We covered the very tiny, now let’s cover the very large. Unlike the threat of something pint-sized which often falls into camp absurdity, the threat of a monster as big as, or bigger than, a building is a fear everyone can understand and relate to. Not only does there exist the threat of being stepped on, crushed, or eaten by such monsters, but monsters on this scale often bring about more than just a body count; they bring with them the mass destruction of cities, the chaos of disorder, and the toppling of establishments. Not to mention, most of these monsters are iconic parts of horror cinema which gives these movies the character of a slasher movie with the devastation of a disaster movie.
- King Kong (1933) – The grandfather of all giant monster movies. King Kong wasn’t the biggest, but he was perhaps the most impactful and, ironically, the most human. A movie that, despite being almost 100-years-old, still holds up today, in my humble opinion.
- Godzilla (1954) – If King Kong is the grandfather of giant monsters, then Godzilla is the king of the monsters! No giant movie marathon of any kind would be complete without Godzilla.
- Them! (1954) – I’m including another classic from the 50s for two reasons. The 1950s is known as the decade for giant, atomic monsters which means this whole subgenre probably wouldn’t exist without this era. And this is genuinely one of my favourite movies in this subgenre.
- Cloverfield (2008) – We’re going to jump way forward to the 2000s, not because there were no good giant monster movies between the 50s and 00s (there were some, but not many) but because these last two entries change up the formula of the previous three enough to keep the marathon fresh. To my knowledge, this is the first found-footage giant monster movie.
- Monsters (2010) – Again, for a nice change of pace, this movie focuses more on the after effect of a giant monster attack and a life in the ruins, so to speak. It highlights the humanity amongst the monsters.
Thanks for reading,
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