Grizzly (Columbia Pictures, May 16, 1976) and The White Buffalo (United Artists, May 6, 19779)

Grizzly (1976)

Following the 1975 movie phenomenon about a hungry fish, a bunch of large animal flicks reared their heads in an effort to take a bite out of the box office.

One of them was Grizzly, a tale as old as time about an 18ft prehistoric bear that develops a taste for campers and rangers. One man tries to warn everyone, is shot down by the authorities, and recruits some specialists to help hunt it down. Yes, Grizzy was indeed compared unfavorably to Jaws, and rightly so, but I still love it.

Some great set pieces including a bit of watchtower destruction and nudie waterfall showering (both ending unpleasantly) make for a fun watch, and the movie-going public were obviously desperate for more natural mayhem as this made just shy of $40M on a $750K budget.

Is it a good film? Hell no.

Is it fun? You decide.

7/10

The White Buffalo (1977)

Picture the scene. A nine-year-old spotty nerd emerges from a screening of King Kong, the Dino de Horrendous version starring Rick Baker in a hairy suit, and Jeff Bridges in a hairy beard. In his sweaty hand he clutches a souvenir program, and nestled among the images of Kong fondling Jessica Lange and straddling the twin towers are promos for upcoming movies in the same vein. Orca (1977) is one, Grizzly (1976) is another, and the third is The White Buffalo, featuring a grainy shot of Charles Bronson clinging desperately onto what looked like a huge sheepskin blanket. His interest was beyond piqued, but it would be another decade before he actually got to watch it. Was it worth it?

Bronson plays Wild Bill Hickok, legendary showman, plagued by dreams of the titular beastie. He travels to Lakota territory to put his demon to rest, and encounters Crazy Horse (Will Sampson) who is seeking revenge on the animal for killing his daughter. These two icons have a natural animosity for each other, but put aside their differences in an attempt to get the buffalo. There follows much tracking, trapping, and stampeding as they attempt to put it down without getting too many other folks killed.

The buffalo itself is a Carlo Rambaldi effort, about as rubbish as the Kong he built two years previously (although he would eventually redeem himself with Alien and E.T.), and it bellows testily as it lopes through the dusty rocks. The dialogue between the leads isn’t great, their relationship isn’t explored deeply enough, and yet, and yet…

How did this film keep such a hold on me?

7/10

The Host (Chungeorahm Film, May 21, 2006) and Gorgo (King Brothers Productions, March 29, 1961)

The Host (2006)

I first became aware of Bong Joon Ho with this film (one of my animation teachers animated the monster), and like everyone else I have followed his career ever since, catching up with Memories of Murder (2003), through Snowpiercer (2013) and Parasite (2019), to Mickey-17 (2025). But it is The Host that I have watched and enjoyed the most.

A touching family drama disguised as a frenetic monster B-movie, this one starts with a nefarious American ordering his Korean assistant to pour some chemicals down the drain (no subtlety today, thanks) and before you know it there’s a gigantic, clumsy creature living under a bridge on the Han River, picking off hapless passers-by.

Into this scenario is thrown the Park family, led by dad Hee-bong, with son Gang-du, not the sharpest tool in the shed, Gang-hu’s daughter, Hyun-seo, his archer sister Nam-joo, and his brother Nam-il. Barely a functional family, the Parks are forced to work together after Hyun-seo is captured by the monster during a phenomenal scene on the banks of the Han.

Almost 20 years on the effects still hold up beautifully, and the creature design is unsurpassed. However, it was the family dynamic, their frustrations and love, that really tied this film together, and proved that Bong Joon Ho was an exceptional talent. If it’s been a while since you watched this one, do yourself a favour and watch it again!

10/10

Gorgo (1961)

Following Godzilla’s Earth-shattering rampage several years earlier, many other countries conjured up their own kaijus to take on cinema audiences, and Britain did not shirk this responsibility. Being a Brit myself, I am legally obliged to champion this film, but nobody needs to twist my arm to do so, as I unabashedly love this one.

Bill (Born Free) Travers plays Captain Joe Ryan, a seafaring treasure hunter, who falls in with a shady fisherman on an Irish island. He eventually learns that this fisherman has been luring sailors to their death and taking their gold with the help of a sea monster, and after said monster attacks his own men, Ryan captures it and sells it to a London-based circus.

The monster is named Gorgo, and kept in a pit in Battersea Park where it is exhibited to a paying public, but the show mustn’t go on due to Gorgo’s much, much, bigger mum emerging from the sea to reclaim her child, destroying much of London in the process.

