First up for our October horror series this year, Byrd, Matt and Tom discuss everyone's favorite hungry glob of goo, the Blob! We discuss the original 1958 indie sensation, its completely bonkers 1972 sequel Beware the Blob, and the gore drenched 1988 remake from Chuck Russel and Frank Darabont. We discuss the history of all three films, the real life inspiration for the Blob, and the canceled Blob films that almost were (including remakes from Rob Zombie, Joe Lynch and Simon West). Enjoy the co...
Oct 15, 2019•2 hr 10 min•Ep. 198
Byrd and Matt are joined by author John LeMay (The Lost Films, Kong Unmade) for a special audio commentary for Toei's 1977 oddity, Legend of Dinosaurs & Monster Birds. Inspired by the success of Jaws and a recent upswing in sea monster sightings around the globe, the film was touted as one of the most expensive Japanese productions ever made, only to become widely regarded as one of the absolute worst Japanese monster films ever made. Join us as we watch the film and grill John on being an u...
Oct 07, 2019•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 197
Byrd and Matt are joined again by author John LeMay to discuss his new book, Kong Unmade. The book covers the proposed/canceled King Kong films, including Universal's Legend of King Kong, Willis O'Brien's King Kong vs. Frankenstein, the original screenplays for the original 1933 film and Peter Jackson's remake, and less discussed projects suc has Abbott and Costello Meet King Kong, Funimation's animated Kid Kong, Mario Bava's Baby Kong, and more! Byrd also contributed an essay for the book that ...
Sep 30, 2019•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 196
At this panel from G-Fest 2019, Ishiro Honda biographers Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski (authors of Ishiro Honda: A Life In Film) took a look at the making of Godzilla's Revenge. The authors offer a critical examination of Ishiro Honda's most misunderstood entry in the Godzilla franchise. Topics discussed include the origin of the film, Ishiro Honda's direction, the cast, special effects sequences, and more. Enjoy! Thanks to Ed and Steve for allowing us to release this audio and to Christopher ...
Sep 23, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 195
Byrd and Matt are joined by special guests, game creator Alex Rushdy (of 13 AM Games and Seismic toys) and Chris Oglio (of Seismic toys) to discuss the upcoming independent kaiju video game, Dawn of the Monsters, and its accompanying vinyl figure. We talk about what goes into creating an independent video game that can get wide distribution, the monsters and gameplay, and what it takes to start an independent toy company and get a figure made, and their plans for the future. Kick back and enjoy!...
Sep 16, 2019•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 194
At G-Fest 2019, Matt was joined by blogger/author Kevin Derendorf (Maser Patrol, Kaiju For Hipsters) and toy reviewer RJ Axen (BoatsCanFly on YouTube) for a panel discussion about the history between Bandai and Tsuburaya Productions, and how this relationship has affected the Ultraman franchise in recent years. Enjoy!
Sep 01, 2019•50 min•Ep. 193
At G-Fest 2019, Byrd and Matt were joined for by authors John LeMay (The Lost Films, Kong Unmade) and Kevin Derendorf (Kaiju for Hipsters, Maser Patrol blog) for a live episode dedicated to Godzilla vs. Biollante! We take an in-depth look at the 1989 classic, including unused scripts, the making of the film, the manga adaptation, and more! Relax and enjoy!
Aug 27, 2019•46 min•Ep. 192
Byrd, Matt, and Tom are joined by returning guests composer John DeSentis and Akira Ifukube biographer Erik Homenick to discuss and reflect on the Kaiju Crescendo concert that took place this past July at G-Fest 2019. The concert featured music by Akira Ifukube and Masaru Sato, as well as Michiro Oshima performing her own Godzilla music in her first ever live performance (including new Godzilla music written for the event). We talk about what it takes to organize an event like this, working clos...
Aug 20, 2019•2 hr 5 min•Ep. 191
Tom interviews director Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, director/star of the upcoming micro-budget monster indie, the Lake Michigan Monster! The movie recently won the audience award for Best International Feature at the Fantasia Film Festival, and played to an enthusiastic audience at G-Fest 2019. The two discuss Tews' roots, his inspirations, the problems with improv, creature design, having a film on the festival circuit, how he managed to make a 50s style monster movie for $7,000, and a crazy pit...
Aug 11, 2019•51 min•Ep. 190
Byrd and Matt are joined by special guest Bob Johnson (SciFi Japan, Planet 8 Podcast, GodzillaFest) to discuss a variety of topics including the pre-internet days of kaiju reporting, Russ Tamblyn, the birth and demise of Markalite magazine, clueless Ultraman directors, doing Godzilla DVD commentaries, forming SciFi Japan, a Mothra cast reunion, malfunctioning Ultra suits, and planning GodzillaFest, the largest theatrical Godzilla movie marathon in the country! GodzillaFest 2019 will be held on A...
