According to the nerd bible, AKA Fandom Wiki, “Kaiju” is a Japanese word meaning “strange beast”. When we use the term in fandom, we are likely referring to the monsters of the giant variety who walk in the footsteps Godzilla created in 1954, and solidified by the Japanese “Tokusatu” style of cinema.

The criteria for kaiju monsters is relatively loose, but most of them are over 20 meters tall (larger than any naturally occurring animal), possess a certain immunity to human weaponry, and pose a threat to human life and society, which is commonly demonstrated by the destruction of cities and metropolitan areas.

“Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy. They are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy. They do not attack people because they want to, but because of their size and strength, mankind has no other choice but to defend himself. After several stories such as this, people end up having a kind of affection for the monsters. They end up caring about them” -Ishiro Honda (Director, Godzilla 1954)

One of the best qualities of nerd fandom is its ability to form iterations through influence. Fans foreign to Japanese kaiju culture have adopted the kaiju style, and from that we’ve gotten a handful of worthy contenders; some stronger than others. Although many American renditions of Godzilla and other Toho properties have been licensed and watered down, there are some original kaiju- type concept movies that aren’t half bad! Consider this a list of eight American-born kaijus that won’t disappoint.

8 Kaiju Movies Fans of the Genre Should Watch

Cloverfield (2008)

Let’s start with the obvious here. Cloverfield, directed by Matt Reeves, might be as good as it gets when it comes to American-born kaiju monsters. With a found footage bonus, the story follows a group of friends in New York City as they try their hardest to survive the creatures and crumbling infrastructure aftermath of a giant alien invasion. If you haven’t seen this film yet, consider this your homework, due immediately. This film is bleak- and captures the true terror of survival in a kaiju attack. Japanese kaiju fans love it for a reason.

Pacific Rim (2013)

Guillermo Del Toro directing should be enough to get you interested, as the man has a seasoned history with monster movies (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, Mimic). Pacific Rim is pretty classic in its influences, too. The movie is considered an ode to Japanese kaiju and mecha media. In this version of reality, a horde of kaiju monsters emerge from the ocean and threaten the safety of coastal cities. Humanity responds with the use of “jaegers” which are human operated mech suits with the power to fight back. Although a little on the cult appreciation side, the film is well loved and features some seriously polished and stunning CGI. 

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

King Kong may be a little too on the nose for this list, but I have no choice but to throw its sequel, Kong: Skull Island into the ring. As far as criteria goes, the movie doesn’t check all the boxes, as it doesn’t take place in a metropolitan area, but serving as the 11th movie in the King Kong IP, we already know good and well that the ape prince of destruction has earned his kaiju title. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the film is set in 1973 and follows a team of Monarch (it’s like the CIA but for kaijus) experts carrying out a research mission on Skull Island to confirm any MUTO (massive unidentified terrestrial organisms) activity. Not only are they met with Kong, but through exploring his territory, the crew comes face to face with other kaiju level threats that never made it off the island.

Rampage (2018)

On the topic of giant apes, Rampage ain’t half bad either. Starring Dwayne Johnson, and directed by Brad Peyton, Rampage is a loose adaptation of the video game series first released in 1986 where players act as kaiju monsters working to destroy cities while surviving military attacks. In the movie, The Rock plays a primatologist with a close connection to an albino gorilla named George, who is the unfortunate subject of an experiment gone rogue, turning him into what we might call a “kaiju”. Is it the greatest kaiju movie you’ve ever seen? Far from it. Is it a fun, high-stakes adventure with cool monster fights? Absolutely.

 The Mist (2007)

Back in 2007, Frank Darabont directed a movie that has burned the brains of horror fans for the foreseeable future. If you haven’t crossed this one off your list- tread lightly! A single location banger based on the work of Stephen King, The Mist tells the story of ordinary people in a supermarket when an “unnatural fog” hiding a variety of terrifying creatures traps them inside. One creature in particular that fans have named “The Behemoth” is sure to shock you in true lovecraftian kaiju fashion. There are two versions of this film. If you can, watch it in black and gray for some extra unease.

Underwater (2020)

Speaking of lovecraftian, Underwater has got to be one of my favorite American- born kaiju films. Released in 2020, I fear that the COVID pandemic stunted its box office potential. William Eubank directs, and Kristen Stewart stars in a modern day Cthulhu story set miles beneath the surface on a deep sea drilling rig. It’s Alien, and The Abyss wrapped tightly in its Japanese monster and mecha media influences. Need I say more?

Super 8 (2011)

Another one that flopped in numbers but stays strong in the hearts of monster fans is Super 8, directed by JJ Abrams with a sneaky Steven Spielberg credit on top. One thing about Americans; we love our nostalgia. This movie is another ode to the 80s, but who’s really complaining? The story follows a group of youths passionate about filmmaking who witness a train collision, unleashing something extra large and extraterrestrial on their hometown. Again, the criteria for a traditional kaiju are not all met, but it’s too much fun, and too much catastrophe to leave off this list.

Q (The Winged Serpent) (1982)

I’ve got to close out this list with a deep cut. New York horror legend Larry Cohen wrote and produced this extraterrestrial crime thriller that is truly one of a kind. The monster in question is called Quetzalcoatl, or Q for short. It’s a winged beast that has found a home nesting on the rooftops of New York City. Oh, and there’s a serial killer running around too, just to make things more interesting. Classic uncle Larry…

As many Horror Press readers already know, we lost genre film legend Roger Corman last Thursday, May 9th. One of the all-time greats in Hollywood, he was known for spinning straw budgets into gold pictures, and Corman’s influence is embedded into modern filmmaking thanks to the hundreds and hundreds of films he worked on. 

Starting as a production assistant turned story analyst at the bottom rungs of 20th Century Fox, Corman became the face of independent filmmaking in Hollywood from the 1950s on. With an innate vision for what gets people engaged with film, Corman was a mentalist at reading audiences and producing films that got watchers going. Corman knew what you wanted to see, sometimes before you even knew it; he wasn’t part of the genre film zeitgeist. He was the zeitgeist outright. 

8 Roger Corman Movies Every Horror Fan Should Watch

From westerns to gladiator exploitation films to post-apocalyptic action movies (and of course, plenty of horror), Corman didn’t just make off-the-wall genre films, he made them viable and rarely lost a dime on them. And above all else, he made them fun, and he gave them a spirit of enjoyability that was contagious. So, to honor Roger Corman, we here at Horror Press have compiled a list of 8 films that best embody his indelible influence on horror and science fiction. 

SHARKTOPUS VS PTERACUDA (2014)

It seems fair to visit one of Corman’s later works in life, since it’s a very good example of how he had the juice to make great b-movies long after he had made himself a household name. Before The Asylum and its cohorts were a gleam in the eye of the SyFy channel, Roger Corman had paved the way for them perfectly, and eventually joined them in the sharksploitation resurrection of the 2000s and 2010s.

I remember seeing Sharktopus on SyFy semi-regularly when I was younger, but its sequel is a strictly better version, with two apex predators seeing which celebrity cameos they can eat faster (Conan O’Brien gets annihilated in this one!). Vs. Pteracuda is, in a weird way, also a step up in terms of effects, even if the CGI looks rougher than sandpaper. Beyond that, it’s one of those rare gems that can laugh at itself and manages to walk the intentionally so-bad-its-good tightrope without falling into a pit of forced self-awareness. 

ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS (1957) & IT CONQUERED THE WORLD (1956)

Okay, I know. I cheated, technically this makes 9 films. But I just couldn’t deny a double header of quintessential “goofy-looking monster movies”. Some of Corman’s earliest horror contributions are drive-thru shlock through and through. And that’s quite alright with me because we get giant telepathic crabs out of it! 

These two feel like the best example of Corman’s ability to challenge bigger studios with smaller production values; they’re on par with contemporaries like Creature From The Black Lagoon and The Monster that Challenged the World, and every bit as enjoyable. It Conquered the World boasts one of my favorite monster designs with its strange demonic traffic cone aesthetic. It was also one of the earlier collaborations between Corman and famed character actor Dick Miller, who would reappear three years later in…

A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959)

If there’s one way to get logged into the annals of horror history, making one of the first really solid original horror comedies is it. The film follows schmuck Walter Paisley (one of many as the name became a regular Corman movie easter egg), who struggles to find friends while surrounded by hipster artists, but discovers he excels at sculpting— but only when the clay is being molded and shaped around dead people. 

Entrenched in the film’s dark humor is a solid satire about American countercultural movements, poking fun at beatniks and small, insular art scenes in a way that feels evergreen decades later. It’s a charming film about desperately seeking approval, something that Corman clearly enjoyed poking fun at given he often had to go against the grain to get his films made, and never let himself get chained up in hunting for recognition. 