It’s a terrifically fun romp with a perfect ending, and the ‘mum smashes up London landmarks’ scenes are top notch. A completely non-guilty pleasure.

8/10

Destroy All Monsters (Toho, August 1, 1968) and Troll Hunter (Lakeshore Entertainment, October 29, 2010)

Destroy All Monsters (1968)

A classic Godzilla joint on this list, and by no means one of the better ones, but I still love it for nostalgic reasons.

Hailing from the Showa era where G got goofy, then mean, then goofy again, Destroy All Monsters is a rock ‘em sock ‘em kaijupalooza featuring more monsters than you can count on two hands. It’s a simple story; evil aliens (women to boot) are controlling Earth’s monsters and forcing them to attack cities around the globe. When the Earth monsters catch on to their manipulation, the aliens send in King Ghidorah to dispense a whooping, and when that doesn’t work they bring in a ‘fire dragon’, which is really just a fancy spaceship.

The whole mess is gloriously nutty, chock-full of monster scraps, and daft as a badger on a surfboard, but little me adored it. Bigger me still adores it, and although I think I prefer Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965), DaM still gives me a monster-sized boot in the fuzzies every time I watch it — so here it is on the list. This is despite my intense hatred for Minilla, who I hated as a child, and still do to this day.

7/10

Troll Hunter (2010)

Ah, Norway. Land of trolls, high jutting rocks over fjords, even higher taxes, and trolls. I saw Kramer vs. Kramer in a community shed on an island called Mosterøy, just off Stavanger, while I was there making bread boards for my pen pal’s dad. We also went troll hunting. Didn’t find one, but had a lovely time all the same.

The folks in this film did not have a lovely time. First up, let’s address the troll in the room. Defying my found footage phobia, writer/director André Øvredal (one of my favourite directors working today — watch The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) if you haven’t) uses the technique to great effect, making the shot choices logical and imbuing the film with a sense of realism despite its ludicrousness.

The story concerns a group of students who are trying to track down an elusive bear hunter known only as Hans, however, it turns out that Hans is after much larger quarry. After accepting Hans’ offer to join him on a hunt and divulge the truth, the students find themselves in peril as various types of troll attack, bite, and finally kill one of the group. Things are further complicated when a member of a Troll Security Group tries to suppress their findings.

It all culminates in a face-off with a Jötunn, the troll equivalent of a kaiju. The lore comes at us thick and fast (tip, don’t bring a Christian in your hunting party) and the film ends with the real Prime Minister admitting the existence of Trolls. Fantastic fun, and worth a look if you never have.

9/10

Tremors (1990)

Popping up at the tail-end of the greatest decade for fun horror flicks, Tremors seemingly appeared out of nowhere, wowed a few theatre-goers, and then dove back into the sand where it would remain dormant for a few years before Universal realized what a cash cow, um worm, they had on their hands.

Tremors has achieved the kind of cult following reserved for few films, and for good reason. It boasts an immaculate cast, still-impressive graboid effects, and Bert Gummer. The chemistry between Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward is so easy-going and comfortable that whenever I rewatch the film (very often), I feel like I’m eavesdropping on a couple of old pals on the front porch. The set pieces are memorable and brilliantly staged, and director Ron Underwood blends thrills and dark humour perfectly, resulting in the ultimate popcorn flick.

Even the ever decreasing quality of the (count ‘em) six sequels does nothing to diminish the sheer entertainment to be dug up in the small town of Perfection. What a great way to conclude this middle section of the Monster Mayhem list.

10/10

Previous Murky Movie surveys from Neil Baker include:

Monster Mayhem, Part I
Monster Mayhem, Part III
It’s All Rather Hit-or-Mythos
You Can’t Handle the Tooth
Tubi Dive
What Possessed You?
Fan of the Cave Bear
There, Wolves
What a Croc
Prehistrionics
Jumping the Shark
Alien Overlords
Biggus Footus
I Like Big Bugs and I Cannot Lie
The Weird, Weird West
Warrior Women Watch-a-thon

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Neil Baker’s last article for us was Part I of Monster Mayhem. Neil spends his days watching dodgy movies, most of them terrible, in the hope that you might be inspired to watch them too. He is often asked why he doesn’t watch ‘proper’ films, and he honestly doesn’t have a good answer. He is an author, illustrator, teacher, and sculptor of turtle exhibits. (AprilMoonBooks.com).