Top 5 Giant Monster Movies

Posted by Rob Jarosinski Posted on Mar - 6 - 2017 0 Comments

Things get a little heated when Carrie and Rob parse out the meaning of “giant” and “monster” in this episode of top 5 giant monster movies. Also, Rob squeezes in his thoughts on a series of recent action movies along with a jab at Tim for his thoughts on John Wick: Chapter 2, while Carrie dissects two very different teen movies with The Edge of Seventeen and We Need to Talk About Kevin.

Some background on Tim’s selections:

NB: I have elected to remove the 1933 King Kong and the 1954 Godzilla from contention, as the list would simply be too dull otherwise. They would, of course, belong at #1 and #2, respectively.

1. Them! (1954)
The other great giant radioactive monster movie of 1954. A perfect mixture of Cold War paranoia, extravagantly good technique, and just-sufficiently believable giant killer ants; it’s a legitimate solid, gripping thriller, something unheard of in the genre.

2. Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Handily the best of the “Godzilla vs.” films, with real, tangible stakes, interesting humans for a change, and some generally terrific design. The fight choreography is a bit labored, but it has the real and extremely rare merit of being a Godzilla movie worth watching for its plot.

3. The Host (2006)
A little bit of romantic comedy, a little bit of horror, a little bit of action-adventure, a nice big spoonful of political satire, and top it all off with a gorgeously designed catfish monster. A wild genre experiment that goes right in every way possible.

4. It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)
Of course, the first of Ray Harryhausen’s giant monster movies, 1953’s The Beast from 20,000 Fathsom, is “better”. But this one holds a more secure place in my heart: it’s more in line with the goofy pleasures of ’50s sci-fi, and the six-armed octopus is a real beauty of confidently slow, menacing animation.

5. Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris (1999)
The glorious end to a ridiculous successful resurrection of the 1970s shittiest major kaiju, Gamera 3 reaches extraordinary heights of overwhelming emotion and Wagnerian-scale drama. As close to legitimately epic as a giant monster film is likely to get.