It’s been a little over a week since the release of Godzilla and Kong – The New Empirea film set in that MonsterVerse that began with Godzilla of 2014. In recent days, several reviews have therefore come out both from specialized sites and from the paying public, who have long been anxiously waiting to be able to return to the cinema to experience the adventures of their favorite radioactive lizard. The result is in line with what could be expected from a work of this type: great battles, solid CGI, and bland writing when it comes to the human characters.
We admit it: after the excellent work done with Monarch: Legacy of Monstera TV series available on Apple TV+, we believed for a moment that the authors were also interested in telling us a good story, not just stopping at the special effects. Apparently, however, the cinematic strand of the aforementioned MonsterVerse does not present any narrative ambitions, aiming to create exclusively an exaggerated and entertaining film, where you can turn off your brain for the entire 115 minutes of duration.
A choice that may not please everyone, but at least understandable. After all, it is undeniable that kaiju have always had a great fascination for spectators all over the world, who have been enchanted by films with giant monsters for years. But what are the strangest films belonging to this category? We have collected five for you, but we are sure there are many more to list. And then think about it: write to us in the comments below which are the films with the most bizarre kaiju you’ve ever seen. Surprise us!
DAIMAJIN
Let’s start with the oldest film among those selected by us: Daimajin. We are talking about a 1966 film directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda, a director of the sixties and seventies known for his films about monsters and ghosts. Daimajin is a perfect combination of these two themes, as it tells the story of a titanic divine spirit who, having come back to life, is preparing to destroy a remote village in the province of Tanba. Obviously the story is more complex than how we are describing it and also involves samurai and a pair of brothers forced to flee during a coup. Exactly as in Godzilla and Kong – The New EmpireHowever, the film became famous for the gigantic statue possessed by the demon who sows death and destruction.
Despite the strangeness of this ghostly kaiju, the film achieved moderate success. A real piece of luck, given that the production decided to shoot Daimajin and its two sequels at the same time, entrusting the other two films to directors Kenji Misumi and Kazuo Mori. A risky move, but which ultimately rewarded the public with three feature films released during the same year.
DAIGORO VS. GOLIATH
Let’s leave giant statues and ghosts behind and dive into a good old school kaiju movie. Daigoro vs. Goliathdirected by Toshihiro Iijima, is considered by many to be one of the films with the ugliest monster design ever and with a plot that makes it seem Godzilla and Kong – The New Empire a sonnet by Shakespeare. The story sees the little monster Daigoro, orphaned after his mother was killed by the army, being adopted by a man. When the puppy gets too big, his “owner” decides to make his existence known to the whole world, making him a true icon of Japan. Everything goes well, until an alien creature trapped in an asteroid decides to attack Daigoro to demonstrate his superiority.
Despite the high dose of madness, Daigoro vs. Goliath proved to be such a commercial success that it pushed the producer to make an agreement to make a film about Godzilla aimed at children.. An idea that was also about to come true, but which was then canceled without any reason being disclosed. In any case: Daigoro will forever remain in the hearts of viewers around the world and, deep down, all those who have seen this 1972 film hope to see the return of this creature in an upcoming MonsterVerse film.
DEATH KAPPA
Yes, we know: films with kaiju mostly belong to the past and it is “easy” to find bizarre products if you fish from an era that squeezed this narrative genre in every possible way. Okay, then let’s leap forward in time and arrive at 2010, the year of release of Death Kappa. Directed by Tomoo Haraguchi, this bizarre work tells the story of a gigantic Kappa (a spirit from Japanese folklore) who, annoyed by humans, decides to destroy everything.
Death Kappa is a real gemwhich has become famous over time for the humor present in many scenes and for the use of special effects from the past of this type of work. Do you like puppets and models of cities reconstructed with great care? Perfect. This is the film you are looking for. And then do we want to say something about the magnificent newsboy with whom the producers sponsored the film? “King Kong is dead. Godzilla has retreated. A new monster has arrived in town.”. Pure and simple poetry.
TROLL HUNTER
We remain in 2010, but we completely change tone. Troll Hunter is a film directed by André Øvredal (Demeter – The Awakening of Dracula) made through the mockumentary technique, or “fake documentary”. The film begins with the discovery of two DVDs containing 283 minutes of recordings. Thanks to skilful editing, the journalists who found the DVDs claim to have created a summary of what they saw. A synthesis which, in this case, is precisely the film that the public was then able to see at the cinema or on television.
Unlike the films mentioned so far, Troll Hunter takes itself damn seriously, managing to fascinate precisely for this reason. The idea of mixing such atypical direction with a film about kaiju (a bit like what happened with Cloverfield) is nothing short of brilliant, making Øvredal’s work as strange as it is fascinating. The film also won several awards, even receiving a nomination for “Best International Film” at the Saturn Awards. At the moment Troll Hunter is not available on any streaming platform, but you can buy it for less than four euros on YouTube or on Apple TV.
COLOSSAL
Colossal, on the other hand, is easily available on Amazon Prime Video. For those who have never heard of it, Colossal is a 2016 film directed by Nacho Vigalondo (Paradise Hills) and starring actors of the caliber of Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis and Dan Stevens. The story is completely crazy and tells the adventure of Gloria, an unemployed journalist with serious alcoholism problems. One day like any other, Gloria realizes that she can remotely move a gigantic alien creature that suddenly appeared in the center of Seoul. Gloria raises an arm? The creature does the same. Does Gloria take a step forward? The monster does the same, risking devastating the South Korean city.
This bizarre film received praise from audiences and critics, making it one of the most interesting kaiju films of recent years. An excellent film for an alternative Saturday evening and, above all, perfect to finish in our five bizarre films to catch up on if you love works like Godzilla and Kong – The New Empire.
And what do you think? Which of these films have you seen? Let us know with a comment below or, if you prefer, through BadTaste’s social channels (TikTok included).
