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Gorgo promotional imageImage: Courtesy Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Why do we love kaiju movies so much? Is it the sight of an enormous creature stomping its way through a metropolis, tapping into our secret desires to see them leveled? Or the representation of nature’s wrath against humanity for its mistreatment of the planet?...

In the wild and wonderful world of ‘B’ horror and Science Fiction films which make superb Saturday Matinee material and late-night television viewing in those pre-internet days. Those heady times of watching The Deadly Mantis (1957), Gorgo (1961), and The Giant Behemoth (1959), then talking it up with one’s school chums. Now some of these maligned pictures are making a comeback in Blu-ray special editions and restored versions. Will today’s B horror films like The Loch Ness Horror (2023) get the same treatment?

Cruising in looking like a hybrid between Alien (1979), The Thing (1982) and Jurassic Park (1993) one finds this Tyler-James’s written and directed monster film. Good-natured fun it is complete with CGI effects, female cleavage in tight shirts, practical blood, and a silly plot. In other words, it’s not a deep film but, who cares it is simply a fun if not clunky film. Chastising it for using plot devices...

In 2022, director John Carpenter curated a special four-film marathon for Shout! Factory TV, one of the best streaming services out there. As recorded by Den of Geek, the lineup included Carpenter's four favorite films in the Godzilla mythos: "Gojira" (1954), "Rodan" (1956), "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster" (1964), and, naturally, "War of the Gargantuas" (1966). One should be warned, however, that watching all four of those films in a row will instigate severe brain growth and usher in a phase of enlightenment previously unexperienced by most mortals.

Carpenter has long been a fan of Godzilla movies, having grown up in the 1950s when many of Toho's celebrated kaiju movies were opening in the United States. Carpenter's exposure to Godzilla at an early age not only contributed to his love of cinema but encouraged him to make movies of his own. As Carpenter's own fans might know, he got his start in filmmaking as a kid,...

Ben Wheatley is one of the most unpredictable filmmakers working today. He impressed with his feature debut, the darkly funny "Down Terrace," but took a huge leap when he decided to blend two quintessential British genres, crime flicks and folk horror, with the terrifyingly brilliant "Kill List." Wheatley could've hightailed it for Hollywood on the strength of the latter, but he had different priorities. He bounced from the psychedelic horror of "A Field in England" to an effective adaptation of J.G. Ballard's dystopian "High-Rise" to the pitch-black shoot-em-up "Free Fire." He subsequently took a crack at Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca," and while he couldn't quite place his distinctive stamp on the material (which Alfred Hitchcock aced with David O. Selznick hanging over his shoulder in his 1940 Best Picture winner), you had to admire his ambition.

Wheatley is an undoubtedly gifted filmmaker, but, film to film, I can't...

Of course Ben Wheatley had a monster movie in him.

Before he directed "Meg 2: The Trench," Jason Statham's second "giant prehistoric shark threatens the world" outing, Wheatley proved himself capable of floating between genres with a remarkable ease. Nasty, head-splitting horror movies like "Kill List." Pitch-black comedies like "Sightseers." Impossible literary adaptations like "High-Rise." Slick streaming remakes like "Rebecca." And then there are his memorable episodes of "Doctor Who." It was only a matter of time before he made a massive studio-funded B-movie (a term used here with love) where one of the great modern action heroes goes mano-a-sharko with a beast big enough to devour a boat in a single bite. To call this the natural evolution of one of the most interesting modern filmographies would be an understatement. 

I sat down with Wheatley over Zoom ahead of the film's release. Naturally, we talked about monster movies,...

The Land of Smiles is trampled by an amphibious monster in Lee Thongkham and Aqing Xu’s creature-feature The Lake. After a mysterious egg washes ashore, an unknown predator rises from the Mekong River and goes on a rampage. The massive stars of this Thai-Chinese co-production are an achievement in modern kaiju effects, and a few set pieces are engaging, however the film as a whole is weighed down by a nondescript story and a cast of dreary characters.

The Lake is a contemporary update of all those straightforward kaiju classics of yesteryear, such as Mothra and Gorgo. Here a larger than life monster’s offspring is also stolen by humans, driving the parent to take drastic measures. This includes the near decimation of a Thai village toward the film’s beginning. The mayhem born from this ferocious attack alone is elevated by animatronic and suitmation effects as well as forceful editing.

"Steve Ditko's Monsters" Vol. 1 "Gorgo", showcases the illustrator's early work at Charlton Comics, in between his assignments for Marvel Comics' "Spider-Man and "Dr. Strange" :

"...the genius artist Steve Ditko is a towering monster of awesomeness, and so is 'Gorgo' the reptilian character he chronicled for Charlton Comics, based on the King Bros. motion picture.

