A mining engineer investigates the deaths of his colleagues, discovering prehistoric nymphs and a creature capable of flying - and wreaking havoc - at supersonic speeds.
In the Japanese mining village of Kitamatsu, miners ares starting to disappear deep inside shaft number 8. Some of the men sent to investigate are killed but one who has managed to escape brings back a tale of a giant insect. Soon, the giant prehistoric insects are attacking the village. Not long after, something traveling faster than the speed of sound is found flying in the sky. It is Rodan, a giant flying prehistoric reptile that has come to life. It spreads terror throughout Japan and is seemingly invincible to any weapon they may throw at it.—garykmcd
After a village is besieged by giant caterpillars, a more horrifying discovery is made in their underground home...a giant flying creature that resembles the prehistoric pterodactyl. Soon after, a second Rodan appears, and the two monsters begin to destroy Japan.—Todd A. Bobenrieth <[email protected]>
In the small town of Kitamatsu, strange things begin to happen when one of the shafts at the coal mine goes deeper than any other shaft they have there. First, a flood happens and when safety engineer Shigeru Kimura goes to investigate, he is horrified to find one miner dead and his friend Goro missing. Soon more bodies turn up and the main suspect is Goro. However, one night while Shigeru is visiting his fiancée Kiyo, Goro's sister, a giant caterpillar like monster crashes through her house. Immediately, the authorities realize that Goro is not to blame but the monsters are. Shigeru and the authorities then go back in the mine and track down the monster. While in the mine, they also find Goro's body and while they attempt to free Goro's body, a landslide occurs trapping Shigeru in an adjoining cavern. A few days later Shigeru is found but he is in a state of shock caused by the fact that he saw an even more terrible creature, a flying reptile called Rodan, hatch from its egg. Soon the world finds out about the creature and the world is now on alert as they await for this terrible monster to attack.—Brian Washington <[email protected]>
Mount Aso, Kyushu, a siren echoes across mine and the associated village, it is shift change. A fight breaks out as the two crews change over.
In another part of the installation the main office is informed that mine number 8 has filled with water. One of the engineers Shigeru Kwamura (Kenji Sahara) goes down to investigate; the last survey didnt reveal any problems. When he arrives at the shaft he discovers two of the miners are trapped by the water
Shigeru calls for a couple of volunteers and they head down the tunnel to rescue the men. Yoshi is the first one found; he appears unconscious and close to death. Hes quickly rushed to the hospital and the doctors are concerned about a strange head wound they have found.
There is no news about the other man, Goro. Some of the miners think Goro tried to kill Yoshi because of the earlier fight in the assembly area. Leaving the hospital Shigeru encounters his girlfriend Kiyo (Yumi Shirakawa) who is also Goro's sister. She fears the stories of his crime are true bit Shirakawa insists that she wait till more information is available
Back in the flooded tunnel the search for Goro goes on. One of the men thinks they hear something and investigate. Getting closer to the source of the noise they hear other strange sounds. Suddenly two of the men are dragged below the water but a third escapes. He tries to phone for help but is killed.
Later the bodies of the three men are recovered. They seem to have suffered the same injuries as Yoshi. The doctor seems to doubt Goro could have committed the murders; the strength involved would be beyond anything he was capable of.
That night Shigeru goes and comforts Kiyo as rumors spread through the village about her brother. As they sit and talk a huge caterpillar like creature crashes into the house, the couple escape and summon the police. They confront the creature but a forced back.
The village is alerted to the danger and the mine workers go to try and stem the threat. They spot the creature climbing a hill outside the village and head off in pursuit. Thinking they have the creature cornered they open fire, with little effect. The creature attacks two of the men and kills them, but in the process it loses its footing and slides down the hill into darkness and escapes.
Later it is reported the creature was seen entering one of the older mine shafts. The police begin sealing the entrance as they wait for the military to arrive. A detachment of soldiers arrives and confidently enters the tunnel in search of the creature. Finding Goro's body they set up a machine gun while the creature advances. Despite their best efforts the creature continues to advance. Shigeru hits on the idea of sending one of the mine trains into the tunnel. At first his plan seems to work but the creature revives. The machine gun opens fire again causing a cave in that traps Shigeru and apparently kill the creature.
