The three Daimajin films that came out of Daiei's studio in the late sixties are an interesting mix of period samurai drama and the type of monster mash mayhem that Kaiju fans enjoy. Unique in that they play around with Japanese folk legends rather than opt for a sci-fi style creature feature, the trilogy was set in feudal times and as such they were period films shot mostly on soundstages and sets. Although each of the movies would introduce various human elements, the real reason to watch these films was for the final act where inevitably the Daimajin or Giant Majin, would come to live and smite those who angered him.

AIP's television department bought the American broadcast rights to the first two films in the series in the late sixties and had the films dubbed into English by professional voice actors so that they'd appeal to their target demographic – kids. They were shown on various channels, dubbed and cropped down to fullframe from their original 2.35.1 widescreen aspect ratios and as such, they weren't really the proper way to enjoy the films but they caught on and they found and audience and now that enough time has passed, that audience is old enough to get nostalgic over these versions. Hence, this release, which compiles the AIP versions of the first two movies and presents them here, with the familiar AIP logo in all their worn, cropped, dubbed glory.

Majin, The Monster Of Terror:

In this installment, the first in the series, an evil Japanese warlord has overthrown the local rulers and enslaved all of the townspeople, putting them to work (as evil warlords are prone to do sometimes) as he sees fit. What the warlord doesn't take into account, however, is that beside the town on the side of a mountain range, there lays in waiting a giant stone statue that has the spirit of an angry warrior god locked inside it. This angry stone faced god is just itching to be set loose and wreak havoc across the Japanese countryside.

The good ruler's son and daughter have been hidden away in secrecy, and eventually - after the evil soldiers try and destroy him - sort of persuade the Giant Majin to come to life. Once he's primed, he sets out to destroy the evil warlord in a scene to total destruction that rivals anything in any of the Godzilla movies or other monster films of the same era from the East.

While the final twenty-minutes of the film are stellar, there are a few parts that drag a bit during the middle of the film. However, for the most part, Daimajin is a charming and entertaining fantasy film for the first two thirds of the movie, and a whup-ass, pissed off, monster movie for the last act.

Return Of Giant Majin

In this second installment of the trilogy, we find the statue, who happens to be the local village god, blown up by yet another evil warlord, who's taken over another town, once again looting, terrorizing, and enslaving the townsfolk after assassinating their leaders. The pieces of the statue fall into the lake beside the village, and everything is looking pretty grim for our unlucky villagers until, once more, the vengeful stone god rises from the depths of the lake and lays waste to the evildoers who have enslaved his followers.

While not as pretty to look at as the first or third films in the series, this second chapter still has a lot of entertainment to offer, and the destruction scenes in the final third of the film, just like the other two, is really what it's all about. This film does have the most action of the three and is probably the most entertaining because of this, and it's also the most effects heavy.

Overall, both of these films are entertaining and enjoyable monster romps with strong effects work and solid stories. The pacing slows down from time to time but in both cases the pay off is completely worth it and the wanton destruction we witness through these pictures is fantastic.