"Gorgo is noted for ravaging London, New York City and Hollywood.

"The giant dinosaur creature also went head to head with the British Navy, atomic bombs, Communists and aliens from the planet 'Corpus III'.

"This is the complete 'Ditko Gorgo', 200 pages of comics, including 6 pulse-pounding covers all drawn during the height of Ditko's Charlton Comics prowess..." 

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Gorgo"...

Like so many of my fellow fantastical fans, I’m at a point where I’m just looking for something to help forget the horrors of the real world, even for 90 minutes; a film where plot is jettisoned in favor of mass destruction, and character development merrily skips alongside the other forgotten tenets of basic storytelling. I’m happy to say I found my fella; Gorgo (1961) is a British film that extensively rips off Godzilla and King Kong in a successful quest to grease my eyeballs with goofy goodness. And it does it in 78 minutes, to boot.

And this is coming from someone who has yet to glom onto Godzilla’s oversized charms and Japanese destruction in any kind of constructive way; I understand the legacy and even the appeal of the series, but can’t pry myself inside. But after viewing Gorgo, I have a greater appreciation for why people find Godzilla effective.

I’d never heard of this gem of a British production; now it goes on my list of highly recommended titles. A dock area on the Thames is ‘the pool,’ and the sailors that disembark from the cargo ships are susceptible to the temptations of black market trade. A single eventful weekend traces the fates of a half-dozen young people, the women that like the sailors, and the sailor that gets mixed up in a deadly serious crime. Director Basil Dearden’s excellent cast is mostly unfamiliar to us Yanks, but we get really tied up in their problems. This picture should be much better known. It’s the first English movie to depict an interracial romance, and it does so without sensationalism or special pleading. The best new extra is an interview with actor Earl Cameron, who at 103 years of age has his act (and his memories) totally together.

Reclusive, legendary comic book illustrator Steve Ditko, co-creator of Marvel's "Spider-Man" and "Doctor Strange" has died:

Ditko studied under "Batman" artist Jerry Robinson at the 'Cartoonist and Illustrators School' in New York City. 

He began his professional career in 1953, working in the studio of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby ("Captain America") , starting out as an inker for artist Mort Meskin. 

Also during this time, Ditko began a long association with Charlton Comics, where he did work in the genres of science fiction, horror and mystery including "Konga" and "Gorgo"...

...plus co-creating superhero 'Captain Atom' in 1960.

During the 1950s, Ditko drew for Atlas Comics, a forerunner of Marvel Comics. 

In 1966, after being the exclusive artist on "The Amazing Spider-Man" and the "Doctor Strange" feature in "Strange Tales"...

...Ditko left Marvel returning to Charlton to reboot 'Blue Beetle'.

In 1966 Ditko worked with the Warren horror magazines' "Creepy" and 'Eerie"...

...as well as for DC Comics,...

‘Things Blowing Up Good’ has been surefire entertainment since the beginning of cinema, but this ill-fated Cinerama extravaganza about the biggest explosion in recorded human history limps along despite some pretty darned impressive volcanic effects. It’s quite an entertaining spectacle, with various good performers in three soap opera plots, either overacting or loitering about with nothing to do. And don’t forget the from-left-field musical striptease.

Krakatoa East of Java

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1969 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 131 min. / Street Date September 12, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Maximilian Schell, Diane Baker, Brian Keith, Barbara Werle, Sal Mineo, Rossano Brazzi, John Leyton, J.D. Cannon, Jacqueline (Jacqui) Chan, Victoria Young, Marc Lawrence, Geoffrey Holder, Niall MacGinnis, Sumi Haru.

Cinematography: Manuel Berenguer

Film Editors: Walter Hannemann, Warren Low, Maurice Rootes

Production Design: Eugèné Lourié

Costumes: Laure Lourié

Special Effects: Eugèné Lourié, Alex Weldon, Francisco Prósper

Original Music: Frank De Vol

Written by Clifford Newton Gould,...

The original Quinn the Eskimo (no kidding) is another life-loving rough portrait from Anthony Quinn, in Nicholas Ray’s rather successful final spin as a writer-director. Despite some technical awkwardness, Ray’s sensitivity to outsider souls finds full expression. Humans don’t get any more ‘outside’ than Inuk, a primitive unequipped to deal with the modern world.

The Savage Innocents

Blu-ray

Olive Films

1960 / Color / 2:35 widescreen (Super Technirama 70) / 110 min. / Street Date June 27, 2017 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98

Starring: Anthony Quinn, Yoko Tani, Carlo Giustini, Peter O’Toole, Marie Yang, Marco Guglielmi, Anthony Chinn, Francis De Wolff.

