From Rambo to Reptiles: House of Scordatura Takes on Gamera

Last spring, Portland showed up in force for Turkish Rambo—a delirious mashup of cult cinema, live foley, and a new score by composer Justin Ralls that transformed a forgotten VHS oddity into a sold-out spectacle. Bandanas flew, laughter echoed through the Hollywood Theatre, and together we proved that the wildest experiments can create the strongest sense of community.

So how do you follow a project that unhinged? Easy: with a giant, fire-breathing turtle.

This spring, House of Scordatura proudly presents Gamera vs. Zigra. Once again, Justin Ralls unleashes an original score performed live by Portland musicians. A team of actors will dub the English dialogue in real time, while foley artists conjure crashing waves, toppling skyscrapers, and the unmistakable roar of monsters—right before your eyes. It’s cinema, theater, and concert all at once, a full-body spectacle born of Portland’s do-it-yourself spirit.

Kaiju: A Monster-Sized Genre

“Kaiju” literally means “strange beast” in Japanese, and it names the monster-movie genre that erupted out of postwar Japan with Godzilla in 1954. These weren’t just popcorn flicks—they were allegories for nuclear trauma, rapid urbanization, and environmental crisis. In rubber suits and miniature cities, Japan told the world’s biggest stories about fear, survival, and imagination.

By the 1960s, the genre had exploded into the global imagination. Alongside titans like Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan, another hero arrived: Gamera, the giant tusked turtle who could fly through the air spinning like a UFO, breathe fire, and—most importantly—fight to defend children and humanity itself.

When Gamera vs. Zigra landed in 1971, the series leaned fully into cosmic camp. The film pits Gamera against an alien sea monster bent on oceanic domination. It’s equal parts ecological parable and Saturday-morning cartoon, blending sincerity and absurdity in a way that only kaiju cinema can.

Why Kaiju in Portland?

If kaiju eiga is cinema at its most handmade and outrageous—rubber suits, model cities, and wild imagination—then Portland is the perfect home for its reinvention. This is a city that has always embraced the improbable: bicycle parades in the rain, experimental comics, microbreweries in garages, puppet operas in warehouse lofts.

Gamera vs. Zigra as a live-cinema event could only happen here. Portland’s musicians, actors, and sound artists thrive on cross-pollination—where music collides with film, where camp meets craft, and where audiences lean in not for polish but for invention. To take a cult Japanese monster film and rebuild it as a hybrid of concert, theater, and cinema isn’t just a quirky idea; it’s the Portland way.

Why Gamera?

Because he’s everything we love: audacious, over-the-top, and utterly devoted to defending the underdog. Where Turkish Rambo brought guerilla bravado and VHS grit, Gamera vs. Zigra delivers cosmic monster mayhem—a sequel in spirit, scale, and sheer absurdity.

House of Scordatura exists for this kind of experiment: taking unlikely raw material and transforming it into something monumental and unrepeatable. The thrill is in the collision—sound, story, and spectacle sparking off each other in real time, binding us together in one shared, unforgettable moment.

Join the Adventure

Next spring, Gamera will rise from the deep, Zigra will descend from the stars, and Portland’s creative community will once again make cinematic history—loud, live, and joyously improbable.

Performance dates and ticket info will be announced soon. Watch this space. The monsters wait for no one.