Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang co-direct 1991’s The Guyver, an obvious homage to the Japanese tokusatsu genre that loosely adapts the manga Bio Booster Armor Guyver. Starring Jack Armstrong as the titular Guyver and employing both David Gale and Michael Barryman as corporate baddies turned Zoanoid aliens, the film features a unique depiction of the superhero film for American audiences, though it often fails to find compromise between its overtly humorous elements and the more serious nature of its plot.
Our main character Sean (Armstrong) accidentally picks up the Guyver armor after getting embroiled in a plot by the Chronos Corporation; they’ve been doing human experiments that end up turning people into human/alien hybrids called Zoanoids that vaguely resemble giant insects, and they want to get their hands on the Guyver suit in order to be unstoppable. That’s basically the plot in a nutshell; despite the lengthy introduction text, The Guyver ain’t that complex.
What it does have, though, is a fairly interesting bad guy design thanks to the special effects work. The Guyver clearly takes inspiration from the tokusatsu film – specifically TV shows like Ultraman and Kamen Rider – and utilizes some very obvious man-in-suit designs that put it squarely within that aesthetic. And for those that grew up on the more North Americanized Power Rangers, there’s an obvious nostalgic appeal to the film that has helped foster its popularity over the past 30 years. Here though, Screaming Mad George and Wang infuse goopier body horror into the mix, focusing on human transformation into the Zoanoid that allows for some cool practical effects. Mark Hamill’s shift into a cockroach at the end of the film is probably the most notable, giving shades 0f both The Thing and The Fly.
Other than the transformations and the fairly well-choreographed tokusatsu action setpieces, though, The Guyver doesn’t have that much more going for it. Its overall storyline is pretty bland and uninteresting, with main characters that never really blossom outside of a tedious and unnecessary romance. The film has limited plot beats, too, with the action taking place in just a couple of different locations including Chronos Corporation’s generic villain lair. Gale does what he can as the ultimate big bad, but The Guyver leaves it pretty vague exactly what the bad guys will do with the Guyver suit.
Probably the more egregious fault is The Guyver‘s tone, which is often beset by too much humor. The film can’t really decide whether it wants a serious or comedic direction and it sits somewhere in the middle, with the slapstick elements and over-the-top exaggeration becoming aggravating very quickly. (It makes sense why Wang pivoted to a darker, grittier tone for the sequel.) The overreliance on comedy will certainly frustrate those looking for a more serious tokusatsu, despite the fact that this is in fact the more violent R-rated cut.
The Guyver has some appeal thanks to its interesting Zoanoid designs and the Japanese inspiration, and there’s definitely something to like about its loving tribute to tokusatsu. But these moments are intermixed with a pretty tepid overall plot, making this an uneven movie experience.
4K UHD
Unearthed Films has released The Guyver on 4K UHD as part of the Unearthed Classics line with a new 4K scan of the original 35mm negative. This restores the original R-rated cut of the film with a few gorier elements like a Zolanoid head crushing and a few blood spurts that were missing from the PG-13 edition. The Guyver looks great in ultra high def, with a medium-bodied grain scale that is more noticeable during scenes with a lot of white backdrops (such as the opening dojo) but otherwise resolves nicely. Detail is high, with background signage very visible as well as up-close textural elements with clothing and skin tones. The slick and wet appearance of the Zolanoids is very apparent, which is somewhat used as a way to prevent overtly plasticky-looking textures from the masks; the 4K transfer does showcase the slimier elements and the overall costumery and practical effects stand out here. This release features HDR10 and while the color scheme does not really utilize the extra color primaries (much of The Guyver is almost washed out in its grading), the darker scenes do fare well with black levels. Overall, fans should be happy that a) the film’s R-rated cut has been restored and b) this looks excellent with its 4K transfer.
Audio is presented with an original LPCM 2.0 stereo track, as well as an upmixed DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround option. Both sound good – and relatively the same – with strong dialogue levels mixed centrally; for the surround, some of the ambient effects and music score have been moved to the satellite speakers. Ultimately either option is good depending on your setup and preference for original fidelity. English subtitles and SDH subtitles are also available.
