The Kaiju Transmissions Podcast

For Byrd, Lux, and Kevin nurse their Halloween hangover by talking about two live action films from the 00s based on the long running yokai manga, GeGeGe No Kitaro.  We've done Kitaro episodes every fall, but this is our first foray into the character's live action iterations, discussing 2007's Kitaro and 2008's Kitaro and the Millennium Curse, directed by Katsuhide Motoki and starring Eiji Wentz as the titular yokai "child."  Both films follow the typical Kitaro formula as Kitaro and his yokai friends are tasked with solving a conflict between the yokai and human worlds.  But how does the material translate into live action?  Listen and find out!

To celebrate Halloween, Byrd, Trev, Kevin and Lux talk about Toei Animation's Tomb of Dracula (1990) (aka Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned) and Monster of Frankenstein (1991) (aka Frankenstein: Legend of Terror), both collaborations with Marvel Comics to adapt their retrospective comic books.  This pair of anime TV movies would also be the first animated films based on Marvel comic books.  Monster of Frankenstein opted to ditch the comics and do another adaptation of the Mary Shelley novel, while Tomb of Dracula was more faithful to the comics, making for a crazy ride in which Dracula loses his powers, eats a hamburger, mugs a woman, battles his infant son who has turned into a grown man fueled by the power of angels, and falls in love with Satan's girlfriend.  It is every bit as insane as it sounds.  So what did the crew think of these classic monsters getting the Toei anime treatment?  Listen and find out!

Byrd, Lux and Kevin discuss three more gothic horrors from Daiei Studios (recently released in the excellent Daiei Gothic Volume 2 blu-ray set from Radiance Films).  Daiei would often combine the period drama and folk horror genres to create a unique brand of gothic cinema that was a staple of their output in the 50s, 60s and 70s.  Here we have three more classic horror films from the studio’s glory days: the historical fantasy The Demon of Mt. Oe, the gothic ghost film The Haunted Castle, and the supernatural revenge tale The Ghost of Kasane Swamp.  What did we think?  Listen and find out!

As our October horror viewing marches forward, Byrd, Matt, Lux and Kevin disusss Shinya Tsukamoto's 1991 film, Hiruko the Goblin.  After Tsukamoto had an international breakout success with his indie Tetsuo The Iron Man, he was offered a much bigger budget to helm this adaptation of Daijiro Morohoshi's Yokai Hunter manga.  This is a horror-comedy is about an evil entity that possesses a schoolgirl's disembodied head, as it grows crab-like legs and starts killing other students as a monster hunter tries to vanquish it.  What did we think?  Listen and find out!

Byrd, Matt, Lux and Kevin keep the Halloween spirit by looking at Hideo Nakata's J-horror classic, 2002's Dark Water, as well as the 2005 Hollywood remake starring Jennifer Connelly.  After the success of Ring and the global explosion of Japanese horror, Kadokawa tried to replicate their previous success by hiring Hideo Nakata (Ring) to direct another film based on a story by Koji Suzuki (Ring, Spiral).  Shortly after, the rights were bought once again by producer Roy Lee (The Ring) for an American remake, which would be released in 2005.  Dark Water tells the story of a mother in the middle of a bitter custody battle, who moves into a run down apartment building with her young daughter.  They quickly are burdened with leaky ceilings, floods, and what appears to be the ghost of a little girl.  Does Dark Water match up with the stellar reputation of The Ring?  How does the remake compare to the Japanese original?  Listen and find out!

Byrd, Lux, Matt and Kevin kick off our October Halloween episodes with a discussion about Nobuo Nakagawa's classic Jigoku (aka Japanese Hell, aka Inferno, aka Sinners of Hell) from 1960.  The film follows two friends who accidentally kill a yakuza in a hit and run.  It just so happens that they're also surrounded by other horrible people and when they all die, they meet in the afterlife and have to endure several circles of hell.  This surreal and nightmarish vision of hell was the final film made by the dying Shintoho classic and has influenced other artists such as Takashi Miike, Gasper Noe, Hideo Kojima, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa.  In addition to our thoughts on the film, we also give a news roundup that includes Toho's monster election for a future Godzilla short, rumors of the next Japanese Godzilla film, and Kevin's spoiler-free thoughts on Godzilla Minus Zero.  Enjoy!

Byrd, Tom, Lux and Kevin discuss Brush of the God, the first and only film directed by late kaiju suit maker Keizo Murase.  The semi-biographical film tells of a recently deceased tokusatsu suit maker whose granddaughter is sucked into a fantasy world of fantastical creatures and has to fend off the fearsome Yamata no Orochi, all while learning more about her departed grandfather.  Originally conceived by Murase in the 70s for the Shaw Brothers in Hong Kong, the project had a long road to the screen after a lot of false starts and stops before coming together as an indie kaiju film and released in 2024.  We'll discuss that, as well as give our thoughts on the film.  Come hang out and enjoy the conversation!

Byrd, Matt and Trev discuss the recent dinosaur film The End of Oak Street from writer/director David Robert Mitchell (It Follows).  The film stars Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor as parents who have to protect their family from rampaging dinosaurs when their suburban neighborhood is inexplicably transported into the prehistoric age.  We give our spoiler review of the movie (including unpacking the polarizing ending), how it compares to other post-Jurassic Park dinosaur films, what we hope it does for the genre, and more!  But first, we pay tribute to the late Screaming Mad George, RJ Kizer, and Reggie Bannister.  Relax and enjoy the conversation!

Byrd, Tom and Kevin discuss their experience at this past month's G-Fest convention.  We discuss the guests, the panels, cosplay, the film festival (including our thoughts on Yoshikazu Ishii's new kaiju film Gladio).  As always, we talk about our highlights from the weekend, some of the new things G-Fest introduced this year, and more!  Relax and join the discussion!

Byrd, Kevin and Lux return to discuss the recent Netflix mini series, Human Vapor, a reimagining of Toho's classic 1960 "mutant" film from director Shinzo Katayama (Gannibal, Missing) and writer/producer/showrunner Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan, Parasyte: The Grey).  This version opts for a brand new story, although it still follows a man who has gained the ability to transform into gas and uses his powers to carry out a murder spree.  We follow detective Kenji and reporter Kyoko as they uncover secrets involving unethical science, classism, yakuza, and really bad parents.  How did we feel about this radical reinterpretation?  Listen and find out!  But first, we give our tributes to the late Sam Neil and Kaylee Hottle.  Relax and enjoy the conversation!