Gorgo (1961)

So much average

Purely Joyful Movie!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

While Japan has led in this genre, and America has done a few good things in it, this is the British take. Which means everyone is totally calm no matter what is happening and no one gets terribly excited. I give it credit in that its monster has a motivation...it wants its baby back. As opposed to your average Japanese Kaiju who just attacks because, you know, Japan. The special effects aren't horrible, and Gorgo is a little more plausible than most of his Japanese kindred- he doesn't have lasers or fire breathe or something equally implausible. It's just big and it stomps things.

When I was a kid, one of my few prized possessions was a copy of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND with a Basil Gogos painting of GORGO on the cover (I'd ordered the back issue from the publisher, many years after the fact, but one's love of all things Monster never diminishes: I still fondly remember that cover). For some reason, I'd never come across the movie itself before; then I happened to find it listed on Netflix. The DVD I rented boasts a treasure trove of Extras, including a page-by-page look at the Charlton Comics adaptation by SPIDER-MAN co-creator Steve Ditko, as well as an informative making-of feature. The movie itself did not disappoint: the special effects were surprisingly well done, and the performances all around solid. The "twist" was fantastic, and the closing moments of the movie are sweet enough to bring a tear to the eye.

Surfacing about 7 years after "Godzilla", Gorgo was the U.K. counterpart about a beast who rises off the coast of Ireland to menace little Nara Island. Our human leads who just happened to be at Nara for ship repairs, decide it would be a great idea to capture the beast and sell it as a circus attraction in London. Great idea! But wait!.... Once the monster is safely delivered to its London enclosure and ready for viewing and dollars to be made, a shocking revelation changes everything. This animal is just a BABY! UH OH!!! We soon discover there is a much larger and extremely ticked off parent who trashes Nara Island and sets off for England to rescue her child. Bad news for London! As the destruction commences, we are in for a visual treat as the effects are not bad at all for its time. Plenty of destruction of major landmarks as the angry Gorgo Mom makes her way to her captured baby. We are treated to crashing buildings, bridges, and general mayhem throughout the English capital. All efforts to slow the animal obviously fail. Even a million volts of electricity will not bring it down! At last, parent and child are reunited and together they start back to the sea, leaving London in shambles. I'm always glad when the monster isn't killed. This was an underrated film as it lives in the shadow of the original "Godzilla" film from a few years prior and that was a tough act to follow. Check out Gorgo!

Who can forget this gem from the good old 60s? The British answer to Godzilla, this film is by no means original but tremendously fun. The score by Angelo Lavagnino is pretty awesome and the lighting is really well done. And if you're a monster movie nut like me you'll notice Gorgo's design seems to really have inspired the look of the Toho monster Titanosaurus from 1975's "Terror of MechaGodzilla". Gorgo has the better roar as you know, but enough about that.The plot doesn't waste time and zooms by at a pace anyone can appreciate. In some monster movies, especially early Gamera, there's always a sadistic need to have a kid who sympathizes with the beast, my only real complaint but at least it's not overly cheesy with it…wait..cheesy? What am I saying; the name of the movie is Gorgo! Definitely check this one out for a trip down memory lane.