Byrd, Matt and Tom kick off KT's October horror series with a double feature of obscure Japanese body horror short films. Up first, we have Tsuburaya Production's Gakidama, about an unfortunate man who gives birth to a small gremlin (created by Toho monster maker Shinichi Wakasa). Then we have the indie short semi-feature Henge (aka Metamorphosis) about a man who slowly transforms into a grotesque beast and turns into a giant rampaging monster (with effects by Ultraman vet Kiyotaka Taguchi). But...
Oct 10, 2018•1 hr 26 min
Byrd and Matt are joined by Kevin Derendorf of Maser Patrol to talk about the 1998 Godzilla animated series! Serving as a sequel to the 1998 Tristar Godzilla movie, this animated television series upped the monster action and gave us a more familiar Godzilla. But was it any good? It seems as though the further we get from the 1998 film, the more this series falls into obscurity. Is it best left there or is it an underappreciated gem? Listen and find out what our take is!
Oct 02, 2018•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 167
Byrd and Matt take a deep dive (no pun intended) into three submarine-centric Toho science fiction films. First we tackle two Ishiro Honda classics with the iconic Atragon (1963) and Latitude Zero (1967). Then we fast forward to Shinji Higuchi's World War II sci-fi epic Lorelei: Witch of the Pacific (2005). All three of these movies are loaded with subtext and messages that we will get into and compare and contrast. Join us in the deep end of Toho waters!
Sep 25, 2018•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 166
Byrd and Matt are joined again by author John LeMay to discuss his new book The Terror of the Lost Tokusatsu Films! John's new book is a sequel of sorts to his last book The Lost Films, once again diving into rare and lost tokusatsu films. This book revolves around unmade and rare non-daikaiju Japanese genre films. We talk about unmade projects like Frankenstein vs. the Human Vapor, Invisible Man vs. the Human Torch, Inter Ice-Age 4, Toho's Time Machine co-production with George Pal and more! We...
Sep 17, 2018•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 165
Byrd sits in on the Prehistory: A Traveler's Guide Podcast to be part of a panel interview with the best selling author of the Meg novels, Steve Alten! We asked Steve a variety of questions about topics such as his writing process, scientific accuracy in his work, each entry in the long running Meg series, the Meg movie's long journey to the screen and his thoughts on the final film, what to expect from future Meg books, the infamous "Nessie Tooth" controversy, the influence of Jaws and kaiju ei...
Sep 14, 2018•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 164
Byrd and Matt are joined by Maser Patrol blogger and author Kevin Derendorf, who has just released the new book Kaiju for Hipsters! Kevin's book explores obscure and rare kaiju films. We talk to him extensively about his book and the large variety of lesser known kaiju flicks out there. Why have so many of these films fallen through the cracks? We'll get into that. We also discuss a wide variety of topics including kaiju in anime, Gamera's obscure direct to video life, weird Taiwanese co-product...
Sep 10, 2018•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 163
This past summer at G-Fest 2018 in Chicago, Chris Marti and authors Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski held a panel on the topic of Japanese nationalism in the Godzilla series. From Godzilla (1954) to Shin Godzilla, the complex subject of Japan’s postwar identity and its relations with the U.S. and the world have periodically arisen in kaiju eiga. This panel presents examples of how these issues are presented in the subtext of both new and old films. Special thanks to Ed and Steve for letting us re...
Aug 27, 2018•56 min•Ep. 162
Byrd and Matt are joined by Eric and Trev to talk giant sharks! We start with the recent Jason Statham blockbuster The Meg! We talk about its years in development hell, comparisons to the book it was based on, and whether or not it was worth the wait. Eric had to leave us after that, but it doesn't stop there! Then we covered the Asylum's kaiju inspired Mega Shark series! We also talk about our favorite and least favorite shark movies, including Shark Attack 3, Atomic Shark (Shin Jaws), Psycho S...
Aug 20, 2018•2 hr 19 min•Ep. 161
Byrd and Matt welcome a very special guest, monster actor Alan Maxson! Alan had the honor of being one of the three mo-cap actors to bring Legendary Pictures' King Ghidorah to life in next summer's Godzilla: King of the Monsters! Alan gives us a taste of his experience on the film and discusses his life long love of monsters and his career as a monster actor working with Full Moon Pictures, Thankskilling 3 and more! Enjoy!
Aug 14, 2018•38 min•Ep. 160
In July of 2018, Byrd and Matt did a panel at the annual G-Fest convention on Ishiro Honda's 1958 classic sci-fi/horror film the H-Man! We went in depth on the making of the film, covering the script, effects, cast, trivia, allegorical subtext, and the film's U.S. release. We even left some time for audience Q&A! Unlike our panel last year, we have nice, clean audio for this one! So enjoy, as we take you through 50 years of blobby goodness!
