Weekly Kaiju Movie Thread #23 (10/14)

[Henry88]

[MekaGojira3k]

[metal_bryan]

I get to watch my favorite Toho movie once again!

[Henry88]

i am on the wall about this one.

[MekaGojira3k]

[metal_bryan]

[klen7]

[MekaGojira3k]

[klen7]

Well here we go!!!

The Good
I watched the Tokyo Shock DVD release for this viewing... the only reason i mention that is because the actual disc is really great looking. It's a very classy looking disc. The rest of the packaging is nicely put together as well despite a MAJOR spoiler on the back cover.


I really enjoyed this movie. The story is good, the acting is good, the characters are good, the mood is good. The ending is effective.



The horror of the creatures is hinted at so briefly.. the face in the window is there for less than 2 seconds, which begs the questions if the creature exists or is simply the madness of being lost, starved and cut off



The Bad
I really don't have anything bad to say about the film, so here's a nitpick...
The actual creatures themselves get little screen time, which plays effectively, but all the marketing and hype about the film seems to center on the creatures


The Weird
I think this is a perfect early example of "body horror".. the type of film Cronenberg made his name with.. the manifestation of the fungal growths, the mutation of the body and the weakening of the mind all play well at multiple levels. Because of this, i think this film works both literally and symbolically. I could seriously see Cronenberg doing a remake of this film as a follow up to his remake of The Fly.. similarly the idea of the body deteriorating with the mind could have been introduced earlier and explored further... Recently Cronenberg has moved on in his career, so i would rather this film not be remade at this point..
Also this film is an early example of a John Woo film.... because that gun never ran out of bullets.


I give this movie 4.5 out 5 fun guys

[gila-monster]

[metal_bryan]

[klen7]

[metal_bryan]

[Alpha OTS]

Just gave Matango a proper watch this morning. What a great horror flick. I remember the first time I watched it when I was a kid. I recognized the actors and the Toho brand, and watched expecting some type of Godzilla kaiju to show up. I was captivated until the end and it really did frighten me. I avoided the film for that reason from there on out on Saturday afternoons. It reminds me of a movie with similar themes that was playing on the weekend horror shows at the time. It was in black and white, and a crew was shipwrecked on a deserted island. They couldn't leave because of a glowing algae that surrounded the island. I wish I could remember the name of that movie. It always reminded me of Matango with the sense of desperation.

I still recognize the psychological horror Matango offers up, and I don't think a remake would ever capture the atmosphere this has. Its that sense of impending doom that permeates the film even before the mushrooms become the primary plot point. Anyway, on this rewatch, I'm noticing some themes of.....well..Hell. Yes, H, E, double hockey sticks. The entire crew was thrown into hell the second they entered the fog of the island. They were dead, and they were doomed.



The fungi is in the very air. There was no escape. The hope that any of the characters may have felt was never there, which is the definition of hell. I believe now that the lone survivor never ate any mushrooms. He was already infected with the air. He had ingested them that way, they all had. The hallucinations bare this out of the oncoming ship, the one character hearing her mother, and to some extent the mushroom ghost person, an experience they all shared. The bird recognizes this bad air as it flys away from the island as if repelled by some force field.


Mushroom ingested mushroom enduced mushroomy goodness!

So, going with klen7 system:

The good: the timeless psychological horror.
The bad: Nothing. Except maybe, as noted above, the gun with the infinite ammo clip.

Great pick for Halloween, as we had already planned.

[gila-monster]

[Xenorama]

the movie is called "The Flesh Eaters" and it's really a cool little piece of gore and low budget goodness, complete with a neat surprise at the end!

here's a short trailer!

http://xenorama.blogspot.com/2012/10/th ... -1964.html

[Alpha OTS]

[MekaGojira3k]

[Alpha OTS]

[MekaGojira3k]