Welcome everyone to the first official KAIJU KHRISTMAS! A special marathon run and created by yours truly.
I guess first I should answer what exactly Kaiju Khristmas even is.
I'll take it from the top. As anyone that's taken even a slight look at my website can tell, I love horror. And I especially love Monsters. Which is why I deemed it a crime to have never seen a SINGLE proper Kaiju movie. None of them. Not the original Godzilla, original King Kong, none of them. And I was tired of it!
It wasn't that I disliked Kaiju or anything. Quite the opposite. I love them! Like I've said, I love Monsters a lot. And I even have a bit of merch of various Kaijus. Like some figures of Rodan and King Ghidorah, or a plush of Mothra. But I'd just never actually sat down and watched the movies before.... Until now.
There's no time like the present. And so, I decided to get on with it already. And I figured what better way to get into Kaijus, then to dive headfirst right into the middle of it with....
For every day of December I would watch a different Kaiju movie. Working my way through as many different movies as I could muster. With some minor exceptions like the Holidays.
This list was assembled with the help of a great friend of mine, who is a massive Kaiju fan. He helped me assemble and organize a list that would make some cohesive sense. Thanks a lot, Baconator!
The watch list is as follows:
I have also included a back up movie, in case I end up having more free time on those N/A days. And a bonus movie to watch on January 1st.
Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 
I really enjoyed the opening, where Godzilla was shrouded in all this mystery. The boats being wrecked, the island being attacked, all while we've not even seen Godzilla physically yet. The part where they're investigating the wreckage on the island, detecting radiation, finding that trilobite, all really good stuff. The scene where Godzilla first shows up properly is pretty cool. I liked seeing his head come up over the hill. I tried putting myself in the shoes of the characters standing there in front of him, which helped make it feel a little less cheesy looking.
I really enjoyed the general vibe and aesthetic of the film as well. The movie has a very dark feel to it. A lot of it just feels completely hopeless, watching Godzilla rampage around and finally meet his end. I think the scene that stuck out to me the most, was when Godzilla attacked the news reporters as they were standing on that tower. It was extremely grim. The way they basically just excepted their fate and signed off the broadcast, before being knocked to their doom.
This movie feels far more in line with the Universal Monster movies that I've watched so much of. Dark, somber, and very melancholic at times. Its very different from what I always imagine Kaiju movies as being like. And I assume that's probably because a lot of later movies really focus on the Monster battling stuff. Which is fine, that's cool too!
Something I noticed was the immense irony in the film's resolution. Godzilla, and all the problems he's caused, were the direct result of nuclear weapons being used. A superweapon gave birth to Godzilla, and what was their response? To use another superweapon to kill him. This irony didn't seem to matter much to most of the cast. Aside from one character. The GOAT, Dr. Serizawa.
Serizawa was easily the best character in the movie. One thing I really liked about him was his eyepatch. Yes, it makes him look cool. But it also represents the scar the war left on him. By being a physical representation for it.
Anyways, where Serizawa really shines is at the end of the movie. He sees the irony in this situation. He knows that, by creating the Oxygen Destroyer, he's become just as much of a Monster as Godzilla is. And as such, in his final moments he chooses to stay behind underwater. And die at the hands of his own creation. Two Monsters killed in one go.
The scene isn't played heroically either. Throughout the entire Oxygen Destroyer scene, this really somber music is playing. The death of Godzilla didn't feel like a victory. It felt like another tragedy. Godzilla was just another victim to these horrific machinations of mankind. Godzilla didn't deserve what happened to him anymore than the civillians on the island did.
This scene is immediately followed up by Dr. Yamane basically staring straight into the camera and going "This is why we shouldn't use nuclear weapons"... Now at first, I thought this was really goofy and kind of killed the vibe. But Baconator, the good friend that helped me make this marathon to begin with, filled me in on some background context regardint this scene.
He informed me that Godzilla came out during a time where the United States was still occupying Japan, and keeping a lock on what movies could and could not be made. The scene was made as a sort of direct message to the US. Cautioning them to stop their meddaling with nuclear weaponry. Which makes the scene much more badass imo.
As for the effects, they were about what I expected. A little goofy, a little cool. The Atomic Breath looked absolutely hilarious, but I did like the detail of his spines glowing when he used it.
I'm planning on ranking all the movies as I go along, seeing how the rankings change as I see more of them. This is the first one, so there's not much competition right now. LoL But I'm interested in seeing where it goes after I see more of them.
