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#10
CLOVERFIELD (2008)
Cloverfield poster

CAST
MICHAEL STAHL-DAVID, ODETTE ANNABLE, LIZZY CAPLAN, JESSICA LUCAS, T.J. MILLER, MIKE VOGEL

DIRECTED BY
MATT REEVES

The found footage movie takes on the giant monster movie in Cloverfield, the J.J. Abrams conceived, Matt Reeves directed riff on Godzilla with a monstrous creation wreaking havoc in New York City.

While the hip 20-something characters who navigate this destruction can irritate, the monstrous carnage is thrillingly good and put Reeves on the map as an excellent director of VFX heavy movies.

 


#9
GODZILLA (1954/2014)
Godzilla poster

(1954 FILM)
CAST

MOMOKO KOCHI, AKIRA TAKARADA, AKIHIKO HIRATA, FUYUKI MURAKAMI, TAKASHI SHIMURA

DIRECTED BY
ISHIRO HONDA

(2014 FILM)
CAST

AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON, BRYAN CRANSTON, SALLY HAWKINS, ELIZABETH OLSEN, DAVID STRATHAIRN, KEN WATTANABE

DIRECTED BY
GARETH EDWARDS

While the wooden acting and primitive effects work hasn’t stood the test of time, Ishiro Honda’s Godzilla is never the less an iconic and influential movie that has influenced the likes of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

70 years later a remake by Gareth Edwards would take Honda’s creation to new levels, creating a dark and brooding monster movie that raised the bar in terms of visual spectacle.

 

 

#8
THE HOST (2006)
The Host poster

CAST
KANG HO-SONG, DONNA BAE, HIE-BONG BYEON, AH-SUNG KO, HAE-IL PARK

DIRECTED BY
JOON-HO BONG

Wild, stylish and utterly terrifying, The Host saw director Joon-ho Bong take Ishiro Honda’s nuclear fears from Godzilla and gave it a South Korean edge, not to mention a highly original creature that – after abducting a young girl – draws the wrath of her narcoleptic father (Kang Ho-song).

Bizarre in its humours and nightmare inducing in its thrills, The Host should be seen alone for tis rampage sequence where a crowded park of picnic revellers fall victim to this monstrous of monsters.

 

 

#7
PACIFIC RIM (2013)
Pacific Rim poster

CAST
CHARLIE HUNNAM, CHARLIE DAY, IDRIS ELBA, RINKO KIKUCHI, DIEGO KLATTENHOFF, RON PERLMAN

DIRECTED BY
GUILLERMO DEL TORO

It is giant monsters vs giant robots in Guillermo del Toro’s immensely entertaining Pacific Rim, a vastly underrated gem of a film that brought the giant monster movie to a whole new epic level.

With del Toro’s imagination at full capacity and the budget to back it, Pacific Rim puts mankind on a level playing field against monsters hell bent on annihilation. Cue a clash of the titans that is every bit as epic and fun as promised.

 

 

 

#6
JURASSIC PARK (1993)
Jurassic Park poster

CAST
SAM NEIL, RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH, LAURA DERN, MARTIN FERRERO, JEFF GOLDBLUM, BOB PECK

DIRECTED BY
STEVEN SPIELBERG

Steven Spielberg’s return to the giant monster movie sub-genre, Jurrasic Park brought with it mass acclaim and a chance to introduce world class special effects in what can only be described as a game changer of a film.

Brilliantly melding adventure, horror and VFX brilliance, Jurassic Park will mostly be remembered for its introduction of the monstrous Tyrannosaurus X via a vibrating cup of water. Simplicity at its most innovative.

 

 

 

#5
TROLL HUNTER (2011)
Troll Hunter poster

CAST
OTTOT JESPERSEN, URMILA BERG-DOMAAS, TOMAS ALF LARSEN, JOHANNA MORCK, GLENN ERLAND TOSTERUD

DIRECTED BY
ANDRE OVREDAL

From Norway came Troll Hunter, a highly imaginative and entertaining mockumentary that focused on a film crew whose assignment of documenting bear poachers in the woods of Norway instead turns into something far more dangerous.

