The Cabin in the Words is the ultimate meta monster movie. It lovingly explains exactly why all those countless teenagers in all those terrible creature features movies had to die, and does so in amusing — yet horrifying — fashion.
There are certain animals that simply creep people out. Endless documentaries on the Discovery Channel and PBS have shown us that sharks, spiders, and snakes are misunderstood creatures, but that doesn’t stop up from secretly worrying about being strangled in our sleep by giant reptiles. Anaconda (1997) exploits those fears with a film that pits … Read more
Eight Legged Freaks is a throwback to the radiation-infused monster movies of 1950s, in which fallout from a nuclear weapon causes fauna to grow to unusual size and then go on a murderous rampage. In Eight Legged Freaks, it’s toxic waste that causes the runaway growth of arachnids at a local spider farm. Unlike the … Read more
The Relic is a Alien-rip off creature feature with delusions of scientific authenticity, unlikeable characters, and an underwhelming monster. Its appearance on Netflix streaming may tempt you to watch it, but you’re better of watching one of the many Tremors sequels available on the service. The Relic (1997) was one of the many creature feature … Read more
The night I went to see Prometheus, a friend tried to wave us off, calling the movie a “hot mess”. We saw it anyway … and she wasn’t wrong. This isn’t to say it doesn’t have its moments, but the film is ultimately beautiful and flawed. Prometheus began life as a prequel to Ridley Scott’s … Read more
Alien isn’t just a monster movie. In many ways it is the definitive interstellar creature feature that spawned dozens of half-baked imitations (including some that had the Alien moniker) Thirty-four years after its release, the movie remains one of the best monster — and science fiction — movies ever made.
Monster Week 2013 is here! In honor of the giant robot-vs.-giant monster smashfest Pacific Rim, Nuketown will be reviewing creature features all this week. We’re starting with, Pacific Rim itself and then moving on to a mix of great, not-so-great, and downright awful monster films.
Pacific Rim is a movie that delivered exactly what it promised: giant robots fighting giant monsters on the eve of the apocalypse. It’s not great drama, it’s not mind-bending storytelling, it is giant robots fighting giant monsters, with enough story to keep the whole thing moving forward. The depth in the movie comes from Guillermo … Read more
Monster Week is returning to Nuketown. In honor of Guillermo del Toro’s giant robots-vs-giant monsters flick Pacific Rim’s release on July 12, we’re going to be talking monsters — and nothing but monsters — for a solid week. The event will run from Sunday, July 28 through Saturday, August 3, 2013. As with our last … Read more