Aug 06, 2018•40 min•Ep. 159
Byrd and Matt are joined by Chris Marti and Kevin Derendorf (of Maser Patrol) to give their account of G-Fest 2018. The 25th anniversary convention had plenty of guests, including suit maker Keizo Murase, Godzilla suit actor Ken Satsuma, actress Megumi Odaka, and ex-pro fighter/actor Don Frye, as well as plenty of great panels on kaiju movies. And of course, for the collectors out there, the dealer's room was as loaded as ever. We will discuss all that and more, as well as our personal takeaways...
Jul 29, 2018•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 158
Byrd and Matt are back to review the new film Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle, the second entry in Toho's Godzilla anime trilogy. The film finds our heroes discovering a Mecha-Godzilla City made out of nanometal, as well as a bizarre race of people who have survived the monster apocalypse. How did the newest entry in the Godzilla franchise fare? Listen and find out! But first we discuss two years of Kaiju Transmissions, and we wrap up with some talk of Legendary Films' viral marketing for G...
Jul 22, 2018•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 157
Byrd and Matt are joined by Chris Oglio (of Genesis 54 Inc) to talk about buying and selling kaiju collectibles! We discuss a variety of topics including dealers rooms, selling, buying, what we enjoy collecting, what convention newbies can expect from a dealer room, and more! With G-Fest coming up in just a few days, this is a good primer for the eager kaiju collector. Relax and enjoy the conversation!
Jul 10, 2018•55 min•Ep. 156
Byrd and Matt are joined by special guest Chris Oglio (Genesis 54 Inc.) to discuss the most recent entry in the Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom! Three years after the events of Jurassic World, the dinosaurs are in danger of being killed by a volcano eruption and then taken from the island and holed up in a... gothic mansion? Does this sequel live up to the previous films? Listen and find out!
Jul 01, 2018•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 155
While everyone is seeing Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom this weekend, Byrd, Matt and frequent guest host Trev are here to discuss the first four films in the franchise. You'll hear our thoughts on the films from the original 1993 Jurassic Park through 2015's Jurassic World. The original film remains one of the most important genre classics ever made and the franchise continues to churn out sequels and make big money. Join us as we talk about the origins of these films, our memories of how the or...
Jun 23, 2018•2 hr 27 min•Ep. 154
For a special Father's Day episode, Byrd and Matt are joined by guest host Tom to watch 1967's Son of Godzilla! This commentary covers our feelings on the movie, seeing it for the first time, director Jun Fukuda's attitude towards the Godzilla franchise, behind the scenes info and trivia, and more! This is a favorite of ours and was a blast to record. Enjoy and happy Father's Day!
Jun 17, 2018•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 153
Byrd and Matt are joined by G-Fan Ben Painter (the lucky winner of our listener contest) to discuss growing up with Godzilla and kaiju movies. We talk about our first exposures to the genre, our favorite nostalgic memories, discovering the Heisei films in the early 90s, the pre-internet days, grey market VHS tapes, and more. We also touch on being a fan in adulthood- raising children, introducing our kids to Godzilla, the movies we would recommend for young, new fans, and more! Hopefully you'll ...
Jun 14, 2018•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 152
Byrd, Matt and guest host Chris (The Other Sounds Podcast, Cosmic Monster) take a detour and visit when giant monsters attacked a galaxy far, far away. Our main topic is the two part "Zillo Beast" arc of the "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" animated series, which was a loving tribute to daikaiju cinema. In addition to discussing these episodes, we talk about the other giant monsters of the Star Wars universe and Godzilla's connections to the franchise. But first, Chris gives us his review of "Solo: A...
Jun 08, 2018•55 min•Ep. 151
Byrd, Matt and guest host Tom delve into Japan's premier cyber-punk superhero, the Guyver! We discuss the films The Guyver (1990) and The Guyver: Dark Hero (1994). These two American adaptations of the Japanese manga/anime franchise combined body horror, Japanese tokusatsu hero aesthetics and the dark superhero cinema of 1990s Hollywood. How successful were these bio-punk oddities? We get into that, but first, as a primer, we also have some conversation on other aspects of the Guyver franchise, ...
May 29, 2018•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 150
On this Mother's Day special, Byrd and Matt celebrate Mothra's Day by revisiting Toho's Rebirth of Mothra trilogy from the 1990s. While Godzilla was in the hands of Tristar, Toho wasn't done making kaiju films and went to their second biggest kaiju money maker to keep the train rolling. Mothra (1996), Mothra 2 (1997) and Mothra 3 (1998) came in at the tale end of the Heisei kaiju film cycle and were tailored for a younger audience than the Godzilla films. These movies have gone on to be fairly m...
