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!

Virus (1980)

Join hosts Byrd and Matt as they discuss all things giant monsters, tokusatsu, and Japanese fantasy films.  Come here for a regular dose of everything Godzilla, Gamera, King Kong, Ultraman and everything in between!

TV & Film

Film Reviews

Film Interviews

Byrd and Matt discuss the Asylum's latest monster mockbuster, Ape X Mecha Ape: New World Order.  The third film in the "Ape vs." series sees the giant ape Abraham and his mechanical doppelganger Mecha Ape go up against Kulalu, a Cthulhu knockoff summoned by a doomsday cult to wipe out humanity.  How does this compare to other Asylum efforts?  Listen and find out!  But first Matt gets us caught up with his thoughts on Godzilla x Kong and gives an update on the state of the podcast.  Listen and enjoy the show!

Ape X Mecha Ape: New World Order

With a new Planet of the Apes movie in theaters, Byrd, Tom and Kevin decide to take a look at Japan's attempt to cash-in on the franchise.  This Sandy Frank Entertainment-produced compilation film was made up of footage from Tsuburaya Productions 1974-1975 series, Time of the Apes, about a group of children and a scientist who find themselves shot forward in time to a future taken over by apes.  We'll discuss this forgotten oddity as well as the series that spawned it.  But first, we give our thoughts on the Planet of the Apes series as well as the latest Monsterverse news and the new Godzilla arcade game.  Relax and enjoy the show!

Time of the Apes (1987)

Byrd is joined by Lux, Tom (of the Final Forum Dragonball Podcast), and Trev (of the Failure to Franchise Podcast) to talk about the new film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire!  This new entry in Legendary Pictures' Monsterverse is another crossover between the two monster icons, as they go up against the threat of the evil ape Skar King and his army of apes and the frost monster Shimo.  Along the way, Kong forms a bond with the young ape Suko.  We'll talk about the production history as well as give our thoughts on the film.  But first, we discuss Godzilla Minus One's recent Oscar win!  Kick back and enjoy!

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Our pals Trev (frequent KT guest) and Chris over at the Failure to Franchise podcast had Matt and Byrd on their show to discuss Godzilla 1998!  We discussed how it came to be, memories of living through the marketing and release of the film, the backlash to it, and the lasting effects it had on the franchise.  Did the movie impact the series for good or bad?  Is it as bad of a movie as people say?  How does it hold up all these years later?  Listen and find out!

Godzilla (1998) Retrospective w/ Failure To Franchise Podcast

Byrd and Matt discuss Daiei's 1962 period monster movie, The Whale God (aka The Killer Whale).  Directed by Tokuzo Tanaka (Zatoichi series), with a script written by Kaneto Shindo (Onibaba, Kuroneko) based on the novel by Koichiro Uno, it tells the story of a whaling village in the early Meiji period being terrorized by a gigantic whale.  Two men, Shaki (Kojiro Hongo of the Gamera films) and Kishu (Shintaro Katsu of the Zatoichi films) to compete to be the one to kill the whale.  For decades, this film was obscure to American audiences, but it just saw its first blu-ray release stateside.  We'll give our review, as well as talk about whaling in Japanese culture, the awesome Akira Ifukube score, the themes of forgiveness and obsession, the influence of Moby Dick, and more!  But first we have a news roundup with our thoughts on the new Godzilla x Kong trailer, Godzilla Minus One's Oscar nomination, and the passing of suit actor Ken Satsuma.  Relax and enjoy the show!

Virus (1980)

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