Tag Archives: Godzilla

Imaginator Magazine Issue 10!

August 28, 2025 Ken Miller Leave a comment

Issue 10 of Imaginator Magazine is available via Amazon and other fine retailers…

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Or, if you’re in the UK or USA, you can order below (at discounted price) direct from the publishers:
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This issue boasts loads of mouth-wateringly marvellous Godzilla-related contents, plus a massive celebration of the bloody & brilliant cult classic SHOGUN ASSASSIN. There are other goodies too, including reviews of a bunch of entertaining movies, including MONSTER SHARK and RIVER OF BLOOD.

Posters for River of Blood and Monster Shark

Forming part of this issue’s massive Godzilla movies zone is a series of 12 mini-articles, written by a selection of creative people (artists, actors, directors, publishers, and so on), who each choose their favourite Godzilla film to praise!

In this issue…

A TRIBUTE TO GODZILLA
51 pages are devoted to Godzilla – the King of the Monsters!

The Godzilla-tastic contents include:

JORG’S TOP FIVE GODZILLA MOVIES
Director Jörg Buttgereit, famed for his transgressive arthouse-horror movies NEKROMATIK (1988), DER TODESKING (1990), NEKROMATIK 2 (1991) and SCHRAMM (1993), shares with us his top 5 Godzilla movies!

RUSSELL FOX PRAISES… GODZILLA (1954)
Russell Fox, the comic book illustrator who has credits that include work for 2000AD and cover art for Dynamite Entertainment’s PURGATORI comics, explains why this Godzilla flick influences his style.

ALLAN BRYCE PRAISES… MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA
Allan Bryce, the convivial editor of the very popular magazines THE DARK SIDE and INFINITY, gushes about his fave Godzilla film.

WILLIAM MARTELL PRAISES… GODZILLA MINUS ONE
William Martell, who is the writer of films including NINJA BUSTERS, DROID GUNNER and HARD EVIDENCE (and the author of the incredibly helpful how-to book on writing for the movies: THE SECRETS OF ACTION SCREENWRITING), informs us why this Big G film ticks all the boxes!

KEN MILLER PRAISES… DESTROY ALL MONSTERS
The editor of IMAGINATOR magazine loves this film – and now he’s going to tell you why.

HANS KAUFMANN PRAISES… GODZILLA (2014)
Hans Kaufmann, the director, writer, editor and producer of the social-drama-meets-Taxi-Driver movie THE WORKING MAN (2019), fills us in on why he thinks this US Godzilla release is so good.

DAVID FITZGERALD PRAISES… SHIN GODZILLA
David Fitzgerald, the FX artist & actor who helped create the barbaric outfit worn by the god-monster in RAWHEAD REX (1986) and starred in the M.R. James parody horror film SQUEAK AND I’LL RUN TO YOU (2021), reveals that he likes the look of Shin Godzilla’s teeth!

RICKY BAKER PRAISES… GODZILLA MINUS ONE
Ricky Baker, editor of the kung-tastic magazine EASTERN HEROES and the co-author of THE NEW ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO HONG KONG MOVIES, highlights what makes this modern Godzilla classic rock!

DIALLO JACKSON PRAISES… KING KONG VS. GODZILLA
Diallo Jackson, the writer/creator whose work includes short stories, novels, and the comic book THE PARANORMALS, reveals why this film was appointment viewing for him.

RAIMUND HUBER PRAISES… GODZILLA MINUS ONE
Raimund Huber, the director of thrilling, kinetic actioners like BANGKOK ADRENALINE (2009) and KILL ‘EM ALL (2012), divulges why he thinks this Godzilla movie stands out.

JOE CASTRO PRAISES… GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER
Joe Castro, the special effects artist who has created numerous great-looking practical (often very splattery) FX gems for productions including BLOOD FEAST 2: ALL U CAN EAT (2002), BONEHILL ROAD (2017), THE BEAST COMES AT MIDNIGHT (2023) and TERROR TOONS (2002), reveals how this Showa era Godzilla film inspired him to join the movie business.

RUSSELL SHAW PRAISES… GODZILLA MINUS ONE
Russell Shaw, the actor who has starred in WITCH (2024), ADVENTURE BOYZ (2019), THE LOCKDOWN HAUNTINGS (2021), ESCAPE (2023) and many more films, describes why this is, for him, a truly impressive Godzilla movie.

