2020 and 2021 have been atypical years for cinematic blockbusters. Godzilla Vs. Kong is one of the biggest movies of the year that thrives on the energy and excitement of a big movie experience. Godzilla Vs. Kong is likely to connect wherever it’s experienced and it’s genuinely exciting to see this much enthusiasm towards the kaiju genre of cinema. Kaiju stories are natural fits for disaster epics, but it’s been a movie genre that’s previously struggled to connect outside of the more established hits.
Over time, there has been an increase in the amount of iconic monsters and this resurgence has helped the recent “MonsterVerse” come to pass. Thankfully, there are plenty of other kaiju movies to get audiences excited over the big monster showdown that Godzilla Vs. Kong delivers.
10 Cloverfield Reinvents The Kaiju Genre Through The "Found Footage" Format
"Found footage" movies can be a contentious genre of film that has contributed to some ambitious experiences, but has also turned into an overused and often sloppy structural convenience. Cloverfield is a remarkable exception since it takes the intimate style of storytelling that found footage provides and uses it to tell a sprawling disaster story where a kaiju demolishes New York City.
Cloverfield presents a familiar story, but in a completely original manner and the level of restraint that’s shown by director Matt Reeves is why it kickstarted its own cinematic universe.
9 Colossal Turns Monster Mayhem Into A Touching Story About Addiction
Nacho Vigalondo, a frequent collaborator with Guillermo del Toro, is a fearless filmmaker that deserves more attention and Colossal is one of his most interesting endeavors. Colossal stars Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis, both of which play characters with destructive tendencies and compulsions.
In addition to their reckless behavior, these individuals are linked to giant kaiju on the other side of the world that mimic their motions and cause literal destruction that mirrors their psychological and mental damage. It's a stunning way to examine addiction and self-help with characters that feel real and have surprising depth for the kaiju genre.
8 The Host Is An Unflinching Kaiju Movie With A Brutal Beast
Parasite has made South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho into a mainstream name across the world, but the director has been making groundbreaking films for years and his thoughtful kaiju tale, The Host, is some of his best work.
Like the best kaiju and disaster films, The Host functions as a metaphor for larger social issues, which in this case is criticism towards the U.S. military's treatment towards South Korea. The Host pushes an unpredictable monster that results in a fast-paced brand of mayhem that's often rare in kaiju pictures. It's a masterpiece on every level.
7 Q: The Winged Serpent Proves Kaiju Magic Doesn’t Need Big Money
Godzilla Vs. Kong is part of the modern cinema mentality where kaiju showdowns should cost hundreds of millions of dollars. This allows for a greater level of spectacle than ever before, but there's something to be said for B-movie filmmakers like Larry Cohen that could get by on micro-budgets.
Cohen's career is full of prolific cult classics and Q: The Winged Serpent still gets brought up in modern kaiju discussions. Q: The Winged Serpent never takes itself too seriously, but its satirical attitude plays in its favor and despite its lack of money there's still a charm to Q's design.
6 Pacific Rim Synthesizes Guillermo Del Toro’s Kaiju Love Into A Giant Blockbuster
Often the very best kaiju and monster movies are made by people who have a staunch respect and admiration for the genre of film. Guillermo del Toro is an Oscar-winning filmmaker, but his interests are entrenched in niche areas of cinema, like the extensive kaiju genre.
Pacific Rim is del Toro’s ode to decades of cinema and he pits exaggerated giant mechs against even bigger monsters, and it’s pure popcorn bliss. Pacific Rim’s story doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, but there’s never a moment where it doesn’t have endless fun.
5 Shin Godzilla Reimagines The Classic Kaiju In A Frightening Modern Context
There have been over fifty years of Godzilla movies, but 2016's Shin Godzilla is mandatory viewing even for those that have zero experience with the kaiju genre. Shin Godzilla sticks closely to the reptilian kaiju's origins, but makes the important switch to turn the creature's transformation and plight into an allegory for the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Shin Godzilla makes the classic creature feel scary in a way that he hasn't in decades and the material is expertly brought to life by genius auteur, Hideaki Ano, best known for his work on Neon Genesis Evangelion.
4 Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla 3 & Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. Tell A Dark Arc
Modern Godzilla movies have done a decent job at reflecting Godzilla's robust roster of kaiju enemies, but it's important to revisit these original movies to experience why these creatures made an impact in the first place. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla 3, as well as sequel follow-up, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., become formative films.
This story arc marks a dark turn for the franchise and it explores Mechagodzilla as a pained remnant of the original creature. Giant battles between both Godzilla and Mothra are also the apex of kaiju chaos.
3 The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms Establishes The Form For Kaiju Chaos In The 1950s
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms hits all of the beats of major kaiju movies, and in terms of its plot or effects it's nothing revelatory. However, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms is such an iconic piece of kaiju cinema since its 1953 release actually predates Godzilla by a year.
Godzilla is the more memorable of the pictures, but The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms also examines the disasters that result from a reptilian creature's exposure to nuclear material and it likely inspired just as many early monster movies as Godzilla did.
2 Monsters Applies Awe & Wonder To Mysterious Behemoths
Gareth Edwards has made a major name for himself with 2014’s reboot of the Godzilla franchise, but part of the reason that he was given the opportunity to mess around in Godzilla’s sandbox is because of his earlier work on Monsters.
Monsters is a more subdued and grounded take on the kaiju genre. It focuses on the fascination behind these strange creatures rather than the destruction that they cause and the public’s fear towards these beasts. Monsters thought provoking storytelling and exceedingly creative monster designs and special effects makes it a welcome contrast to most kaiju epics.
1 Deep Rising Creates A Vicious Sea Monster With Big Plans For The Future
Deep Rising is an atypical American kaiju film from the 1990s that often feels like Alien, but set on an ocean liner. Deep Rising's Octalus is a sea-based monster, which is not seen enough in kaiju movies. Deep Rising deserves credit for how it ricochets between an action movie and a horror film and the it has a certain claustrophobic charm.
Deep Rising also deserves serious props for how its ending sets up that it takes place in King Kong's universe, which Stephen Sommers hoped to explore in a future movie until the disaster of 1998's Godzilla derailed those plans.