A Slasher Theater Editorial: Kaiju is cool again

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love kaiju movies. 

For those of you that don't know, kaiju translates from japanese to "strange beast," but is often translated in English as "monster" and mostly refers to giant movie monsters. The most famous being, of course, Godzilla. Kaiju films gained major popularity in 1954 when the original Godzilla was released. The film (also known as Gojira) was a fairly serious science fiction film with strong social commentary on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the second world war. 

Gojira set off a chain reaction of not only more films featuring Godzilla, but the creation of other kaiju monsters such as Gamera and Rodan. Soon, the serious nature of the films was done away with and kaiju became all about giant monsters destroying cities and fighting other monsters. Kaiju erupted during the 60's and remained popular until the early 90's thanks to shows like Ultraman  and films like Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth. The 90's kaiju was much less popular than it was back in the 60's and by the 2000s it had nearly died out. 

However, around 2008, the allure of giant monsters suddenly returned. The most notable contributor to this was JJ Abrams' film Cloverfield. Cloverfield is a fairly serious film about a giant monster attacking New York City, however, it did have the feel of a kaiju film and, of course, had a bad-ass giant monster. The movie opened to much critical praise and remains a great film now.

It wasn't until 2010 that a true, old school kaiju film was released in the U.S. and Japan. This film is Death Kappa. Tomo'o Haraguchi's film is kaiju to the bone. It uses absolutely no CGI, only 100% authentic, old school, two-dudes-in-rubber-suits-destroying-a-city kaiju effects and manages to be one of the most fun movies I've seen in a long time. It is very similar to the original Ultraman series and the 60's/70's Godzilla films. 

Another sign that kaiju may be returning is the impending U.S. remake of Big Man Japan. Hitoshi Matsumoto's film about a giant man with Eraserhead hair who wears a diaper and wields a giant stick to fight various monsters with is pure ridiculous kaiju fun. Columbia Pictures has picked up the American remake rights and attached producer Neil H. Moritz and screenwriters Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi to Big Man Japan. 

Along with that, Guillermo del Toro's unreleased film Pacific Rim supposedly has some kaiju elements. Not much is known about the movie other than that it features a pilot who fights giant monsters in Antarctica. Pacific Rim begins production is September and is shooting for a Summer 2013 release. 

Kaiju is most definitely cool again, and many filmmakers are trying to revive that fun with homages to the classics that we all know and love.