Actor Russell Shaw praises Godzilla Minus One

MARK DUFFIELD PRAISES MONSTERS FROM AN UNKNOWN PLANET
Mark Duffield, who is the writer, director and cinematographer of the Thai-based supernatural movie GHOST OF MAE NAK (2005), and the writer, director, producer, editor, art director and cinematographer of the fine Victorian-set Gothic horror film DEMON (2012), fondly remembers seeing this Godzilla film in the cinema back in the 70s…

GODZILLA VS. MARVEL
Read about GODZILLA VS. AVENGERS, and find out why the one-shot comic GODZILLA VS. THOR is so very, very good!

GODZILLA – KING OF THE KAIJU
A 16-page appreciation of EVERY ONE of the city-trashing behemoth’s many, many movies!

Godzilla - King of the Kaiju title page - detail

THE MISSING MONSTER FROM GODZILLA VS. KONG
Hollywood Creature Designer Ken Barthelmey talks about a beast he designed for GODZILLA VS. KONG, which never made it into the movie…

GODZILLA POSTER GALLERY
Feast your eyes on a sumptuous selection of stunning Godzilla artworks.

ULTRA HD HAVOC!
Johnny Burnett raves about Godzilla movies released on 4K UHD and Blu-ray!

Detail from 'Ultra HD Havoc!' title page

A CELEBRATION OF SHOGUN ASSASSIN

40 pages are given over to honouring SHOGUN ASSASSIN and the LONE WOLF AND CUB films & comics! This includes an overview of the superb, gory samurai flick SHOGUN ASSASSIN, plus a quick lowdown on every LONE WOLF AND CUB movie and TV show, and there’s a dive into the world of the original manga too!

VOICE OF DAIGORŌ!
Gibran Evans, who gave Daigorō his voice in SHOGUN ASSASSIN, talks to us!

MASTER POSTER PAINTER!
An interview with Jim Evans, painter of the iconic SHOGUN ASSASSIN poster!

Plus – SHOGUN ASSASSIN and LONE WOLF AND CUB Blu-rays & DVDs are reviewed!

RADIOACTIVE REVIEWS

Movies reviewed include THE LAST SACRIFICE and MONSTER ISLAND. Guest reviews from horror novelist Ramsey Campbell and scriptwriter William Martell!

Shot of creature from Monster Island — Monster Island

LIGHT AND SHADOW
Plunge into the striking b&w world of artist Russell Fox’s fantastical comic book illustrations!

Some of these articles originally appeared in issue 2 of FILM FRENZY, a magazine Ken Miller edited and co-published through Eastern Heroes. Now that he’s running his own publication, Ken decided to share some of those contents, notably the SHOGUN ASSASSIN features, because, well, they’re great, especially the interviews with two key figures connected to the making of the movie: Jim Evans and Gibran Evans. Hopefully more readers will now get the chance to enjoy this material!

Imaginator #10 Coming Soon!

August 8, 2025 Ken Miller Leave a comment

IMAGINATOR ISSUE 10 boasts loads of new, mouth-watering, marvellous Godzilla-related contents! Plus – there are excellent features that originally appeared in issue 2 of Film Frenzy magazine – so, if you missed that publication, you can enjoy reading some of those awesome articles now in this new issue!

Imaginator #10’s look at the King of the Kaiju is a MASSIVE, MULTI-PAGE TRIBUTE…

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS
An adoring look back at the incredibly colourful 1968 creature-fest: this film features SO MANY monsters! It’s Kaiju-fan heaven!

THE MISSING MONSTER FROM GODZILLA VS KONG
Hollywood creature designer Ken Barthelmey (Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs Kong, The Tomorrow War) shares the incredible monster designs he did for a truly cool-looking Hollow Earth creature that didn’t make it into GODZILLA VS KONG (2021)!

GODZILLA – KING OF THE KAIJU
A huge 16-page overview of ALL of Godzilla’s feature length films!

