GEHARA: THE LONG HAIRED MONSTER (Japan, 2009)
Directed by: Kiyotaka Taguchi
Starring: Ken Osawa, Mina Fujii, Shiro Sano, Tomorowo Taguchi, Kanji Tsuda, Yukihide Benny

Who says great cinema needs to push the two-hour mark? There’s more excitement, lunacy, and laughs in Kiyotaka  Taguchi’s 17-minute GEHARA: THE LONG-HAIRED GIANT MONSTER than any kaiju romp of the past decade. A wild combination of monster movie and ghost story, GEHARA looks and feels like what CLOVERFIELD would have been if it truly embraced its Japanese heritage.

When an enormous, hairy monster springs from the ocean, everyone in Japan wants to know what the beast dubbed Gehara wants – and how to stop it. As the gargantuan hairball slams through both cities and countryside, it becomes terrifying clear that this ghoulish beast may be a force far more terrible than first expected. Featuring performances by kaiju regular Shirô Sano and SAMURAI FICTION’s Ken Osawa, director Taguchi, drawing from his effects background on such films as GODZILLA VS MEGAGUIRUS, to craft a visually-stunning ode to classic creature features.