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KING KONG
(1931)
How could any self-
respecting ‘big’ movie
feature not mention the
mammoth monkey who
went on to terrorise the
Big Apple and scale the
Empire State – all in the
name of love.
ATTACK OF THE
50FTWOMAN
(1958)
A wealthy heiress is
abducted by aliens and
inflated to the titular
dimensions. An audacious
premise, rubbery FX and
lots of good intentions
can’t hide the fact this
works better as a poster
than a film.
NIGHT OF THE
LEPUS
(1972)
Gigantic bunnies go on
the rampage in this rarely
seen but legendary
schlocker. The FX veer
between regular rabbits
mangling miniatures and a
guy in a suit for those
convincing close-ups.
DOCTOR DOLITTLE
(1967)
If we could talk to the
animals... But really, what
the hell would you say to
a giant pink snail anyway?
Rex Harrison requested
the mollusc take his
friends back to Puddleby
on the Marsh.
FOOD OF THE GODS
(1976)
SPECIES:
Wasps, rats, worms, and a dinosaur-sized rooster.
MUTATED BY:
A milky substance bubbling up from the
depths of the Earth. Nature’s ultimate revenge on mankind?
IN DANGER:
A dumb gridiron player, an expectant mum, and
the legendary Ida Lupino.
SOLUTION:
Electrocution? Homemade bombs? Ratsak? A
shotgun? Something’s gotta work...
MOTHRA
(1961)
SPECIES:
Initially a giant egg
and caterpillar, until
metamorphosis.
MUTATED BY:
An atomic test
site had something to do with it.
IN DANGER:
Largely
benevolent, Mothra isn’t beyond
trashing Tokyo in her attempt to
rescue a pair of twin fairy sisters.
SOLUTION:
In the absence of
jumbo-sized mothballs, try an
atomic heat ray, call in Godzilla,
or simply surrender the fairies.
Size Does Matter
THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION
(1975)
SPECIES:
Inter-dimensional arachnids.
MUTATED BY:
Emerging from a mini-black hole, maybe gravitic stress had
something to do with it? Who the hell knows.
IN DANGER:
Wisconsin and
Gilligan’s Island
’s Alan Hale Jr.
SOLUTION:
Blow up that black hole.