May 13, 2018•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 149
Byrd and Matt present a very special audio commentary track for Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack (2001) with director/writer/photographer Norman England! Norman was on the set of the film nearly every day taking photos and is here to tell us all about it. Listen as Norman tells us all about his memories of the set, the cast and crew, director Shusuke Kaneko and more! This commentary is full of behind the scenes stories and fun trivia. Cue up your copy of this kaiju ...
May 06, 2018•2 hr 4 min•Ep. 148
Byrd and Matt are joined by special guest Nick Poling (of the Rondo nominated Monster Report on Youtube) for our very first episode (of hopefully more to come) on the fantastic films of stop motion auteur Ray Harryhausen! Today we are focusing on his three "Giant Monster On The Loose" films, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953), It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955), and 20 Million Miles To Earth (1957). We give the background on each film, as well as our reviews. We also have a detailed discussio...
Apr 30, 2018•2 hr 39 min•Ep. 147
Byrd and Matt find out what happens when "Big Meets Bigger" as they discuss the new Dwayne Johnson vehicle, Rampage, based on the video of the same name. We discuss the history of the Rampage games, our memories of playing them when we were young, and give our thoughts on the recent film adaptation. Did this movie break the "bad game movie" curse? And how is it compared to recent Hollywood giant monster films? Listen and find out!
Apr 22, 2018•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 146
To get you ready for the Rampage movie this weekend, Byrd, Matt and special guest Kevin Derendorf (from the Maser Patrol blog/podcast) deliver this special episode all about kaiju video games! We take a nostalgic trip down memory lane and discuss the history of giant monster video games. We touch on games starring Godzilla, Gamera, Ultraman, King Kong, Power Rangers, and others, as well as game-exclusive properties like King of the Monsters, War of the Monsters, Monster Hunter World, and Kaiju D...
Apr 14, 2018•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 145
On a special podcast crossover, we are joined by Kaijucast host Kyle Yount to discuss the Zeiram series! We will talk about tokusatsu auteur Keita Amemiya's breakthrough film Zeiram (1991), its sequel Zeiram 2 (1994) and the anime mini series Iria: Zeiram the Animation (1994). This series of low budget films blended the sci-fi, action, horror, and monster movie genres with Amemiya's unmistakable aesthetic. They went on to become cult classics on both sides of the Pacific. Listen and find out how...
Apr 05, 2018•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 144
At long last, the sequel to Pacific Rim has arrived! Byrd, Matt, and Tom are joined by special guest Kevin Derendorf (of Maser Patrol) to discuss Pacific Rim: Uprising. As always, we discuss the production history and give our thoughts on the movie. We also discuss the spin off novel and comics, Chinese pandering, and more! So was this sequel worth the wait? Listen and find out!
Apr 01, 2018•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 143
Our lead up to Pacific Rim: Uprising continues! This time, Byrd, Matt and guest host Trev (Days of Future Podcast/If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It) discuss the two Pacific Rim knock-off "mockbusters", Atlantic Rim (2013) and the new release, Atlantic Rim: Resurrection (2018). Produced by the notorious b-movie studio, The Asylum, these low budget rip offs were made to capitalize on the Pacific Rim movies around the times of their respective releases. Are these movies merely worthless rip offs or do t...
Mar 22, 2018•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 142
With a Pacific Rim sequel on the way later this month, Byrd, Matt, and guest host Tom figured it was prime time to look back at director Guillermo del Toro's original Mechs vs Monsters mash. In addition to giving our reviews, we discuss how the film was conceived, our favorite Kaiju and Jaegers, and how this genre love letter has held up since its 2013 release. We also touch on Guillermo del Toro's filmography, the Oscars, and kaiju fans acting foolish on social media. This was a fun one to reco...
Mar 13, 2018•2 hr•Ep. 141
Byrd and Matt are back with a look at the Cloverfield series! We talk about all three of the released films, starting with 2008's found footage giant monster epic Cloverfield. Then we discuss its follow-up, 2016's 10 Cloverfield Lane and 2018's surprise Netflix release, The Cloverfield Paradox. In addition to giving our reviews, we discuss how these movies came to be, their intricate and ground breaking marketing campaigns, and the problem with how the Cloverfield name has been rebranded with th...
Mar 06, 2018•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 140
For the third and last of our three part look at the beginnings of Tsuburaya's Ultraman franchise, Byrd, Matt, and guest host Eric discuss the third series, Ultraseven! This was the last show that Eiji Tsuburaya would be directly involved with. Ultraseven was focused more on hard science fiction and saw our hero fighting off different alien invaders each episode. It took a much more earnest approach and focused more on story and theme than it did on being a simple monster mash. Arguably the most...
Feb 19, 2018•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 139
