The Kaiju Transmissions Podcast

Troll Hunter (2010)

Byrd and Matt discuss the Norwegian giant creature feature Troll Hunter, from director André Øvredal.  This found footage chiller was released in 2010 with a lot of buzz and critical success.  It follows a student film crew as they join a professional troll hunter to take down a variety of gigantic trolls in the Norwegian countryside.  How does this film hold up nearly a decade later?  Listen and find out!

Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)

Byrd and Matt are joined by the Goat (of the Movie Graveyard Podcast) to discuss the 1982 cult classic, Q: The Winged Serpent, directed by b-movie legend Larry Cohen.  With Cohen's recent passing, we felt now would be as good a time as any to revisit his unique entry in the giant monster genre.  Q combined the giant monster, gangster and occult horror genres into this quirky and original flick.  Listen as we give our review of the film, as well as give our thoughts on Cohen's legacy and lasting influence.  Enjoy!

Zone Fighter (1973): TV Series Review

 

Byrd and Matt are joined again by Kevin Derendorf (author of Kaiju For Hipsters, Maser Patrol blog) to review Toho’s kaiju/hero series Zone Fighter! With Japanese cinema nearly dead and the rise of Ultraman and Kamen Rider on TV, Toho of course got into tokusatsu hero game in the early 70s. For Zone Fighter, they enlisted some of their top talent, including directors Ishiro Honda and Jun Fukuda and special effects directors Teruyoshi Nakano and Koichi Kawakita, and suit maker Keizo Murase, among others. Although the series is known for its guest appearances by Godzilla, Gigan and King Ghidorah, the entire 26 episode run has lots more to offer than appearances of iconic Toho kaiju. We watched the entire series and are here to tell you all about it! Enjoy the conversation!

Kaiju Pop Songs!

Byrd and Matt are joined by Trev (Days of Future Podcast: Examining the X-Men) to discuss kaiju in the world of pop music.  We have an eclectic list of songs that we will play samples from and give our thoughts on.  We have popular and obscure tracks from artists in genres such as pop, heavy metal, punk, hip-hop, and more!  We have something for everyone with this diverse track list, so relax and enjoy the show!

Song list:

Blue Oyster Cult – “Godzilla” 

ABBA – “King Kong Song”

Flaming Lips “Godzilla Flick” 

Ke$ha – “Godzilla” 

Green Day-  “Brain Stew (Godzilla Remix)

Frasier Theme (Godzilla remix)

Tom Waits -“King Kong”

The Creatures- “Godzilla”

Michale Graves- “Godzilla”

Barbarellas- “Giant Godzilla”

Damon Alexander & the Ten Cent Rentals- “X from Outer Space”

Fishbone – “V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F”

Sepultura “Biotech is Godzilla”

Carnal Forge – “Godzilla is Coming Thru”

Anvil – “Mothra”

MOD- “Godzula”

Raven- “Destroy All Monsters”

Devo- “The Words Get Stuck in my Throat”

The 5.6.7.8’s- “Mothra”

Sepultura- “Ultraseven No Uta”

 

King Geedorah “Fazers”

King Cesar – “Put it on Smash”

Bobby Pickett & Peter Ferrara – “King Kong (Your Song)”

Jimmy Castor Bunch- “King Kong”

Jimmy Castor- “Godzilla”

Jad & David Fair- “Rodan”

Jad & David Fair- “Godzilla”

The Towels- “Godzilla Christmas”

Those Darn Accordions- “Mothra”

Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom- "NoZilla"

Daigoro vs. Goliath (1972)

Byrd and Matt discuss Tsuburaya Productions' kiddie kaiju romp Daigoro vs. Goliath, which was distributed by Toho as part of their theatrical Champion Matsuri package in 1972.  In addition to our review, we debunk some common myths about the film as well as discuss Toho's still ambiguous part in the production, how it was the offspring of the infamous aborted Godzilla vs. Redmoon project, and more!  But first we have some news on the release dates for Godzilla: King of the Monsters and the upcoming Ultraman anime on Netflix.  Enjoy the show!

Toho in the 80's: Sayonara Jupiter (1984) & Gunhed (1989)

We are joined again by Kevin Derendorf (Maser Patrol blog, Kaiju For Hipsters) to discuss two futuristic sci-fi spectacles that Toho produced in the 1980s.  The first is Sayonara Jupiter, a futuristic space opera/disaster movie combo.  The second is the 1989 dystopian mech film, Gunhed.  We get into Sayonara Jupiter's long and troubled production history, Gunhed's genesis as a Godzilla script, manga adaptations and more!  These films bolstered huge budgets and international casts, but they've earned a reputation as two of the worst Toho science fiction films of all time.  Did we find that these movies lived up to their reputation?  Listen and find out!

The Mysterians (1957) and Battle In Outer Space (1959)

Byrd, Matt, and Chris discuss Toho's alien invasion films of the 1950s, the Mysterians and Battle In Outer Space.  This pair of films show a huge growth period for Toho's genre films in the early days.  They've gone on to become influential classics of the time period.  How do these films hold up after 50 years?  We will dig into the history, the subtext, the good and the bad of both films.  We'll talk about why Battle In Outer Space is actually NOT a sequel to the Mysterians.  We'll also talk about the impact that these films had and their lasting influence.  Enjoy!

Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018)- Spoiler Discussion

At long last, Netflix has released the third entry in Toho's Godzilla anime trilogy for worldwide viewing.  After the collapse of Mecha-Godzilla City, the evil Exif aliens use religious manipulation to summon Godzilla's arch-rival, King Ghidorah.  So how does Godzilla: The Planet Eater compare to the previous two entries?  We are joined by our frequent guest host Tom to take a dive into the latest Godzilla film and dig right into the good, the bad, and the ugly!  Kick back and enjoy the conversation!

The End of Evangelion (1997)

Byrd and Matt are once again joined by author/blogger Kevin Derendorf (Maser Patrol, Kaiju for Hipsters) for the second part in our look back at the original Neon Genesis Evangelion anime.  This time we dig into the 1997 conclusion film, The End of Evangelion.  When the original series ran out of funding, it forced the show to have an unconventional conclusion that drew the ire of many fans.  This film was made as a more proper conclusion to the original series, while retaining its ambiguity and surrealism.  Is the movie a more fitting end to the story?  Listen and find out!  We also have a discussion on the expanded universe of Evangelion in other media.  Enjoy!

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-1996)

Byrd and Matt are joined by author/blogger Kevin Derendorf (Maser Patrol, Kaiju for Hipsters) to take a deep dive into the original Neon Genesis Evangelion anime TV series.  Hideaki Anno's colossally popular series was an inversion on classic mecha and tokusatsu, twisting the tropes of these genres into an abstract and existential examination of mental illness.  At this point, the show's reputation as a groundbreaking classic proceeds it.  Do we find the show worthy of its immense popularity?  Listen and find out!  But first, we talk about the early careers of Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi and their cohorts and the birth of Gainax!