Stomp Tokyo

"Godzilla & Other Giant Monsters" Archives

Beneath Loch Ness (2002): Considering that the Loch Ness monster is one of the most recognized enigmas in the world, it is relatively unrepresented in the world of cult movies. Sure, Larry Buchanan made The Loch Ness Horror (1981) and there are a few others, but let’s face it, we’ve been waiting years for a really good movie about Loch Ness and the prehistoric creature that may or may not lay beneath its surface. Thanks to Beneath Loch Ness, we’re still waiting.

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Destroy All Monsters (1968): Welcome to the far flung future of 1999, Toho style. You know, the closer we get to the year 2000, the more of those classic “futuristic” movies actually end up taking place in the past. Like the Lost in Space TV series and Terminator 2, both of which predicted events that would occur in 1997.

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Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996): Daiei did a great job of updating Gamera with Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. It delivered some amazing traditional rubber-suit giant monster action, coupled with state-of-the-art special effects, knocking even the later Godzilla films off the top of the hill for realistic destruction. How could they possibly follow it up? By making a better movie.
Gamera: [...]

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Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999): Read More...
Gamera vs. Guillon (1969): Read More...
Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995): Look out world, Gamera, the giant fire-breathing turtle and perpetual whipping boy of those wits over at Mystery Science Theater 3000, is back and looking to recapture his good name. Of course, the previous Gamera movies, all made between 1965 and 1980, were at best cheesy fun, and were at worst totally unwatchable. While Daiei created Gamera to compete with Godzilla, Gamera never rose above the level of a cheap rip-off of the Big G. Our favorite early Gamera movie has to be the Gamera vs. Guillon (1969), simply because it was so surreally bad.

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Gappa, the Triphibian Monsters (1967): Read More...
Garuda (2004): Read More...
Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964): Read More...
Giant Claw, The (1957): Read More...
Giant Monster Gamera (1965): Read More...
Godzilla (1954): Read More...
Godzilla (1984): Read More...
Godzilla (1998): Read More...
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002): Is it possible to become accustomed to attacks by Godzilla? The human characters in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (the latest installment in the famous Toho series), take a siege by Godzilla as something barely worth mentioning, and that helps to make this the Godzilla movie with the least compelling non-monster scenes yet. Anyone who saw Godzilla vs Megalon can tell you — that’s really saying something.

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Godzilla Raids Again (1955): Though the original Godzilla was obviously a triumph, Godzilla Raids Again is a misstep, especially from the perspective of kaiju fans today. Perhaps because Ishiro Honda had other commitments producer Tomiyura Tanaka gave the task of making the first Godzilla sequel to another director, Motoyoshi Oda. The resulting film introduced the popular “Godzilla vs. Another Monster” formula that would serve the series so well. Unfortunately, nearly everything about the film feels rushed – except for the dramatic pacing, which suffers from the opposite problem.

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Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966): Read More...
Godzilla’s Revenge (1969): Read More...
Gorgo (1961): When you think about it, Japan and Britain have a lot in common. They are both islands, they both make a really big deal about tea, and neither one can seem to resist the urge to occupy China. So perhaps it isn’t surprising that the first major Godzilla rip-off outside of Japan came from Britain, in the form of Gorgo.

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Host, The (2006): I won’t be surprised if Korea soon celebrates Joon-ho Bong as a national treasure. Not only is he a gifted filmmaker but he has restored the nation’s honor by creating the most acerbic satire in kaiju history. After all, if you don’t have a decent monster to your name you’re really nobody on the Asian international scene. The Host puts Thailand and Garuda back at the bottom of the heap - and nobody wants to be at the bottom of a heap of giant monsters.

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King Kong (1976): Read More...
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962): Read More...
Negadon: The Monster from Mars (2005): Giant monster enthusiasts don’t get their fancies tickled too often. Unlike those moviegoers with a penchant for zombie movies or alien invasion flicks, it’s not as if every year brings the kaiju aficionado a satisfying entry in the sub-genre of his choice. Each city-shaking film that does arrive is greeted with open arms and ready wallets—those of us with Godzilla fever just want to see some buildings knocked down and a good romper-stomper bout of mammoth fisticuffs before the credits roll.

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Son of Blob (1972): Read More...