Matango

Movie 2 of my 2025 Halloween Movie Marathon Ok, WOW, I was not expecting that. Looking at the movie poster, the description, and when this movie was made (the 1960s), I was really expecting this movie to be a lot more "schlock". After all, the director of this movie, which I discovered only a few minutes before watching, is also the director of the OG Godzilla movies. I know a lot of people consider those movies classics, but one has to admit that they tend to have the reputation of being a bit camp when it comes to their tone. THIS. MOVIE. IS. NOT. THAT. There is a whole slew of reasons why this movie is genuinely great. Firstly, despite it being a 1960s movie, with the way it's shot, it really does not feel like it's from the 60s. Sure, my boy Ishirō Honda loves his Adobe After Effects dissolves, but that's really the only thing that gives away the fact that this movie is like 65 years old (plus the sexism). Parts of this movie looks like it came straight from at least the 80s! I also really love the cast of this movie. To be completely honest, I am a bit of a sucker for movies that trap a small band of characters in a confined setting (CUBE, the first Saw, maybe a lil Battle Royale), and that definitely shows here. I think with a premise like being stranded on a deserted island, the movie is given a lot of opportunities to show character interactions as a result of difficult situations, which I love. Koyama was my fav character. My only complaint with this movie is that I wish we could have seen the main threat a little bit sooner into the run time. For a lot of this movie, it's less supernatural horror and more-so the natural horror of having to survive on an island with a bunch of city folk, which in it's own right is very entertaining to watch. I will definitely be looking for this movie on blu ray, and I will probably check out some of Honda's other movies now!