Aug 04, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 189
Byrd and Matt are joined by Tom to review a batch of indie kaiju films that they saw at G-Fest 2019! The trio review the crowd sourced Great Buddha Arrival, effects veteran Yoshikazu Ishii's Attack of the Giant Teacher, and a highlight reel of Daisuke Sato and Keizo Murase's anticipated short film Howl From Beyond the Fog! Tom also adds his reviews for the kaiju spoof Notzilla and the micro-budgeted Lake Michigan Monster. We also review Shusuke Kaneko's sci-fi/rom-com/J-Pop musical Linking Love,...
Jul 27, 2019•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 188
Byrd and Matt are joined for a second interview with King Ghidorah mo-cap actor Alan Maxson, who portrayed the creature’s right head in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. With the movie being out, Alan was able to tell us a lot more about how King Ghidorah was brought to life, how he worked with the other mo-cap actors, and his direction from Michael Dougherty, as well as his approach to suit acting vs mo-cap, and what projects he has in his future!
Jul 08, 2019•58 min•Ep. 187
Byrd, Matt and guest host Trev (Days of Future Podcast: Examining the X-Men) discuss Monster Island, the newest giant monster film from the prolific b-movie studio, The Asylum. Created to cash in on the newest Godzilla film, how does this micro-budget creature feature fare? We'll tell you! We also have a mini review of HBO's acclaimed mini-series Chernobyl, including how future Godzilla/kaiju films could benefit from the show's influence. But first we also have a news roundup, including Godzilla...
Jun 22, 2019•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 186
Byrd and Matt are joined by guest reviewers Tom and Trev to take a deep dive into Legendary Pictures brand new film, Godzilla: King of the Monsters! We discuss the highly anticipated blockbuster from top to bottom. We give our thoughts on the writing, directing, effects, characters, monsters, and the themes of the film. We also talk about the fandom's reactions to the film and the recent divide between fans and critics. Does the movie live up to its expectations? Did it honor the traditions of t...
Jun 07, 2019•2 hr 39 min•Ep. 185
Byrd and Matt discuss director Gareth Edwards' pre-Godzilla indie hit, Monsters and its sequel, Monsters: Dark Continent. Monsters was made on a shoestring budget with a crew of less than ten people and was released to critical acclaim. The largely improvised film put a relationship drama against the backdrop of a world ravaged by an invasion by giant monsters from space. Its sequel, Dark Continent was released four years later to a much more mixed reception. We will take you behind the scenes a...
May 15, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 184
Byrd and Matt discuss the Norwegian giant creature feature Troll Hunter, from director André Øvredal. This found footage chiller was released in 2010 with a lot of buzz and critical success. It follows a student film crew as they join a professional troll hunter to take down a variety of gigantic trolls in the Norwegian countryside. How does this film hold up nearly a decade later? Listen and find out!
Apr 28, 2019•51 min•Ep. 183
Byrd and Matt are joined by the Goat (of the Movie Graveyard Podcast) to discuss the 1982 cult classic, Q: The Winged Serpent, directed by b-movie legend Larry Cohen. With Cohen's recent passing, we felt now would be as good a time as any to revisit his unique entry in the giant monster genre. Q combined the giant monster, gangster and occult horror genres into this quirky and original flick. Listen as we give our review of the film, as well as give our thoughts on Cohen's legacy and lasting inf...
Apr 14, 2019•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 182
Byrd and Matt are joined again by Kevin Derendorf (author of Kaiju For Hipsters, Maser Patrol blog) to review Toho’s kaiju/hero series Zone Fighter! With Japanese cinema nearly dead and the rise of Ultraman and Kamen Rider on TV, Toho of course got into tokusatsu hero game in the early 70s. For Zone Fighter, they enlisted some of their top talent, including directors Ishiro Honda and Jun Fukuda and special effects directors Teruyoshi Nakano and Koichi Kawakita, and suit maker Keizo Murase, among...
Mar 31, 2019•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 181
Byrd and Matt are joined by Trev (Days of Future Podcast: Examining the X-Men) to discuss kaiju in the world of pop music. We have an eclectic list of songs that we will play samples from and give our thoughts on. We have popular and obscure tracks from artists in genres such as pop, heavy metal, punk, hip-hop, and more! We have something for everyone with this diverse track list, so relax and enjoy the show! Song list: Blue Oyster Cult – “Godzilla” ABBA – “King Kong Song” Flaming Lips “Godzilla...
Mar 17, 2019•2 hr 20 min•Ep. 180
Byrd and Matt discuss Tsuburaya Productions' kiddie kaiju romp Daigoro vs. Goliath, which was distributed by Toho as part of their theatrical Champion Matsuri package in 1972. In addition to our review, we debunk some common myths about the film as well as discuss Toho's still ambiguous part in the production, how it was the offspring of the infamous aborted Godzilla vs. Redmoon project, and more! But first we have some news on the release dates for Godzilla: King of the Monsters and the upcomin...
