
Kaiju Sci-Fi is a Japanese subgenre, long popular in the rest of the world. These epics always feature one or more kaiju, meaning big powerful quirky monsters. A major example is the "Godzilla" franchise, and that creature's American counterpart King Kong. To broaden this sub-genre's window beyond the Japanese popular culture, I will be including all giant creatures found in sci-fi film. However, it will not include the big beasts found in fantasy such as Balrok in The Lord of the Rings. |
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Gamera - 1965
A nuclear explosion in the far north unleashes Gamera, the legendary flying turtle, from his sleep under the ice. In his search for energy, Gamera wreaks havoc over the entire world, and it's up to the scientists, assisted by a young boy with a strange sympathic link to the monster, to put a stop to Gamera's rampage.
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The Host (Gwoemul) - 2006
The film revolves around Park Hee-bong, a man in his late 60s. He runs a small snack bar on the banks of the Han River and lives with his two sons, one daughter, and one granddaughter. The Parks seem to lead a quite ordinary and peaceful life, but maybe they are a bit poorer than the average Seoulite. Hee-bong's elder son Gang-du is an immature and incompetent man in his 40s, whose wife left home long ago. Nam-il is the youngest son, an unemployed grumbler, and daughter Nam-joo is an archery medalist and member of the national team.
One day, an unidentified monster suddenly appears from the depths of the Han River and spreads panic and death, and Gang-du's daughter Hyun-seo is carried off by the monster and disappears. All of the family members are in a great agony because they lost someone very dear to them. But when they find out she is still alive, they resolve to save her.
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Cloverfield - 2008
The US Defense Department finds a videotape in the former Central Park. The footage shows a group of friends celebrating a surprise farewell party in the apartment of Rob Hawkins in Lower Manhattan. Rob is a young man that is leaving New York to work in Japan and his friend Hud is recording messages from his friends.
Out of the blue, they are surprised by an earthquake and they see on the news that a ship has capsized in the harbor area. They go to the penthouse to see the accident and they actually witness explosions everywhere; when power goes out in the building, they run to the streets trying to save their lives from the attack of the monster.
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