Death Kappa
| Death Kappa | |
|---|---|
DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Tomoo Haraguchi |
| Screenplay by | Masakazu Migita |
| Story by | Tomoo Haraguchi |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Yoshihito Takahashi |
| Edited by | Yoshitaka Honda |
| Music by | Masako Ishii |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Tokyo Shock |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Death Kappa (Japanese: デスカッパ, Hepburn: Desukappa) is a 2010 kaiju film directed by Tomoo Haraguchi. An international co-production of Japan and the United States, it stars Misato Hirata, Mika Sakuraba, and Ryuki Kitaoka. In the film, a series of military experiments result in the appearance of a giant irradiated monster rivaled by a colossal mutant kappa (an amphibious, turtle-like yōkai).[1][2] It is the second kaiju film by the company to be inspired by kappa after Gappa: The Triphibian Monster (1967).[3]
Cast
- Misato Hirata as Kanako Kawado[4]
- Mika Sakuraba as Yuriko
- Daniel Aguilar Gutiérrez as Professor Tanaka
- Ryuki Kitaoka as National Guard
- Hiroko Sakurai as Fujiko Kawado
- Mitsuko Hoshi as JSDF Officer
- Shigeru Araki as Secretary-General
- Yakan Nabe as Station Attendant
- Kazunori Yokoo as Death Kappa
- Toshio Miyake as Hangyolas
The film features cameo appearances by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi.[4]
Reception
Death Kappa received generally negative reviews. Steven Sloss of Our Culture Mag noted the film's use of traditional tokusatsu special effects techniques, but criticized its humor, calling it "among the very worst of the kaiju genre".[5] Rob Hunter, writing for Film School Rejects, complimented the film's miniature city set and monster fight sequences but lamented that "Death Kappa's giant monster madness doesn't begin until halfway through the film though, and until then we're stuck with a mixed bag of scenes, gags, and characters that never quite come together as a whole."[6] Spencer Perry of ComicBook.com called the film "preposterous and amateurish throughout", but concluded that "Even when the absurd effects are laughable it doesn't sway from the film's relentless enthusiasm for what it's trying to do."[7]
References
- ^ Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew (2016). The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters. Routledge. p. 355. ISBN 978-1409425625.
- ^ Foster, Michael Dylan (2015). The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. University of California Press. p. 164. ISBN 978-0520271029.
- ^ "Death Kappa: Tenth Anniversary Attack Edition". Doomed Records. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
- ^ a b "デスカッパ (2010)" [Death Kappa (2010)]. Cinema Today (in Japanese). November 27, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
- ^ Sloss, Steven (June 29, 2019). "Absent Fiends: The "Wilderness Years" of the Kaiju Genre". Our Culture Mag. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
- ^ Hunter, Rob (July 16, 2010). "Another Hole In The Head 2010: Death Kappa". Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on January 1, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
- ^ Perry, Spencer (April 1, 2021). "10 Monster Movies to Watch if You Liked Godzilla vs. Kong". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
External links
- Death Kappa at IMDb