Godzilla - King of the Monsters UK poster

FAVOURITE ZILLA MOVIES
Directors, artists and writers talk about their favourite Big G movies! Find out which Godzilla flicks are liked by folks including: director Raimund Huber (Bangkok Adrenaline, Kill ‘Em All), director Mark Duffield (Demon, Ghost of Mae Nak), director Hans Kaufmann (The Working Man), publisher & writer Ricky Baker (Eastern Heroes, The New Essential Guide to Hong Kong Movies), editor Allan Bryce (The Dark Side), author and scriptwriter William Martell (Steel Sharks, Black Thunder), actor Russell Shaw (Witch, Bone Keeper), special FX artist Joe Castro (Terror Toons, Blood Feast 2), FX expert and actor David Fitzgerald (Squeak and I’ll Run to You), and comic book artist Russell Fox (Angela and the Dark, Vampirella vs Purgatori)!

GODZILLA POSTER GALLERY
Check out a bunch of sumptuous-looking Godzilla movie posters!

GODZILLA TOP FIVE!
Cult filmmaker Jörg Buttgereit (Nekromatik, Schramm, Nekromantik 2) is a Godzilla super-fan! He selects his top five favourite Big G movies and tells us why they’re so good!

GODZILLA VS AVENGERS
A review of the mighty Marvel crossover comic, which includes guest appearances from Jet Jaguar… and Marvel’s very own kaiju: Fin Fang Foom!

GODZILLA BLU-RAY REVIEWS
Johnny Burnett, the YouTube reviewer known as the Fanatical Dragon, checks out some Godzilla Blu-ray releases!

GODZILLA VS THOR
A look at the awesome Marvel comic that pits the King of the Kaiju against the God of Thunder! It’s a brilliant issue!

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

SHOGUN ASSASSIN – A CELEBRATION
This is a 40-page celebration of the gory, extremely enjoyable cult classic SHOGUN ASSASSIN!

The magazine’s many SHOGUN ASSASSIN features include:

VOICE OF THE WOLF CUB
An interview with Gibran Evans, who provided the voice of Daigorō!

MASTER OF POSTERS
A chat with poster artist superstar Jim Evans, who talks about creating the SHOGUN ASSASSIN poster!

CLASSIC MANGA
The lowdown on the totally brilliant LONE WOLF AND CUB comics!

SHOGUN ASSASSIN OVERVIEW
A look at what makes the film so bloody good!

LIGHTNING DISCS OF DEATH!
SHOGUN ASSASSIN and LONE WOLF AND CUB Blu-rays, DVDs and boxsets are reviewed and rated by Johnny Burnett!

Shin Godzilla (2016)

May 5, 2025 Ken Miller Leave a comment

This version of Godzilla is very powerful!

Starring Hiroki Hasegawa, Yutaka Takenouchi, Satomi Ishihara, Ren Ôsugi and Akira Emoto. Written by Hideaki Anno. Directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi. Produced by Minami Ichikawa, Yoshihiro Satô, Masaya Shibusawa, Taichi Ueda and Kazutoshi Wadakura for Toho Pictures.

Toho put its Godzilla movie series on hold for a while after the release of the hugely entertaining Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), which was the final entry of the Millennium era. Toho eventually decided to shoot a new Godzilla flick in 2016, called Shin Godzilla, which was the first Japanese Godzilla movie of the Reiwa era.

This version of Godzilla initially has large, unblinking fish-like eyes! — This iteration of Godzilla initially has large, unblinking, fish-like eyes!

Shin Godzilla was a huge critical and financial smash in Japan. However, some western fans complained about the amount of time that was spent in the film focusing on the politicians and bureaucrats trying to work out what to do as the crisis deepens, but I think that watching how all the many viewpoints, red tape and opinions swamped the decision makers added quite a bit of realism to the story.

I liked all the scenes of the authorities trying to work out what to do!

The movie adds new twists to Godzilla’s lifecycle, with the creature evolving through different forms, which I really liked: you can’t just keep doing the same old schtick every time. In this iteration of Godzilla we see him transform from a low-sprawling aquatic beast to upright god-reptile. We watch him continually adapt, utilising atomic breath and then photon beams. Maybe old school Godzilla fans might not like this updating of his abilities, but I thought the ever-evolving powers and adaptations kept the story intriguing. Even the ending leaves viewers with a mystery: the last shot of Godzilla’s tail hints that an even weirder evolutionary step was underway within the great beast…

Above: two shots showing Godzilla letting loose with photon beams!

