his book VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever awarded the film one out of four bones, noting that the film should have ended once the military defeats Yonggary, which ironically was how the 1999 version that was never released on any home media market ended.[19]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ In promotional materials, the monster is referred to as "Cyker"[10] but the aliens in the film refer to the monster as "Cykor".
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Yonggary". Korean Movie Database. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Yonggary (1999) English Poster". Zero Nine Entertainment. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  3. ↑ Tsutsui 2004, p. 197.
  4. 1 2 3 Aiken, Keith (September 20, 2007). "Yongary, Monster from the Deep on MGM DVD". Scifi Japan. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  5. ↑ Song-ho, Kim (July 31, 2014). "Yongary, Monster from the Deep Gets Japanese DVD Release". SciFi Japan. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  6. ↑ Benshoff 2014, p. 433.
  7. 1 2 Chung & Diffrient 2015, p. 159.
  8. 1 2 Peirse 2013, p. 16.
  9. 1 2 Buxton, Marc (July 9, 2013). "10 Forgotten Giant Monster Movies". Den of Geek. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Yonggary: 2001 Upgrade Edition Korean Poster". Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 Yonggary (2001) Production Notes - Colombia TriStar DVD Release
  12. 1 2 3 "The Making of Yonggary (1999)". Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Yonggary (1999) Behind the Scenes Photos". Japanese DVD Special Features. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  14. ↑ "2001 Yonggary". Korean Film Database. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Reptilian (2000) - Shim Hyung-rae". Allmovie.com. Allmovie. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  16. ↑ "Amazon.com: Reptilian [VHS]". Amazon. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  17. ↑ Arrington, Chuck. "Reptilian : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". DVDTalk.com. Chuck Arrington. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  18. ↑ "Stomp Tokyo Video Reviews - Yonggary (1999) a.k.a. Reptilian". StompTokyo.com. StompTokyo. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  19. ↑ Jim Craddock (2011). VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever. Gale/Cengage Learning. p. 848. ISBN 978-1-4144-4878-7.

Bibliography

  • Benshoff, Harry (2014). A Companion to the Horror Film. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 0470672609.
  • Chung, Hye Seung; Diffrient, David Scott (2015). Movie Migrations: Transnational Genre Flows and South Korean Cinema. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0813575184.
  • Peirse, Alison (2013). Korean Horror Cinema. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0748677658.
  • Tsutsui, William M. (2004). Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 1403964742.
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