The Top 10 Best Kaiju Movies
This List of Kaiju Movies is for All You Giant Monster Loving Nerds Out There!
If you love gratuitous amounts of property damage and poorly dubbed civilians screaming for their lives, then you’re in for a treat with this list of the 10 best kaiju movies of all time. I’m sure my fellow geeks are familiar with the term “kaiju” but for those of you who are uninitiated, a kaiju is basically a giant monster. What makes them special is that kaiju translates to “strange beast” which means they aren’t just your run-of-the-mill killer animals made colossal or everyday dinosaurs brought back from extinction. These bad mamma jammas are a breed all their own. Now, it’s important to keep in mind is that kaiju movies have been around for a long, LONG time and while there’s something to say for the originals that blazed the trail for the modern incarnation of these giant movie monsters, but I won’t let nostalgia sway me too much when it comes to the flicks that earn a spot among the ten below. This is for the best, brightest, and, most importantly, biggest kaiju movies of all time. Now get ready, because these “strange breeds” are an insurance company’s worst nightmare.
10. Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Godzilla reigns supreme as the center of the universe that is kaiju movies. All the other giant monsters out there are just caught in The King of the Monsters’ orbit. That’s because he was the poster child of Toho Studios, which is not only one of the biggest studios in Japan but arguably the greatest producer of kaiju movies of all time. That’s why the first film on this list is the one that introduced Godzilla’s arch-nemesis, the legendary dragon, King Ghidorah. Now, just any old legendary dragon wouldn’t be enough for Godzilla’s rival, so Toho gave him three-heads and made him a space dragon. Ghidorah is a remnant from the golden age of kaiju movies when the “science” in sci-fi was at its flimsiest. Of course, we all know that we never watched kaiju movies for the science. It was for the three-headed space dragons from Venus, yo!
9. Godzilla vs Mothra
Next up is the other 1964 Toho movie I mentioned, Godzilla vs Mothra. This wasn’t the first appearance of the giant divine moth and her tiny twin fairy side-kicks. In fact, the enormous bug is considered second in popularity to Godzilla and has earned the title Queen of the Monsters. The lore behind “Titanus Mosura“ is pretty crazy, which is why the creature’s second appearance on the big screen earned a spot on this list. In it, we discover Mothra ruled over an advanced civilization 12000 years ago. That is until she threw down with a Black Mothra named Battra who was the Guardian of the Earth. The brawl destroyed the ancient civilization and centuries later, Mothra’s egg hatches and she’s back, baby! When it comes to “strange beasts” few are as odd as Mothra, which is why her showdown with the King of the Monsters is a perfect pick for this list.
8. Cloverfield
Japan might be the homeland of kaiju movies, but Hollywood has always been pretty good at “taking inspiration” from abroad. In 2008, one of the best modern kaiju movies hit theaters, and it was surprisingly made in America. Despite J.J. Abrams’s name attached to the project, there are remarkably few lens flares. Instead, Cloverfield uses a found-footage effect to stand out visually from other kaiju movies. However, the biggest difference between this film and so many of those from The Land of the Rising Sun, is that it focuses on the human aspect of the story. The people on the streets aren’t just “ants” running for their lives as a guy in a rubber suit rampages through New York. We get to see the events unfold through the eyes of five New Yorkers trying desperately to survive an insane situation. As much as we love giant monsters, it’s the human element that makes some kaiju movies better than others.
7. Colossal
Weird comes with the territory when it comes to kaiju movies. However, one of the more unique in the genre was the relatively low-budget indie flick, Colossal. The human aspect is once again front and center with Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis as a pair of alcoholics caught in a downward spiral of abuse. I know Colossal sounds more like a pretentious award-season ploy than a giant monster movie, but rest assured there’s some crazy, kaiju goodness in it. You see, the two discover a playground in which their actions within it correlate with those of a pair of giant monsters in Seoul, South Korea. Anything they do in the playground, a pair of monsters also do on the other side of the world. Needless to say, things get pretty complicated for the two, which is why I decided it deserved a spot among the rest of these kaiju movies.
6. King Kong (2005)
Guess what, everyone! King Kong is totally a kaiju. While the original 1933 film will remain an incredible cinematic achievement that forever changed motion pictures, it’s also nearly 100 years old. I can appreciate its contributions while also saying that the remake is better. The 2005 Peter Jackson remake to be specific. While the original featured a stop-motion giant ape, Jackson turned to his old buddy and creature actor extraordinaire, Andy Serkis, to bring Kong to life through motion capture technology. Like its predecessor, the 2005 version once again revolutionized what filmmakers thought possible with visual effects. I would also argue that Jackson’s version also has better acting, cinematography, production values, and, well, everything compared to the original. All due respect to 1933, but 2005 is an all-around improved version of what is arguably the first kaiju film ever made.