And a little bonus. Here are some of my favorite shots from the film.
I have less to say about it in my review. Which is fine because I feel like the movie had less to say about itself too. It didn't have the same kind of dramatic feeling as the first one did, but that's fine because we got to see two Monsters wrestle. Which is the real selling point.
My favorite part was Anguirus! I love him so much. As of this moment he's my favorite Kaiju now. He's so cute and I love him so much. I should've turned off the movie when he died.
Uhmmmmmmmmm. I liked Kobayashi I suppose. Didn't like the lazy way they brought back Godzilla. They should've just made it an Anguiurs movie.
Uhmmmmmm. Seeing Yamane again was cool I suppose.
LoL. But for real though. I feel a little bad that I don't have much to say on this one. It wasn't that I disliked the movie. It was a perfectly fine movie. I enjoyed it, the Monster fights were fun, ANGUIRUS!!!!!!!!!! But there just really isn't much to talk about. Especially in comparison to the first movie. They brought Godzilla in a cheap way, and had him fight another Monster. Fun movie, fun time. But not much there to really chew on. As far as I could tell, anyways.
That's about all I have to say. Was a fine movie though. I don't think it was really that bad. I don't think its as good as the first, but its fine enough. This one has Anguirus in it though, so that instantly makes it better.
Movie Ranking:
Also, another new list to add in. I'm going to add a Kaiju Ranking. For EVERY single Kaiju that shows up in my marathon.
Kaiju Ranking:
That was an awesome movie. That was truly more like what I was picturing when I was imagining Kaiju movies. All around a good time.
The opening with the meganulon was odd. Felt a little disjointed from the rest of the movie at first, but they tied it back in fine enough I suppose. Just felt like an odd way to start it out. Although the meganulon themselves were adorable.
I really enjoyed Rodan as a Monster. His powers were super fun, if not more subtle than Godzillas. His superspeed flying was really cool to watch. I loved the scenes of him flying with the jet pilots, as well as flying so fast he knocked the bridge over with his speed. The scene that showed reports of Rodan from all over Asia coming in was also really fun. It was a creative way to show off his powers more without just literally spelling it out. Although, I don't think Rodan's suit looked as good as Godzilla's did. So Godzilla still wins in that category.
I didn't know anything about this movie, so the twist of there being two Rodans got me. It was fun, but it didn't amount to all that much in the grand scheme of things. Except for the ending. It made the ending a lot more beautiful and sad.
Watching Rodan melt in the lava was sad. I like that they consistently portray the deaths of the Kaiju in a very somber way. At least so far. Showing that they really didnt deserve what happened to them either. It was a little undercut by them reusing the same explosion/cannon sound like 500 times in a straight row. But I still think it was a good ending. A sad ending though
Also I didnt realize till earlier that this was the first color film in the series, which was cool to learn. Though I think it does lose a bit of that special style the black and white had.
Movie Ranking:
Kaiju Ranking:
Favorite Shots:
Definitely the best movie in the marathon so far. From the story, to the characters, to the visuals.
For the story, I liked that Mothra actually had a goal in mind and wasn't just going wild like the Monsters in the last few movies. It made for a good change of pace. And I like that she's a more benevolent guardian monster of Infant Island. I just wish she spent less time in larva form in this movie. Her moth form was so beautifully done, I wish I got to see it do more. The larva form was funny though. I'm greatly looking forward to seeing Mothra come back in future movies, I wonder if the Tiny Beauties come back too. I didn't even know they were a thing.
I also liked the opening parts with the expedition to Infant Island. It reminded me a lot of Jurassic Park Lost World, which is a favorite of mine. Was hoping we'd get to see some other Monsters chilling on the island, but it was still a fun set piece. Nice change of pace from the city sets that we've spent so much time in so far.
The characters are great. Particularly Zen and Nelson. Zen makes a really fun, but competent character for the good guys. The scene with him singlehandedly holding off all those bodyguards had me cracking up. And then he goes and saves a baby from a collapsing bridge when I thought he couldn't get any cooler.
Nelson was a fun villain. He's not exactly a groundbreaking villain, but the actor REALLY stole the show whenever he was on screen. The movie would not have been as great if he wasn't around. His facial expressions alone had more character than almost anyone from the last three movies. Lmao.
Overall, best movie so far. Only disappointment is not more Mothra.