GALAXY OF TERROR (1981)

When we talk about Roger Corman giving life to Hollywood and creating other film legends, the example everyone will undoubtedly remember is Corman’s relationship with James Cameron. Cameron got his start as a miniatures artist while working on two films for Corman in particular: Battle Beyond the Stars, and the much more well-known Galaxy of Terror.

Galaxy of Terror is often referred to as a rip-off of Alien, mainly for its body horror and some insectoid alien motifs its got going on. But what it actually ends up being is a weird, heady, high-concept space fantasy of death that tortures its cast of characters more brutally than a xenomorph could. It’s also got some strange, nasty creature effects, and an even stranger ending. While it certainly started as an attempt to seize the popularity of Ridley Scott’s seminal sci-fi horror, Galaxy of Terror evolved into an indescribable touchstone in Corman’s filmography.

CHOPPING MALL (1986)

Another film that has Dick Miller, albeit this time in a smaller role, Chopping Mall was produced by Roger’s wife, Julie Corman. Still, his spirit is very much in this one with all the camp it has to offer. The premise? An enterprising mall tries to move into the 21st century early and employs a series of cutting-edge security robots to keep it clear. They, of course, promptly short-circuit during a thunderstorm and begin to murder teenage stragglers who stayed in the mall after hours. 

B-movie juggernaut Jim Wynorski directed this one and actually got his start as a publicist for Corman before moving up in the film world of the 1980s and 90s. Wynorski once said that Corman “taught [him] all the lessons on how to make a film and how to make it look expensive when you don’t have a lot of money”, which is as good a praise as any filmmaker can get.

SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE II (1987)

When Deborah Brock approached Roger Corman with a proposal for a Slumber Party Massacre follow-up, he recognized the need to get a sequel off the ground after the first film’s success. What he financed was a fun rock-and-roll slasher film and a cult classic that’s easy to fall in love with. 

This time around, the dead killer from part 1 has reincarnated into a greaser ghost with a giant drill guitar, prone to giving his victim’s hallucinations. Some crazy visuals like being attacked by a raw undead chicken, the world’s nastiest pimple effect, and the movie pausing to do an honest-to-God, full-on music video starring the killer are only a few of the delightful samplings the film has to share. It’s an off-kilter slasher that demands to be seen, and one of those ventures that had his distinct brand of equal parts sleaze and spirit ingrained in it.  

THE RAVEN (1963)

Among Corman’s many horror endeavors, his Edgar Allan Poe adaptations with American International Pictures left some of the biggest impacts. Among them, The Raven holds a special place in my heart. Corman “extrapolates” Poe’s poem to tell a story about dueling wizards in a gothic castle, complete with dinky rotoscoped spell effects and hilarious dialogue. It also has ace performances from Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre, the latter being a mainstay of the producer’s films. 

The Raven also stands as a testament to Corman’s uncanny ability to “thin the paint” as he phrased it, spreading resources between movies; it was one of three films that were all shot on the same set, and all within the same month according to Jack Nicholson, alongside The Terror and The Haunted Palace.

MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964)

That being said, there is only one choice for his ACTUAL best Poe adaptation, and for that matter what I would qualify is his best film on a technical level. Masque of the Red Death is undoubtedly the most visually striking film he’s ever directed. It’s a colorful, evocative piece that perfectly captures the nature of the original short story it’s based on, in which a mysterious guest terrorizes medieval nobles trying to weather a plague as peasants suffer outside the castle walls. 

Unfortunately for the lecherous Prince Prospero, death comes for everyone, and Corman makes it look incredible (especially when he’s terrorizing Hazel Court as the villainous Juliana). All of the cinematography here comes together to make the perfect storm of gothic atmosphere you need to pull off this story: the lighting, the costuming, and the set design, in particular, are off the charts, and that’s all capped off by the performance of a prime Vincent Price. Keep an eye out for repertory screenings of the film as we move into late May and June, because theatres ought to be playing Masque to pay homage. It’s wholly worth the price of admission, even 60 years after the fact.  

*** 

Rest in peace, Roger Corman. Thanks for making the world a more campy, more silly, more fun, and when you really wanted to, more beautiful place. You will be missed, by friends and fans the world across. And, as always, happy watching horror fans.