monster movies

The 1933 King Kong is many things. Like any piece of cultural history the film can be framed in various conversations privileging or critiquing its qualities. It’s a cinematic tour-de-force in special effects. It’s a myth-making vehicle that achieved a kind of cultural iconography equaled in cinema only by movie stars, Westerns, Star Wars, Samurai movies, the early 1930s run of Universal monster movies, etc.

Some months ago on the podcast when we reviewed Chan-wook Park's "Thirst," we remarked that South Korean filmmakers have a knack for taking common horror film concepts and spinning them in a way that's just different enough to make them stand out. In this tradition, 2006's "The Host," directed by Bong Joon-ho, manages to take the common monster movie framework, and craft it into a family-focused drama with hints of comedy and satire. Oh, and it also features a gigantic catfish monster with legs and a prehensile tail.

For most people, the first week of August signifies little more than the fact that summer is nearly over. However, for many nerds and TV lovers, it's Shark Week, a week where we bow our heads in reverence to the finned terrors of the sea. What began as a convenient way for the Discovery Channel to cluster it's shark specials in the late 80's has blossomed into a cult phenomena that extends far beyond cable.

If a grouchy father flushes a baby alligator down the toilet in Chicago will the residents of Tarzana, California pay the price for it 15 years later? This is not the question posed by Lewis Teague’s 1980 creature feature “Alligator” but it is one that will float into the mind of most viewers. Other reasonable viewer inquiries may center on the crocodilian capacity for vengeance and whether or not John Sayles missed his true calling as a monster movie scribe.