“Kaiju” is a Japanese word that literally means “strange beast” and it evolved into a genre of horror in entertainment media thanks to the Godzilla franchise. The original movie was directed by Eiji Tsuburaya and released in 1954, and the decades since there have been a few reboots along with several creative takes on the concept.
Not every kaiju looks like Godzilla or follows a similar path of devastation, and the scariest kaiju movies involve everything from aliens to Lovecraftian demons. Other writers and filmmakers have taken the concept of a kaiju horror movie to new, impressive, and terrifying places.
7
Tremors
Everyone’s Favorite Kaiju Comedy Horror
Tremors
- Release Date
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January 19, 1990
- Runtime
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96 minutes
- Director
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Ron Underwood
The comedy angle in this movie takes the edge off the horror, but the tension builds up in some truly terrifying moments in this American monster movie with a unique Western aesthetic. The story takes place in a fictional Arizona town called Perfection, isolated in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the main characters are rustic handymen who are just on their way to the next job.
Val and Earl are heading to Bixby, but on the road out of town, they discover a resident clinging to his gun at the top of an electrical tower, dead from dehydration. The Kaiju in this story are hidden underground, and the handymen end up trapped in the isolated town with a few lone survivors and no way to see or defeat the subterranean beast.
6
The Host
Horror On The Han River
The Host
- Release Date
-
July 27, 2006
Another movie that uses some laughs along with a generous amount of terrifying scenes, this is one of acclaimed director Bong Joon-ho’s earlier creations and is a must for any viewer who appreciates his Academy Winning style. The Host begins as a story of a comically inept family that becomes the center of a sordid and gruesome plotline involving a monster that rises from the Han River, the famous waterway that cuts through the heart of Seoul.
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The premise of the story is that an American doctor orders his Korean assistant to dump a whole batch of expired formaldehyde down the sink, an incident based on a true story that Bong heard in his youth. This empties into the nearby river and prompts the evolution of the monster that eventually rises from the river to terrorize the biggest city in South Korea.
5
Monsters
A Post-Apocalyptic Kaiju
Monsters
- Release Date
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June 18, 2010
The whole concept of a quarantine zone is a terrifying one to start with, and Monsters leans hard into the science fiction and horror that this movie uses as its main premise. The story begins when a NASA probe crash lands in Mexico and releases some kind of life form that quarantines most of northern Mexico, and attempts at containment of both the aliens and the news of them begin.
The main character is a photojournalist named Andrew Kaulder, and when his boss asks him to enter the zone to find his missing daughter, he takes the opportunity to find out what’s really happening. Director Gareth Edwards uses a mix of found footage and news-reels to make the experience even more immersive.
4
Underwater
What Lies Beneath
Underwater
- Release Date
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January 10, 2020
The original Kaiju came from the ocean to ravage human civilization, but in this scenario, humanity goes to the murky depths and wakes up a sleeping giant. The employees of an underwater drilling rig are the unwitting victims of this monster which is roused by the music, talking, and other noises that people make as part of their daily routines.
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Nobody really knows what’s at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, one of the deepest parts of the ocean, which is the setting for this movie. The workers at first think the rig is being moved by earthquakes, but when they try to escape they find the escape pods are gone and their only chance is to make a trek across the ocean floor, where they’re vulnerable not only to the monster but also to the water pressure.
3
Sector 7
An Adventure At Sea
Jeju Island is known as a honeymoon paradise, but this movie that takes place off its idyllic coast turns that reputation upside down. An oil rig is a scary place to be anyway, isolated on the ocean with limited contact with the outside world and few opportunities to evacuate.
The premise of this movie subverts the trope of the mysterious beast from the ocean and instead gives the audience a mad scientist who wants an isolated location to breed an even more terrifying monster. The idea is that the blood of these monsters can burn at a higher and more powerful rate of oil, hence the use of an oil rig as the ideal research and breeding ground.
2
Shin Godzilla
A Remake From The Creators Of Evangelion
Shin Godzilla
- Release Date
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July 19, 2016
The anime Evangelion was an anti-mecha interpretation of the concept of the Kaiju, and the show has become a cornerstone of every genre it touched. The same director, Hideaki Anno, is responsible for Shin Godzilla, and the movie is intended as reboot of the original 1954 classic, using practical effects, newsreels, and found footage instead of CGI, just like the old days.
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This version takes place in 2016 as opposed to post-war Japan, and begins with a series of gruesome and mysterious events like abandoned boats and water lines filled with blood. As the protagonists scramble to find the lost research of a disgraced scientist that might explain the creature’s origins and weaknesses, Godzilla evolves into various forms and terrorizes humanity.
1
Cloverfield
The Fear Gave Birth To A Franchise
Cloverfield
- Release Date
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January 15, 2008
- Runtime
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85 minutes
- Director
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Matt Reeves
A now iconic horror movie that terrified audiences with a mix of found footage and convincing special effects, Cloverfield breathed new life into a genre that had become better known for kitch than horror. The story is told from the point of view of the people on the ground who have little or no idea of what’s actually going on, with no exposition coming from a government official or scientist.
As is tradition with Kaiju movies, very little of the creature is shown, but like the characters in the movie, the audience is expected to imagine its size and destructive power. There’s a subtle easter egg at the beginning that reveals a small clue as to the creature’s origins but little else until the last few scenes, and the unknown is part of the terror.
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