Most of the extras are featured on the Blu-ray version of the disc, but two new audio commentaries are shared on both discs. The first new commentary has Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang along with moderator Dom O’Brien (writer of a book on the Guyver films) and dives into all of the major decisions behind the production; it also reveals the reasons why the film hued more towards comedy due to the successful release of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles just prior to The Guyver. The other new commentary with actor/special effects artist Evil Ted Smith and miniature supervisor Wyatt Weed gets more in-depth into the creation of the various suits, the miniature elements used throughout the film, and specific shots where creature effects were used; Weed provides almost a moderation element, while Smith gives a lot of production insight.
New interviews are also included. Producer Brian Yuzna quickly discusses his early entry into film before getting into the production of The Guyver including how they landed on the cast and his overseeing of the production while helping Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang get their dream film made. A new interview with Screaming Mad George runs almost an hour and he discusses the influences that led him into special effects, his early works, and later on specific elements from The Guyver including the rap scene and how they landed on Jack Armstrong as the hero.
This release also collects a lot of archival footage including Guyver suit tests with commentary from both Screaming Mad George and Scott Wang and Ted Smith and Wyatt Weed, outtakes, a gag reel, and an alternate title sequence featuring the name “Mutatronics.” There are also production and promotion galleries and various-language trailers.
For packaging, Unearthed includes a new essay booklet with an appreciative writeup from Dom O’Brien as well as a short history of how Matthew Morse came to do the soundtrack on the film. Reversible cover artwork and new slipcover artwork are also included, as well as a CD disc of Matthew Morse’s soundtrack.
Extra Features
- 4K ULTRA HD + BLU-RAY + CD SOUNDTRACK | LIMITED COLLECTOR’S EDITION CONTENTS
- NEW 4K restoration of the original R-rated 35mm camera negative by Unearthed Films
- Blu-ray of the feature film and all new extras
- The Guyver Soundtrack composed by Matthew Morse
- NEW Booklet
DISC ONE – FEATURE (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
- NEW 4K restoration of the original R-rated 35mm camera negative by Unearthed Films presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio in HDR
- NEW Commentary with co-directors Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang, moderated by Dom O’Brien, the author of Budget Biomorphs: The Making of The Guyver Films
- NEW Commentary with actor/SFX artist Evil Ted Smith and creature shop lab tech/miniature supervisor Wyatt Weed
DISC TWO – FEATURE & EXTRAS (BLU-RAY)
- NEW 4K restoration of the original R-rated 35mm camera negative by Unearthed Films presented in 1080p HD in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio
- NEW Commentary with co-directors Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang, moderated by Dom O’Brien, the author of Budget Biomorphs: The Making of The Guyver Films
- NEW Commentary with actor/SFX artist Evil Ted Smith and creature shop lab tech/miniature supervisor Wyatt Weed
- NEW Interview with producer Brian Yuzna (1080p; 35:39)
- NEW Interview with co-director Screaming Mad George (1080p; 56:48)
- NEW Suit Tests with commentary by co-directors Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang (720p; 7:06)
- NEW Suit Tests with commentary by Evil Ted Smith and Wyatt Weed (720p; 7:06)
- NEW Outtakes with commentary by co-directors Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang (720p; 14:31)
- NEW Gag Reel with commentary by co-directors Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang (720p; 10:55)
- NEW Promotional gallery (no chapter breaks; 6:22)
- NEW Production gallery (no chapter breaks; 19:35)
- Alternate Title Sequence – English, German, Spanish (720p; 6:10)
- English trailer (720p; 1:45)
- German trailer (720p; 2:32)
- Spanish trailer (720p; 0:54)
- French trailer (720p; 2:15)
DISC THREE – SOUNDTRACK (COMPACT DISC)
- NEW The Guyver Soundtrack composed by Matthew Morse
Verdict
This 4K UHD release of The Guyver is undoubtedly the most complete version of the film to own on home video, with a great new 4K scan of the R-rated cut restoring the missing gorier sequences and a vast number of new extra features, with an excellent physical package to boot. If you’re a fan of The Guyver, this one is definitely a must-own.
