After the lightning in a bottle that was Godzilla Minus One exploded into theatres late last year to critical acclaim and with the upcoming release of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, we here at CGMagazine have brought five more monster movie recommendations to readers looking for more monster films, with a human aspect.
Godzilla has a storied history that spans many decades, starting in 1954, but since then, the franchise hasn’t always maintained the expectations fans have built for the series. There have been some bumps in the road regarding giant monster films, as not all of them have been received well (including films starring everyone’s favourite sea monster). Luckily, the theatrical arrival of Godzilla Minus One seems to have righted the course for the franchise, embracing the human aspect and delivering characters (outside of the titular Kaiju) that the audience genuinely cares about. Now, on the heels of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’s release, we thought it was time to do a Kaiju round-up!
So we here at CGMagazine have been hard at work, scouring the internet for the latest and greatest Kaiju-based films to scream in horror at, or maybe have a nice date night at home with that feature strong human characters. Whether watching alone, rooting for the good guys to win, or even simply hoping for good ole destruction, the following five films might scratch that Kaiju itch that Godzilla Minus One might have left behind (in no particular order) ahead of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’s release.
Colossal
First up is a film that’s not so much suspense as it is a black comedy, but it still features a giant monster and destruction. In Colossal, Anne Hathaway is Gloria, an alcoholic writer who can manifest a giant monster in Seoul, South Korea, from a playground in New Hampshire. The discovery is traumatic for her, and through the discovery, she tries to find a way to navigate her life, her alcoholism, a controlling relationship with childhood friend Oscar (Jason Sudeikis) and her newfound abilities. This is a kaiju film with real humanity.
Colossal is available to watch free from PLEX, or fans can rent it for a small fee from Amazon or Apple TV.
Pacific Rim
Next up on our list is not another Godzilla film, but rather, a film where humans build giant mechs called Jaegers to keep Kaiju in check that emerges from an interdimensional phenomenon called The Breach in the Pacific Ocean. The interesting twist is the Jaeger has to be piloted by two (or more) humans connected by a mental link to succeed. Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) undergoes the tragic loss of his brother in a Jaeger at the hands of a Kaiju and must help humanity rally and defeat the Kaiju emerging from the breach once and for all.
Fans can watch Pacific Rim with their Netflix subscription at no extra charge.
Cloverfield
Cloverfield brings a specific grade of Kaiju to NYC, and it decimates the island. The audience enters the chaos from the POV of a certain group of survivors as they navigate the destruction the Cloverfield monster wreaks on Manhattan Island. While Cloverfield has a sequel, the original captured audiences with its unique perspective on a Kaiju film, and its unique POV during the film runtime focuses more on the struggle between human and kaiju destruction than humanity vs. Kaiju.
Cloverfield is available to watch on Paramount+ with an active subscription.
Shin Godzilla
Of course, Godzilla was bound to find his way on this list at some point, and our last entry is 2016’s Shin Godzilla, a film from Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, a dream team who have collaborated before on the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime. After Godzilla resurfaces in his fourth form (twice its original size), the Japanese government discerns that the creature continues to evolve despite being defeated.
Godzilla isn’t the only enemy in this film however, as the Japanese government has to deal with the huge monster, they face strain from the United Nations with the threat if they don’t subdue the kaiju, nuclear action will be taken. This is a movie with a Kaiju enemy and a human government enemy that the good guys have to contend with, making it a worthy watch.
Shin Godzilla is watchable right now with an active Crunchyroll subscription.
While it would have been easy to simply list five Godzilla films, it is interesting to note the role humanity has in films based around giant monsters, although they’re mainly used as extensive collateral in the grand scheme of things (especially where Colossal is concerned).
Honourable mentions go out to two anime, Attack on Titan and One Punch Man. Attack on Titan is based on the collapse of society, and humanity is pushed to the bring by cannibalistic humanoid creatures called Titans. Whereas, One Punch Man satirizes the entire kaiju and superhero genres all at once while remaining hilariously human. There are many giant monsters out there, and aside from these five I may have missed a fan-favourite, if I did please include it in a comment below.
