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A sci-fi gem. "Yongary, Monster from the Deep" (1967) features a giant reptile that causes earthquakes as it burrows its way to South Korea. Thirsty for oil, the terrifying beast called Yongary attacks an oil refinery near Seoul where he just might be thwarted by the least likely nemesis: a young boy.
Yongary (also spelled Yongarry) is a kaiju, or "strange beast". Staples of Asian fantasy fiction, kaiju are sometimes depicted as villains, heroes or morally neutral forces of nature that just happen to have unpleasant effects on the dinky humans over which they tower. Falling into the latter category, Yongary is a spectacular beast who breathes fire, shoot laser beams from the horn on its nose, dances to pop music and lumbers as awkwardly as any fan of cheesy sci-fi could hope.
As is often the case in monster movies, the plot moves in a predictable pattern. Act I features a mysterious catastrophe which the protagonists discover is caused by a monster. Act II involves engaging with the monster in a series of failed attempts to defeat it. Act III typically wraps up with the final, successful attack and a restoration of a post-monster world. Though there are variations on this basic plot structure, the fun isn't so much in the broad strokes of what happens-it's in the details along the way such as the characters, settings and special effects that make each film unique.