Cinematography: Peter Hennessey, Aldo Tonti

Film Editor: Eraldo Da Roma, Ralph Kemplen

Original Music: Angelo Francesco Lavagnino

Written by Nicholas Ray, adapted by Franco Solinas, Baccio Bandini, Hans Ruesch from his novel

Produced by Maleno Malenotti

Directed by Nicholas Ray

It’s arguable that Nicholas Ray’s career began to fall apart as...

Fans of this show know it as the It's a Wonderful Life of war movies, an intensely moving tale that restores feeling and tenderness to people crippled by loss and despair. The stellar pairing of top star Gregory Peck and Burmese unknown Win Min Than is unique in movies and not to be missed. The Purple Plain Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1955 / Color /1:66 widescreen / 100 min. / Street Date April 5, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Gregory Peck, Win Min Than, Brenda De Banzie, Bernard Lee, Maurice Denham, Lyndon Brook, Anthony Bushell, Josephine Griffin Cinematography Geoffrey Unsworth Art Direction Donald M. Ashton, Jack Maxsted Film Editor Clive Donner Original Music John Veale Written by Eric Ambler from a novel by H.E. Bates Produced by John Bryan, Earl St. John Directed by Robert Parrish

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

How can one convey the way a picture grows on one? I liked The Purple Plain...

Let's give a cheer for the lowly sword 'n' sandal epic. This persecution and torture spectacle also takes in the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian. The impressively mounted Italian-Spanish production stars Rhonda Fleming, Fernando Rey, Wandisa Guida, and as the slimy villain, none other than Serge Gainsbourg. Revolt of the Slaves MGM Limited Edition Collection 1960 / Color / 2:35 enhanced widescreen (Totalscope) / 103 min. / La rivolta degli schiavi / Street Date February 16, 2016 / available through Screen Archives Entertainment / 19.98 Starring Rhonda Fleming, Lang Jeffries, Darío Moreno, Ettore Manni, Wandisa Guida, Gino Cervi, Fernando Rey, Serge Gainsbourg, José Nieto, Benno Hoffmann, Rainer Penkert, Antonio Casas, Vanoye Aikens, Dolores Francine, Burt Nelson, Julio Peña . Cinematography Cecilio Paniagua Film Editor Eraldo Da Roma Original Music Angelo Francesco Lavagnino Written by Stefano Strucchi, Duccio Tessari, Daniel Mainwearing from the novel 'Fabiola' by Nicholas Patrick Wiseman Produced by Paolo Moffa Directed by Nunzio Malasomma

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Make all...

Do you love movies about cute animals? The original pet-lion-in-Africa romp is actually a well balanced nature film about the separation between wild animals and those raised by humans. Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers winningly play the Adamsons, game wardens that dedicate themselves to the well-being of Elsa, the lioness they raise from infancy. Born Free Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 96 min. / Ship Date December 8, 2015 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers, Geoffrey Keen, Peter Lukoye, Omar Chambati Cinematography Kenneth Talbot Film Editor Don Decon Original Music John Barry Written by Lester Cole from the novel by Joy Adamson Produced by Sam Jaffe, Paul B. Radin Directed by James Hill

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Savant normally becomes sullen and anti-social around overly committed animal lovers, I suppose because I think the world gets a little out of balance when people seriously consider their domestic...

I'll trade you two RKOs for two Warners', an even swap! This quartet of movie-magic wonderments offer a full course on old-school film effects wizardry at its best. Willis O'Brien passes the baton to disciple Ray Harryhausen, who dazzles us with his own effects magic for the first '50s giant monster epic. And the best monster thriller of the decade is offered at its original widescreen aspect ratio. It's all special enough to merit a mid-week review. Special Effects Collection Blu-ray The Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Them! Warner Home Video 1933-1954 / B&W / 1:37 Academy - 1:85 widescreen / 335 min. / Street Date October 27, 2015 / 54.96 or 19.98 separately Starring Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack,, Frank Reicher, Victor Wong; Robert Armstrong, Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Frank McHugh; Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods, Lee Van Cleef; James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens,...

Unstoppable Monsters! week continues at Trailers from Hell with John Landis introducing "Gorgo," production designer-turned-director Eugene Lourie's final entry in his dinosaur trilogy. The third time’s the charm for Gorgo, which benefitted from a massive MGM ad campaign that made it a must-see for the moppet trade in 1960. Unlike Beast From 20,000 Fathoms and Giant Behemoth, this is a man-in-suit Godzilla style epic with elaborate production values apart from the inept sodium-vapor superimpositions. Monarch Books issued an inexplicably sexed-up paperback novelization that introduced many unsuspecting kids to the mysteries of womankind–ironic in that there’s no love interest whatsoever in the movie!

Seeing as how we may very well be just a few short months away from a new boom in giant monster cinema, it should come as no surprise to see more and more classic kaiju flicks like Gorgo getting the hi-def treatment.

