The Top 10 Best Kaiju Movies
5. The Host
Japan immediately jumps to mind when kaiju movies come up, but one of the best modern additions to the genre is from South Korea. The film industry has been booming in the country recently, culminating in the 92nd Best Picture award going to Parasite. That’s Best Picture, not Best International Feature… Though it won that one, too. The point is that South Korea is a cinematic powerhouse and its contribution to this list is The Host. When American scientists order tons of chemicals flushed into the Han river, the wildlife of the Han River doesn’t respond positively. A few years later, a mutant monster emerges from the depth with a hankering for Korean. While the military usually comes rolling in to save the day in kaiju movies, they’re part of the problem this time around and it’s up to the most unlikely hero in the country (Song Kang-ho) to save the day.
4. Godzilla (2014)
Kaiju movies have been on the rise again since The King of the Monsters got a reboot in 2014. Thankfully, this time around went better than the previous attempt to Americanize the king of the kaiju, and a whole new monsterverse was born. This version cast Godzilla as mother nature’s enforcer, tasked with putting a hurting on any kaiju that dares to disrupt the delicate balance. No offense to Haruo Nakajima, but this new Godzilla looks way more monstrous than any rubber suit could, and the damage left in his wake is jaw-dropping. Still, he’s the good guy, and that means he needs a villain to defeat. Enter the MUTOS, the predecessors to the more recognizable kaiju that got a reboot in the sequel, Godzilla: King of the Monsters. As a long-time lover of Godzilla, I was head-over-heels for this new take on the character and hope that his new reign is long.
3. Kong: Skull Island
Once Godzilla got a reboot, it was only a matter of time before Kong got one too. This one was part of a plan to fold him into the larger monsterverse that was being built from the ground up by Legendary Pictures. Skull Island though is a prequel to the 2014 Godzilla film and beautifully sets up an inevitable confrontation between the two “kings.” Set during the last days of the Vietnam War, a group of soldiers find themselves tasked to accompany scientists to a mysterious island for a few tests. There they discover a monstrous pecking order with Kong at the top of it. I should mention that the group’s initial encounter with Kong doesn’t go very well and they end up stranded in the middle of this mysterious island with an ever-shrinking window of escape. Before Kong: Skull Island, I was never a big fan of the great ape, but director Jordan Vogt-Roberts won me over and I eagerly await seeing him on the big screen again.
2. Pacific Rim
How could I not include a blockbuster about mechas duking it out with kaiju? It’s everything the kid in me ever wanted from a film and still one of the best giant monster movies of all time. They ever call the giant monsters kaiju in it! Guillermo del Toro takes an almost self-aware approach to his story of giant robot defenders piloted by brave pilots in order to stop enormous strange beasts from whipping humanity from the planet. It’s like a Saturday morning cartoon taken seriously by a master filmmaker, and it is beautiful. Anyone who has seen del Toro’s work in the past knows what incredible creativity he has with the production designs and Pacific Rim offers some of the coolest kaiju I’ve ever seen. Those gorgeous monsters go toe-to-toe with some equally bad-ass-looking robots in some awe-inspiring battles. Basically, if you’re a fan of kaiju movies, Guillermo del Toro gave you everything you could want in this geeky masterpiece.
1. Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956)
Let me explain why I decided that King of the Monsters deserved the top spot on this list of kaiju movies over Godzilla. While Godzilla might the film that started the reign of the biggest kaiju of all time, King of the Monsters introduced the concept to the world. Heck, the original Japanese version wasn’t even available overseas until 2004. True, there were giant monster movies before Godzilla, but everything changed once he lumbered onto the scene. This film elevated the genre from a place meant only for b-movies into a haven for creativity as filmmakers raced to come up with bigger and crazier strange beasts. This list wouldn’t have been possible without King of the Monsters, and despite there being some better-looking kaiju movies out there, fans will always have a soft spot in their hearts for this legendary film. The name says it all, which is why it’s at the top of this list of kaiju movies.
Honorable Mention: Destroy All Monsters!
Toho studios has created an incredible catalog of kaiju over the years and if you want to see almost all of them in a battle royale, then this is the movie for you. I’m under no illusions as to just terrible this movie is, but it’s one of those rare so-awful-its-magnificent films that are perfect for watch parties. Eleven monsters throw down in this film and this is back when the monsters were still guys in rubber suits. Destroy All Monsters! is truly a sight to behold which is why I had to give it an honorable mention.
Shout-Out: Big Man Japan
You’ve probably noticed that there are a lot of weird kaiju movies out there, but none of them compare to Big Man Japan. This late-night cult classic features a regular guy living by the airport who transforms into a 30-meter tall man when electrocuted. He uses his abilities to protect Japan from all sorts of bizarre kaiju. The thing is that he’s not very good at it, and the film follows his mounting stress and humiliation. When it comes to “strange beasts” few are stranger than Big Man Japan.
Dishonorable Mention: Zilla
Remember that other Americanized Godzilla reboot I mentioned? Well, it was so bad that people decided that should only go by its alternate title Zilla, less it brings shame unto the King of Monsters. Even the monster in it is known as Zilla rather than Godzilla and is considered a whole other species among kaiju lovers. The film is filled with plot holes and nonsensical story elements, perhaps most infamously the scene with velociraptor-sized baby Zillas running around the inside of Madison Square Garden. Zilla is an abomination unto kaiju movies… Hense the dishonorable mention.
That wraps up the top 10 best kaiju movies of all time. Let me know what some of your favorite giant monster movies are in the comments below. As always, I’ll be updating this list as new and improved movie hackers hit the information superhighway. So, be sure to stop back in the future to see how the rankings might change.