Growing up, I spent most weekends watching monster movies. I went through each week’s TV Guide, highlighting these films, and worked on a schedule of what I would watch. Often, these films were of the Godzilla or Gamera variety, and you have no complaints here. I tended to be more Team Godzilla than Team Gamera, but even as a kid, I found the kids in the Gamera movies annoying.
With the recent release of GODZILLA MINUS ONE, I was looking at Godzilla books on Amazon. That’s when I found “The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: Showa Completion 1954-1989” and immediately got a copy. I also reached out to author John Lemay, who was more than willing to do an interview with me (seen HERE). I thought I was contacting a fellow Godzilla fan. We had a lot more in common, both being interested in UFOs and Cryptozoology.
“The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies,” from Bicep Books, is just that. Big. Coming in at 379 pages, this book covers every Kaiju movie from 1954 to 1989 and includes other horror and science fiction films from Toho, Daiei, Toei, and Shochuju. Including other genre films was one of my favorite parts of the book.
It has been a while since I’ve seen many Showa Kaiju films, but this book motivated me to pull out my film collection and start revisiting them. When a book can inspire you like that, it’s a winner. Not only was it fun to see these films again, but it was also nice to see them through John’s eyes. Even the aforementioned Gamera films became more enjoyable. Of course, it helps that the original Japanese versions far exceed the Sandy Frank versions we saw here in the United States.
Though I have been familiar with Japanese horror films, I haven’t seen any. “The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies” motivated me to seek out some of these. Thanks to the WHEN HORROR CAME TO SHOCHIKU DVD set, I could see GOKE, BODY SNATCHER FROM HELL, THE LIVING SKELETON, and GENOCIDE, all enjoyable films. Thanks to this book, I have created a list of other films to look for.
“The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies” is a must-have in all film book collections. It is well-written and a swift read. Each entry is two to three pages long, so getting through them is easy, especially if reading before bed. I kept saying, “Just one more entry” when it was bedtime, and yet I would end up reading many more. One of the fun aspects of the book is in the back under the section called “Trivia.” Here, most movies covered are listed with fun facts about the films, that most people probably don’t know.
I just couldn’t put this book down, and neither will you.
~David Albaugh