The Kaiju Transmissions Podcast

iDol Talk with Norman England!

Byrd and Matt welcome Norman England back to the podcast, this time to reflect on his directorial debut film, 2006's the iDol!  The iDol is an independent Japanese science fiction film that features plenty of prolific tokusatsu veterans both in front of and behind the camera and is just now finding a release in the United States.  It tells the story of an obsessive toy collector whose reality is warped when he adds a mysterious alien figure to his collection.  Norman tells us all about his memories making the film including the script, the casting process, working with such genre veterans as Kiyotaka Taguchi, Takashi Yamazaki, Takako Fuji, Ko Otani, Bob Eggleton, Yukijiro Hotaru, and more!  We also talk about the toy collecting culture and how its changed over the years, the importance of a good run time, and its recent USA blu-ray release from SRS Cinema!

The iDol can be ordered here: http://srscinema.com/home/?p=2301

The Legend of the Bear Lake Monster with Brandon Smith!

Byrd and Matt are joined by director/editor Brandon Smith to discuss his upcoming crowdfunded film The Legend of the Bear Lake Monster!  Described as "The Goonies + Jaws," the film is based on the cryptid that allegedly resides in the titular lake in Utah.  We talk about a variety of topics such as the appeal of cryptozoology in a post-smart phone world, the history of the Bear Lake Monster, what makes a good horror movie for kids, the leap from documentaries to features, the strange career of Peter Jackson, using Kickstarter and more! 

The Legend of Bear Lake Monster's crowdfunding page is still active, so be sure to support it here:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-legend-of-the-bear-lake-monster

Terror from Beyond Beyond with Rashaad Santiago!

Byrd and Matt are joined by indie creature creator Rashaad Santiago to talk about his upcoming crowd funded monster film, Terror From Beyond Beyond!  In addition to discussing the genesis of Rashaad's new project, we also talk about his work on the Godzilla fan film, Godzilla: Heritage, his directorial debut Beast of the Water, winning season six of SyFy's competitive series Face-Off, and advice for anyone looking to break into the art of monster making!  Relax and enjoy the conversation! 

The Terror From Beyond Beyond Kickstarter is still active!  Be sure to support it here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/146385329/terror-from-beyond-beyond

Orochi Mania with Kyle Yount!

Byrd and Matt are joined by Kyle Yount of the Kaijucast/Collect All Monsters to take a plunge into the world of Japanese mythology!  Here, we discuss the Shinto legends of Yamato Takeru, Prince Susanoo, and the slaying of the eight headed dragon, Yamata no Orochi.  We will talk about the original stories, as well as three feature film adaptations:  The Three Treasures (1959), Little Prince and the Eight Headed Dragon (1963), and Yamato Takeru (1994).  We will discuss the productions, review them, compare them to the original Japanese legends, talk about how they tie into the Godzilla series, and more!  Relax and enjoy the discussion. 

Reigo/Raiga Trilogy

Byrd, Matt, Tom and Kevin take a deep dive (no pun intended) into Shinpei Hayashiya's indie Deep Sea Monster trilogy!  These low budget kaiju films include Reigo: The Deep-Sea Monster vs. the Battleship Yamato (2008), Deep Sea Monster Raiga (2009), and the new God Raiga vs King Ohga (2020) and were from the director of the famed elusive Gamera 4 fan film.  Thanks to SRS Cinema, these films are available in the United States for the very first time.  We will take a look at all three films as well as discuss Hayashiya's day job as a Rakugo performer, his early Godzilla and Gamera fan films, the historical references in Reigo, what we would like out of a fourth entry, and much more!  So how do these micro budget kaiju flicks fare?  Listen and find out!

Indie Kaiju Distribution with SRS Cinema's Ron Bonk!

Byrd and Matt are joined by Ron Bonk of home video label SRS Cinema to talk about their history and recent kaiju film releases.  SRS has been an established video label for obscure independent genre films for years and just recently they have dipped their toes in the world of tokusatsu/kaiju with the Reigo/Raiga Trilogy, Attack of the Giant Teacher, and their upcoming release of Norman England's film the iDol.  We talk to Ron about the origins of SRS, his work as a director, his love of horror, SRS' recent line of kaiju home video releases, and much more.  Relax and join the conversation!

Audio Commentary: Godzilla (1998) (w/ Movie Graveyard Podcast)

Byrd, Matt and Tom join up with the Movie Graveyard podcast to take on one of the most controversial Godzilla movies ever made!  Of course, we're discussing the 1998 Tristar reboot!  We give a full audio commentary and dive into a variety of topics including the film's long development process, the massive marketing campaign, the fallout after its release, whether the film did more good or bad for the franchise all these years later, and much more!  So listen along and enjoy the discussion!

Howl From Beyond The Fog (2019)

Byrd, Matt, Tom and Kevin review the recent short film Howl From Beyond the Fog.  Directed by Daisuke Sato and with a creature built by legendary monster maker Keizo Murase, this period piece is about a blind girl and the monster who protects her, as greedy developers threaten to take over her family's land.  Using an all puppet human cast and a fantastic monster suit, it offers a new aesthetic in the world of kaiju films.  So what did the gang think of it?  Listen and find out!

Audio Commentary: Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster (1964)

Join Byrd, Tom, Matt, and Kevin (of Maser Patrol/author of Kaiju for Hipsters) for an audio commentary on 1964's Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster!  Join us as we discuss some trivia, history, and even do some myth busting on Ishiro Honda's Showa classic.  There's not much to do in quarantine, so why not watch a movie with us?  Listen in and enjoy!

Virus (1980)

Byrd and Matt emerge from COVID-19 quarantine to discuss Kinji Fukusaku's pandemic panic film Virus, arguably the most ambitious Japanese film ever made.  Along for the ride are authors John LeMay (The Lost Films) and Kevin Derendorf (Kaiju for Hipsters, Maser Patrol blog).  The film shows how a fast acting virus spreads across the globe and wipes out all of the human race except for a small population in Antarctica. Based on a novel by Sakyo Kumatsu (Submersion of Japan), Virus had the largest budget of any Japanese film at the time and had a star studded cast of international stars including Glenn Ford, Masao Kusakari, Olivia Hussey, George Kennedy, Sonny Chiba, Chuck Connors, Henry Silva, Bo Svenson, Robert Vaughn and more.  So how does the lofty disaster film fare?  Listen and find out!