Later Professor Kashiwagi arrives and reviews the evidence. He believes the creature is a "meganuron", the nymph of a dragonfly, possibly hatched from an egg buried somehow in the mine
An earthquake hits the area and substantial sections of the local mountains subside destroying the only road to the mines. Amid one of the landslides, Shigeru is found, dazed and with a broken arm. At the hospital Shigeru appears non responsive as if in some kind of shock. A doctor suggests he is suffering from amnesia The doctors try to trigger his memory by showing him images of the monster he may have encountered in the mine.
At the same time an air force pilot encounters a UFO and as he is pursuing it he informs his base that the object is performing incredible manuvers. Unfortunately as the pilot is chasing the object it does a sharp u-turn and flies so close that the plane breaks up and the only things recovered are his oxygen mask and bloody helmet. They then are informed that a BOAC flight was also attacked by the UFO and was destroyed leaving no survivors. Soon there are reports of the UFO attacking various cities throughout Asia; including Beijing and Manilla.
Back in Kyushu, two honeymooners head off for a trip after being recently married. Both are friends of Sunagawa, the seismologist who first informed Kashiwagi and the authorities of the mysterious new activity at Mt. Aso. They stop at a volcanic crater and begin photographing each other, when suddenly a bird-like creature flies low overhead killing them instantly. The camera the couple where using is retrieved and an image of the creature has been captured.
The next day the police and Kashiwagi question Sunagawa about his friend and as they are talking to him one of the lab attendants come out with the freshly developed roll and as they are looking at it they see a mysterious shadow and when they make a print of it they see that it is the wing tip of a gigantic bird. Kashiwagi, who happened to have some pictures with him from his recent visit to Shigeru, takes out the drawing of a pteranadon and compares it to the pic and it is almost identical. However, Kashiwagi knows that Shigeru is the key and he is the one who can tell the authorities what he saw.
At the hospital Shigeru has a breakthrough when his girlfriend shows him a nest with eggs hatching. He begins to recall seeing a nest with large numbers of odd creatures as well as one giant egg off by itself. As he watches the egg hatches and a Rodan is born. It immediately begins eating the other creatures in the cave. The scientists return to the mineshaft to try and gather more information, if what Shigeru says is correct they should be in no danger from the caterpillar-like creatures, and they believe Rodan has left the nest. They return to the spot indicated by Shigeru and find a piece of eggshell before having to leave due to a cave in.
They study the shell fragment and discover the original egg was massive. At a briefing they give details of the size of a fully grown Rodan. Its wingspan should be upwards of 270 meters and have a body weight in excess of 100 tons. Aside from the danger of being eaten they realize the sonic boom created when the creature flies will be fatal to huge numbers of people.
Professor Kashiwagi goes on to explain that he believes Rodan now exists because of atomic tests. He explains that radioactive rainwater may have seeped into the underground caverns and caused a mutation. He then suggests a probable search area based around the two mines that had suffered previous attacks
Following up on the lead the army sends a team to investigate. They witness Rodan breaking through to the surface and taking flight. His supersonic flight is as dangerous as predicted and he destroys a vehicle trying to flee
The Japanese Air Force attempt to intercept the creature and a dog fight ensues but Rodan clearly out flies the pilots destroying a number of aircraft in the process.
Alarms sound in nearby towns as Rodan flies off and the jets try to keep up. The jets close on the creature and seem to shoot it down. As the pilots go in to confirm the kill Rodan takes flight again, apparently uninjured.Surrounding towns again set their alarms and people try to make for any shelter they can. The creature lands in the center of the city and begins to level everything with its powerful wings. The army sees a chance and deploys a number of tanks and rocket launchers to fight the animal.
After absorbing a frightful barrage from the army units Rodan again flaps its wings cause cyclonic winds to sweep everything before it. A second Rodan arrives and begins circling the city helping to spread the destruction. As quickly as they came they fly off as night falls
Later at a planning meeting, it is agreed that both animals are nesting somewhere in the Mount Aso area, probably close to the volcanoes. A helicopter is dispatched and a sighting of both birds roosting in the crater are confirmed
A plan is organized to bombard the crater; the hope is to bury both Rodans in the throat of the volcano. Military vehicles move into position as the remaining population is evacuated. Once everyone is too safety the attack begins
Part way through the attack reports come in that the intense bombardment is weakening the mountain and the volcano may erupt.
Ultimately the volcano does explode and the two creatures take flight, one is caught by the eruption and killed. Its mate goes back to try and help and it is also consumed by the inferno