The devastation shots of boats & debris being pushed down the river as a wreckage-wave effectively replicated real disaster imagery seen during the 2011 Japanese tsunami, and I liked the many scenes of Godzilla stomping through the city seen in extreme long shot, giving an expansive view of the creature’s progress through Tokyo.

Oh, and I loved the way the Japanese forces not only used tanks and jets and helicopters against Godzilla… they also utilised ‘train bombs’ too – cool!

You could argue that there were some odd design choices, like the early-stage googly fish eyes, for instance, but these strange, unblinking eyes do look quite unsettling!

The earlier-stage Godzilla has grotesquely-wobbling gills and freaky, staring eyes!

Ultimately, there is a lot to enjoy with this version of Big G, who, once in adult form, looks quite different to his typical body shape, with very tiny eyes, a longer neck and jawbones that can detach, allowing his mouth to widen (Godzilla’s mouth can also really extend vertically). Not only is the Godzilla in this film quite a unique design, this great beast looks pretty damn scary and creepy too!

Little beady eyes and a mouth that's full of sharp teeth! — Little beady eyes and a mouth that’s full of sharp teeth!

Shin Godzilla was the first Japanese Godzilla to be rendered primarily through CGI, though he somehow retains a slight suitmation vibe, maybe because actor Mansai Nomura portrayed Godzilla through motion capture.

This is a Godzilla film, so there's lots of devastation! — This is a Godzilla film, so there’s lots of devastation!

Shin Godzilla is a very fine Godzilla movie. ‘Nuff said!

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)

April 17, 2025 Ken Miller Leave a comment

Mechagodzilla gif — I could watch this gif all day…

Starring Masaaki Daimon, Kazuya Aoyama, Reiko Tajima and Akihiko Hirata. Written by Jun Fukuda and Hiroyasu Yamaura. Directed by Jun Fukuda. Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka.

Also known as GODZILLA VS. BIONIC MONSTER and GODZILLA VS. COSMIC MONSTER, this kaiju flick came out to celebrate Godzilla’s 20th anniversary.

The movie presents us with our massive reptilian hero tackling his mechanical doppelgänger: Mechagodzilla! This marvellous, monstrous machine is controlled by alien ape-beings who come from a planet orbiting a black hole! Failing to beat his robo-twin in combat on his own, Godzilla is assisted by dog-faced Okinawan god-monster King Caesar (aka King Seeser). Godzilla’s beastly buddy Angiurus returns, and is now capable of leaping at his foes, leading to a very physical fight with Mechagodzilla!

Mecha-G is definitely the stand-out element in this film, with the robo-beast firing rockets from its fingers, discharging lightning bolts from its chest, emitting colourful beams from its eyes, and creating whirling forcefields with its spinning metal head! Woot!

The fights in GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA are really enjoyable, full of multiple explosions and animated power beams. Even Mechagodzilla’s knees are lethal, as they are capable of firing projectiles at Godzilla and King Caesar!

This film is fun, fun, fun! The ape-aliens look goofy, goofy, goofy! And Mechagodzilla is cool, cool, cool! No wonder the titanium terror went on to become one of Godzilla’s most popular foes.

Criterion Collection artwork for the movie

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

April 25, 2024 Ken Miller 3 Comments

Godzilla doing what he does best: wrecking stuff!

Starring Takurô Tatsumi, Yôko Ishino, Yasufumi Hayashi and Megumi Odaka. Written by Kazuki Ômori. Directed by Takao Okawara. Produced by Shogo Tomiyama and Tomoyuki Tanaka for Toho.

Will the human protagonists be able to help out? — Will the human protagonists be able to make a difference?

Godzilla is on the verge of a nuclear meltdown and the Japanese defence forces try to freeze the great beast, in an attempt to cool down his rocketing temperature. But there’s another big problem… a mega-monster known as Destoroyah…

GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH was the final Toho Godzilla movie of the Heisei era (this era spanned the years from 1984 to 1995).

Steam rises off the super-heated reptile! — Steam rises off the super-heated uber-beast!