Blending Blair Witch style visuals with the giant monster movie aesthetic, Troll Hunter is highly innovative, imaginative and scary fun that does new and exciting things with both the found footage and monster movie sub-genres, while also playing around with the troll mythos.

 

 

 

#4
SUPER 8 (2011)
Super 8 poster

CAST
JOEL COURTNEY, KYLE CHANDLER, RON ELDARD, ELLE FANNING, RILEY GRIFFITHS

DIRECTED BY
J.J. ABRAMS

As well as being J.J. Abrams tribute to all things Spielberg, Super 8 is in itself an entertaining monster movie of the extra-terrestrial kind, with a group of young amateur filmmakers discovering something otherworldly stomping around their quiet suburb.

Crisp in production design and intriguing in its sci-fi mystery, Super 8 does a great job in blending the alien and giant monster movie sub-genres, while also bringing a sense of nostalgic wonder back to the world of blockbusters.

 

 


#3
TREMORS (1990)
Tremors poster

CAST
KEVIN BACON, FRED WARD, FINN CARTER, MICHAEL GROSS, REBA McENTIRE, VICTOR WONG

DIRECTED BY
RON UNDERWOOD

The best giant monster movies are those where the human characters are just as strong as the scary monsters. Tremors is a prime example of this golden of rules, with the camaraderie between Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward off the charts as a dynamic duo standing between a sleepy desert town and large worm creatures devouring everything in their path.

As helmed by known comedic director Ron Underwood, Tremors is as funny as it’s scary, with well written puns sitting comfortably alongside excellent creature effects.

A cult classic in every sense, this clever monster movie throwback to 1950s creature features still works thanks to its combination of innovation and personality.

 

 

 

#2
KING KONG (1933/2005)
King Kong poster

(1933)
CAST

FAY WRAY, ROBERT ARMSTRONG, BRUCE CABOT, SAM HARDY, FRANK REICHER

DIRECTED BY
MERIAN C. COOPER, ERNEST B. SCHOEDSACK

(2005)
CAST

NAOMI WATTS, ADRIEN BRODY, JACK BLACK, KYLE CHANDLER, THOMAS KRETSCHMAN, ANDY SERKIS

DIRECTED BY
PETER JACKSON

The granddaddy of giant monster movies, King Kong has a heart that’s just as big as its giant sized, ground-breaking special effects. Directed and produced by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooperm this iconic tale of a 50 foot ape discovered, attacked, bound and exhibited to an unsuspecting world has proven to be a timeless classic of grandiose spectacle, primal horror and touching tragedy.

Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake is both a tribute and enhancement of the 1933 original, with spectacular visual effects from the wizards at WETA and motion capture acting by Andy Serkis (the Marlon Brando of the craft) giving new dimensions to this story and its savage beasts, both human and monster.

By the times those immortal words “it was beauty killed the beast” are uttered, an exhilarating adventure with this giant monster move is had.

 

 

 

#1
JAWS (1975)
Jaws poster

CAST
ROY SCHEIDER, RICHARD DREYFUSS, LORRAINE GREY, MURRAY HAMILTON, ROBERT SHAW

DIRECTED BY
STEVEN SPIELBERG

Jaws did a lot of things: It established the career of Steven Spielberg, spawned the summer blockbuster and inspired a legion of filmmakers.

Most of all Jaws inspired fear of the monster lurking beneath. In this case it is a giant man eating shark, who chomps through the populace of a seaside resort until a trio comprised of a police chief (Roy Scheider), a marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a shark hunter (Robert Shaw) set off to face and destroy great white death.

The infectious chemistry between the three actors proves that the human characters are just as vital as the monster itself when it comes to the success of a giant monster movie. Yet a giant monster movie is just that, and in Jaws is a creature of violently chilling intent is made even more frightening since it is grounded in the truth that humankind is a part of a food chain, and in the vast ocean we’re on the bottom of the pecking order, especially in the blackened eyes of a 25 foot monster driven by pure instinct and taste for human blood.  

When that John Williams score hits that giant sized fin emerges from the icy blue water, horror at its most pure is achieved.   

 

 

 

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