Feb 25, 2019•58 min•Ep. 179
We are joined again by Kevin Derendorf (Maser Patrol blog, Kaiju For Hipsters) to discuss two futuristic sci-fi spectacles that Toho produced in the 1980s. The first is Sayonara Jupiter, a futuristic space opera/disaster movie combo. The second is the 1989 dystopian mech film, Gunhed. We get into Sayonara Jupiter's long and troubled production history, Gunhed's genesis as a Godzilla script, manga adaptations and more! These films bolstered huge budgets and international casts, but they've earned...
Feb 11, 2019•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 178
Byrd, Matt, and Chris discuss Toho's alien invasion films of the 1950s, the Mysterians and Battle In Outer Space. This pair of films show a huge growth period for Toho's genre films in the early days. They've gone on to become influential classics of the time period. How do these films hold up after 50 years? We will dig into the history, the subtext, the good and the bad of both films. We'll talk about why Battle In Outer Space is actually NOT a sequel to the Mysterians. We'll also talk about t...
Jan 27, 2019•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 177
At long last, Netflix has released the third entry in Toho's Godzilla anime trilogy for worldwide viewing. After the collapse of Mecha-Godzilla City, the evil Exif aliens use religious manipulation to summon Godzilla's arch-rival, King Ghidorah. So how does Godzilla: The Planet Eater compare to the previous two entries? We are joined by our frequent guest host Tom to take a dive into the latest Godzilla film and dig right into the good, the bad, and the ugly! Kick back and enjoy the conversation...
Jan 13, 2019•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 176
Byrd and Matt are once again joined by author/blogger Kevin Derendorf (Maser Patrol, Kaiju for Hipsters) for the second part in our look back at the original Neon Genesis Evangelion anime. This time we dig into the 1997 conclusion film, The End of Evangelion. When the original series ran out of funding, it forced the show to have an unconventional conclusion that drew the ire of many fans. This film was made as a more proper conclusion to the original series, while retaining its ambiguity and su...
Dec 19, 2018•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 175
Byrd and Matt are joined by author/blogger Kevin Derendorf (Maser Patrol, Kaiju for Hipsters) to take a deep dive into the original Neon Genesis Evangelion anime TV series. Hideaki Anno's colossally popular series was an inversion on classic mecha and tokusatsu, twisting the tropes of these genres into an abstract and existential examination of mental illness. At this point, the show's reputation as a groundbreaking classic proceeds it. Do we find the show worthy of its immense popularity? Liste...
Dec 12, 2018•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 174
On this special Thanksgiving episode of the podcast, Byrd and Matt take a look at the ultimate turkey of giant monster movies, 1957's The Giant Claw! We'll get into the backstory of the movie and just why the titular creature looks so darn goofy. But first we have a full review of the Thanksgiving episode of DC's Legends of Tomorrow on the CW! This episode was a full blown homage to kaiju eiga as the superhero team went back in time and met with Ishiro Honda himself. How did the episode pan out?...
Nov 22, 2018•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 173
Byrd and Matt are joined by special guest Chris Oglio (Genesis 54 Inc.) to discuss the King Kong stage musical, now on Broadway! While your gracious hosts were unable to attend, Chris is here to review the play for us! Chris has a love of Broadway theater and went with a group of friends to check out the King of the Apes Broadway debut! We talk about the history of the production, the cast, changes made to the original story, and of course, Kong himself. The rest of Chris' group sent us their th...
Nov 19, 2018•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 172
For our Halloween special, Byrd, Matt and Tom discuss four horror films by kaiju-fan favorite director, Shusuke Kaneko. On the chopping block today are the Toho vampire comedy My Soul Is Slashed (1991), the HP Lovecraft anthology Necronomicon (1993), Toho's sci-fi mutant film Pyrokinesis (2000), and the Kazuo Umezu manga adaptation God's Left Hand, The Devil's Right Hand (2006). Kaneko is one of the few kaiju directors to have a vast and successful career outside of the genre, so we took a look ...
Nov 01, 2018•2 hr 16 min•Ep. 171
Byrd, Matt and Tom are back with another October horror special. This time we will be talking about three horror films from Shochiku Studios; Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell, The Living Skeleton and Genocide. Normally a studio known for family dramas and art house films, Shochiku made a run of genre films (also including their kaiju opus The X From Outer Space) to try and produce a hit in a time when the Japanese film industry was on life support. How did this brief experiment go for the desperate...
Oct 29, 2018•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 170
Byrd, Matt and Tom are back with another October horror episode, this time talking about Japanese Invisible Man films! We've discussed Japanese takes on Frankenstein and Dracula, so its time another classic Western monster gets the Japanese treatment. We discuss two films from Daiei Studios, The Invisible Man Appears (1949) and Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly (1957). Then we go to Toho for 1954's The Invisible Man (aka Invisible Avenger). We talk about Eiji Tsuburaya's involvement in two of the ...
Oct 25, 2018•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 169