Directed by Takao Okawara (who also directed GODZILLA 2000, GODZILLA VS. SPACEGODZILLA, GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA and GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA II), with a script written by Kazuki Omori and special effects by Koichi Kawakita, this film begins memorably with Godzilla, who is coated in hot, glowing, lava-esque rashes, going on a wrecking spree in Hong Kong.

The rampant radioactive reptile stomps through Hong Kong!

It is revealed that Godzilla’s internal nuclear fission processes are going so haywire it seems that Big G is threatening to explode… which is a disaster that could destroy the world. If this wasn’t bad enough, as already mentioned, another monster appears: a creature that is a conglomeration of masses of crustaceans that were mutated by the Oxygen Destroyer weapon used to kill the very first Godzilla back in 1954.

Destoroyah is a novel, nasty kaiju, becoming a massive beast with a large, central head-horn, glowing orange eyes, big tusks projecting from its face, huge shoulder horns and massive wings!

Godzilla bests this great beast, which has killed Big G’s son, Godzilla Junior… but Destoroyah returns to fight again, in the guise of a swarm of multiple-legged mini-Destoroyahs! Even after Godzilla wipes out these things, Destoroyah returns yet again in winged form!

But Destoroyah is eventually killed and the terminally overheating Godzilla stands alone, dying… so the Japanese defence forces desperately shoot cryo-lasers and fire coolant-projectiles to prevent a full-on meltdown. As an Akira Ifukube theme, reworked with choral voices, plays on the soundtrack, Godzilla roars while his flesh falls off him and he decays… and the human characters watch on as radiation levels rapidly reduce… …and the camera moves through the smoke and steam and there, backlit, is Godzilla Junior, who has been brought back to life by his dying father’s energies, and has rapidly matured, ready to take on the role of king of the monsters. This is truly the most emotional moment in Godzilla history! I’m wiping away a tear as I write about it!

This was an awesome way to end the Heisei-era Godzilla series, with a very memorable-looking Godzilla, who is in pain much of the time, glowing with uncontrollable inner-heat, emitting steam, bleeding lava, his back-plates flickering erratically. In many scenes the water actually boils all around him as he strides through the sea. Great stuff!

Finally, let’s check out an amazing poster by the late, great Japanese artist Noriyoshi Ohrai. Here Noriyoshi ensures that the image of the terminally overheating ‘burning Godzilla’ is centred in the painting, with Godzilla Junior positioned in front of him, hinting at what happens during the movie’s finale…

Destroy All Monsters (1968)

October 16, 2023 Ken Miller Leave a comment

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS is a movie you must respect!

Starring Akira Kubo, Jun Tazaki, Yukiko Kobayashi and Yoshio Tsuchiya. Written by Takeshi Kimura and Ishirō Honda, directed by Ishirō Honda, with music by Akira Ifukube. Special effects directed by Sadamasa Arikawa (aka Teisho Arikawa), with Eiji Tsuburaya in a supervisory role.

Don't trust these ladies... — Don’t trust these ladies…

Ah, the wonderful world of Toho’s Shōwa-era Kaiju flicks… set in that stupendous universe where monsters are an everyday occurrence, the suits worn by astronauts are bright, primary colours (bright yellow in the case of this film), cities are regularly wiped-out (but always reconstitute themselves for the next movie) and the armed forces are always on standby with their numerous rocket launchers, jets and tanks (which pretty much never have the proper firepower to really hurt the monsters!)

In DESTROY ALL MONSTERS Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra (larval stage), Anguirus, Gorosaurus, Manda and other denizens of Monsterland (aka Monster Island) become the pawns of an alien race, called the Kilaaks, who use mind-control devices to turn the (now quite benign creatures) into aggressive, city-wrecking weapons of mass destruction.

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS is a staggeringly fun production, with cell-animated laser effects, some sweet model work, a satisfyingly large quota of monsters, and a knockabout final fight near Mount Fuji, where the re-grouped Earth super-critters kick and bite Ghidorah the three-headed space dragon until he’s trashed!

The best two portions of the film are the opening scenes, where we get a tour of Monsterland that shows us all the great beasties chilling out on their island home, and, of course, the aforementioned no holds barred multi-monster battle sequence at the end.

Stonkingly amazing stuff!