Britain’s answer to Godzilla, Gorgo first stomped her way onto the big screen back in 1971. The final directorial effort from Eugene Lourie (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The Colossus of New York, and The Giant Behemoth) starred Bill Travers, William Sylvester, and Vincent Winter and featured top-notch special effects by two-time Oscar winner Tom Howard.

Though the MGM production would prove a one-off, the ear-wiggling reptilian titan managed to spawn a 23-issue comic book by Charleton Comics and remains one of the most respected giant monster movie offerings from the golden age of creature features.

A volcanic eruption in the North Atlantic brings to the surface a 65-foot prehistoric monster.

Olive Films is quickly making a name for itself releasing classic and overlooked gems to DVD and, in particular, Blu-ray.

That trend will continue this summer when they bring us an all-time classic to Blu-ray and a cult favorite that has never before appeared on digital.

July 17th will see the Blu-ray debut of one the greatest science fiction horror films of all time (not to mention one of the most often remade movie ever). I speak of Kevin McCarthy running through the streets to warn us of the pod people in Don Siegel’s 1956 masterpiece Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

One of the greatest and most influential Sci-Fi films of all time stars Kevin McCarthy as a doctor in a small California town whose patients are becoming hysterical and accuse their loved ones as emotionless imposters. Plant-like extra-terrestrials have invaded Earth, replicating the villagers in giant seed “pods” and...

The monster chomps and Joe Dante chats up Gorgo.

Ok. So it’s not an exclusive interview with The King of All Monsters, but it is the featured beast of John Landis’s sole commentary on our latest DVD. It’s Gorgo and he is gorgeous. Just look at him and then read Joe Dante’s thoughts. Just look!

Click to make Gorgo-sized.

Looks like dinnertime for Gorgo. He especially likes those diving bells because of their tangy metallic taste.

How acclaimed production designer Eugene Lourie ended up directing one movie three times (The Giant Behemoth waddled out in between this one and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms) is anyone’s guess, but he certainly had an affinity for them.

He wasn’t a fan of the “suitmation” technique, preferring stop-motion, but he did enjoy shooting the panic-in-the-streets sequences. Nonetheless he quit directing after Gorgo, claiming the repetition was just too much.

The Colossus of New York, the 1958 sci-fi thriller classic that can rightfully takes its place in the pantheon of such great killer robot movies as The Terminator, RoboCop and Demon Seed, finally comes to DVD on Aug. 16 courtesy of Olive Films. It’ll carry a list price of $24.95.

Tall, dark, handsome...and mechanical!: The Colossus of New York finally comes to DVD.

Written by Thelma Schnee from Willis Goldbeck’s story, the intriguing film turns on the accidental death of a brilliant scientist (Ross Martin), a tragedy that prompts his lunatic father (Otto Kruger) and brother (John Baragrey) to transplant the dead man’s brain onto the body of a giant robot. The operation is successful, but the Colossus Robot mourns for his wife and child and doesn’t want to be the guinea pig in his father’s psychotic project and starts displaying homicidal behaviors.

Incidentally, the movie’s director,...

Martin Benson was a dour-faced character actor who appeared in numerous film and television productions from the late 1940s. His notable genre roles include Dorkin, the circus ringmaster who aspires to hit the bigtime exploiting Gorgo, the giant prehistoric reptile, in the 1961 film of the same name. He was featured as American gangster Solo in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, who had a “pressing engagement” when he refused to take part in Goldfinger’s plot to rob Fort Knox. He was shot to death by henchman Oddjob, and crushed into a metal cube in a junkyard metal compactor along with his luxury car and gold bullion. He also appeared, under heavy prosthetics, as Jeltz, the poetry-spouting alien Vogon Captain, in the 1981 British television production of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Benson was born in London on August 10, 1918. He served in the military during World War II before embarking on...

Fango scribe M.J. Simpson gave us an exclusive first look at Waiting For Gorgo, a short film which recently wrapped production at Elstree Studios in the UK. Directed by Benjamin Craig from Simpson’s script, it pays homage to Eugene Lourie’s 1961 monster classic, in which a resurrected dinosaur attacks London in search of its abducted offspring.

“It’s not a direct sequel to Gorgo,” Simpson tells us, “but some people might call it a semisequel, because it’s set 40 or so years after the events of that picture supposedly happened. We’re using the conventions of a monster movie to satirize the bureaucracy of the British Civil Service.” Waiting For Gorgo stars veteran actors Geoffrey (Tales From The Crypt) Davies (pictured below left) and Nicholas Amer as the last remaining staff of the D.M.O.A., a forgotten department deep in the corridors of the UK’s Ministry of Defence,...