Movie Ranking:
Kaiju Ranking:
Favorite Shots
King Kong was the only monster in this marathon that I had experience with prior to all this. It was the newer versions though. I'd never seen the classic one until now. I didn't go in expecting too much, but wow was I blown away by this movie.
I think its hilarious that the least dated thing about this movie are the visual effects. Omg the whole movie looked great. The effects on Kong and the other dinosaurs and monsters were amazing. The stop motion look was absolutely perfect. Honestly, I like it far better than the effects in any of the other movies in the marathon so far.
The setting of Skull Island is also awesome. Skull Island is what I always picture when I think of a "monster island". All the dinosaurs and creatures prowling around really just give it such a dangerous and otherworldly feel. The fights with Kong and the t-rex, as well as the weird snake with legs, were just so awesome. I can see where the inspiration for later Monster movies came from LoL.
Of course there are.... Other.... Parts of this movie that aren't as well aged. Mostly down to the culture of the time, so its hard to really hold it against the movie too much. But sheesh does it make watching some of these scenes a pain.
Also, maybe controversial take, but I didn't really care for the ending scenes taking place in New York. I know the Empire State Building scene is like, the King Kong scene, but eh. I liked the stuff on Skull Island a lot better. I didn't like the "let's take the giant monster home as a souvenir" plotline in Lost World, and the same goes for here. At least its only the ending of the movie though and most of it is spent on the superior Skull Island.
Putting King Kong in the middle of this mostly Japanese movie marathon also gives a fun look at the cultural differences between the two. All of the Monsters in the Japanese movies are treated mostly as victims (or in Mothra's case a hero), but not so much for Kong. There were a few moments that showed some empathy (like the ending), but for the most part we're supposed to root for the white guys that showed up and started invading this secluded culture lmao.
Despite that though, this is my favorite movie so far. I might be a little biased, since I grew up with King Kong instead of Godzilla, but I never saw this particular movie. So I don't think my bias is too extreme. I definetly liked this film more than Godzilla 1954 at least.
Movie Ranking:
Kaiju Ranking:
Favorite Shots
It was a fun movie. Not my favorite depiction of Frankenstein, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. They kept in line with his themes close enough that I wasn't dying while watching it. The design was kind of ass though.
I did like that it was his heart that kept Frankenstein alive. Idk if it was intentional symbolism while making him, but I like it anyways. To me it represents that deep down Frankenstein just wants to feel love, and its that beating heart that keeps him alive (in this universe). I also like the powers they gave him. They were subtle enough that I think they fit quite nicely.
Baragon was a fun monster. But he just feels like Anguirus' weird cousin. I did like his lava breath and digging powers though. He made for a fun antagonist. Though the fight was kind of lackluster.
I don't have much more to say beyond that. It was a decent midtier movie. I wouldn't have minded if Frankenstein was a recurring Monster in this universe either, but he does look a little weird standing next to all the fully kitted out Monsters LoL.
Movie Ranking:
Kaiju Ranking:
Absolutely ridiculous ass movie (in a good way). Felt more like a comedy than anything. I was cracking up the entire time. Shit like King Kong fighting Godzilla for the first time, and just deciding to give up. Or Kong getting drunk and falling asleep on the beach.
The fight between him and Godzilla was okay. They went a little too heavy on having King Kong throw rocks the whole time. Was getting a little sick of that by the end. The stuff with the lightning was weird as fuck. But makes more sense under the idea that it was originally supposed to be Frankenstein. But hey, give King Kong a power up. I don't mind.
The ending was a bit sudden. They both fall in the ocean and just kind of give up.
Also wtf it was that damn octopus again. Did not expect bro to be a recurring character. (I know its probably not the same one, but I just think its funny to pretend). Best Kaiju ever. Dude even has a killstreak. Unfortunately, I was informed after the fact that he was EATEN after his scenes were filmed.... Rest in peace my eight legged friend.
King Kong unfortunately looked like ass for most of the movie. Coming right off the heels of the original King Kong made it look even worse. King Kong in that movie looked absolutely amazing the entire time he was on screen. The stop motion put the suits to absolute shame. I did appreciate the brief stop motion homage in the movie though.
Plot was kind of all over the place. Like everything with the pharmaceutical company was just kind of off the rails. I thought they were a television company for the longest time.
Movie Ranking
Kaiju Ranking:
Favorite Shots:
