welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top ten
underrated giant monster movies before
we begin we publish new videos every day
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content for this list we’ll be looking
at our favorite movies featuring kaiju
and other colossal creatures that don’t
get nearly as much attention as they
deserve number 10 diamond gene released
in the 1960s this film is fairly unique
for its period setting with feudal Japan
taking the place of modern cities as the
site for giant monster action the
titular monster is a giant magical stone
statue that comes to life to punish the
wicked in this case an evil Lord who
schemes his way to power even after
having an iron rod driven into his
forehead the wrathful monster is more
than able to deliver some divine
retribution smashing the Lord’s
stronghold with excellent special
effects and a unique and interesting
period setting this film and it’s two
number nine big ass spider there’s
something about a movie that tells you
exactly what you’re getting with no
messing about and this 2013 giant
monster romp certainly has one of those
titles an intensely tongue-in-cheek
throwback to classic giant insect movies
the film follows a good-natured
exterminator as he helps try and destroy
an increasingly giant spider and here’s
this may not be the most polished film
out there but it’s clear with every
frame that the filmmakers put their
hearts and souls into the production and
the result is a fun and endearing
crowd-pleaser with action excitement and
number eight colossal this sci-fi puts
an interesting twist on the giant
monster genre when it’s revealed that
the giant monster attacking soul is in
fact being unwittingly controlled by
Anne Hathaway’s Gloria an unemployed
alcoholic writer trying to sort out the
mess of a life a helicopter crashed into
my head we’ve all been to some dark
places when life isn’t going our way but
learning you’ve accidentally been
contributing to the destruction of a
major city is on a whole nother level so
far this is the best footage we have of
the creature vanishing into thin air the
giant monster action in this film mostly
takes a backseat to the character drama
but that doesn’t stop it from being a
funny exciting and moving character
piece just like I thought it’s a good
monster it’s good guy the whole time
number 7 the War of the Gargantuas this
unsung classic from Godzilla director
Shiro Honda focuses on a spectacular
battle between two giant monsters the
friendly Santa and the evil Gaara in
addition to a knock-down drag-out battle
royale in the finale this film also
features some of the best effects and
miniatures ever produced by the
legendary Eiji Tsuburaya and his team
this is because by kaiju standards Santa
and Gaara are positively puny that meant
that the sets and models had to be much
more detailed as the audience would be
seeing the much closer than normal the
number six King Kong escapes intended as
a thematic follow-up to the King Kong
animated series from the same era this
gloriously goofy film mixes everyone’s
favorite giant ape that spies
supervillains and a giant robot gorilla
known as mechanic Hong he’s exactly like
the original Kong
with this the world is ours when an evil
doctor creates mechanical to unearth the
highly valuable element X his plan
backfires forcing him to capture the
real Kong to use as manual labor my comb
could never be like that this doesn’t go
to plan and Kong winds up battling his
robotic doppelganger atop Tokyo Tower
if ever you wanted a King Kong movie to
feel more like a Saturday morning
cartoon come to life this movie is for
you thank you number 5
Cloverfield Wow oh no this 2008 film
from producer JJ Abrams makes his giant
monster action with bound footage giving
us first-person view as a giant monster
attacks New York and a group of
in typical Abrams fashion the exact plot
of the movie was kept secret leading to
the film’s release with even the title
under wraps and initial teasers this led
to rampant speculation about the true
nature of the film and the guesses
ranged from the film being a new
Godzilla movie to a lost spin-off to
even a live-action Voltron movie which
number four camera
the giant monster while at the time it
was dismissed as a Godzilla ripoff this
1965 film kick-started the second most
prolific kaiju film franchise one that
would end up setting the tone for other
after an accidental nuclear blast in the
frozen north
a colossal turtle emerges from the ice
one that can breathe fire and even fly
to Rome the film inspired numerous
sequels and their kid friendly tone
helped me to draw in children a move
later adopted by the Godzilla movies
[Music]
in the 1990s a trilogy of grim and
gritty films rebooted the franchise but
number 3 troll hunter
another excellent found-footage john
monster-movie this Norwegian film
follows a group of journalism students
who are seemingly on the trail of a bear
poacher what I’m doing thought that
about it however when they followed the
man into the woods they discovered he’s
actually after a much different sort of
game trolls it turns out the taciturn
Hans is really a troll hunter in the
employ of the Norwegian government
tasked with tracking down trolls that
escaped from a Preserve with a streak of
black humour a mile wide and some
seriously impressive visuals for a
relatively low-budget movie this film is
a must-see for fans of offbeat genre
movies number 2 Frankenstein conquers
the world Frankenstein’s monster may not
be the first thing to come to mind when
you think of Japanese monster movies but
this one takes Mary Shelley’s creature
to whole new heights when the monsters
disembodied heart is exposed to
radioactive fallout it regenerates a new
giant sized body and things get even
more complicated when an ancient
creature called Barragan emerges leading
to a firey confrontation this hidden gem
features more fantastic two pariah
effects and a stellar cast led by
American actor Nick Adams
it’s not safe to die let’s come back
later it’s also unique and that the
titular monster is played by an actor
wearing only makeup and prosthetics
rather than a full suit before we reveal
our number one pick take a look at these
number one Godzilla versus header op aka
Godzilla versus the smog monster
Godzilla your favorite when the
pollution field alien creature Hedera
arrives on earth only Godzilla can save
the day director yoshimitsu Bonners
oddball 70s entry in the Godzilla
franchise is without a doubt the
strangest film in the series with
touches of Surrealism animated
interstitials a truly baffling tone and
did we mention the part where Godzilla
the film also bucks the trend toward kid
friendliness with the dark tone and even
on-screen deaths it feels like an odd
mashup of a Godzilla movie and an
avant-garde film making it a truly
unique experience for better or worse
and one that every fan should check out
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