If you like disaster movies (like Amenaza bajo el agua), then you'll enjoy this Chinese production. The premise of Crazy Tsunami is already familiar: a tsunami hits a Chinese population, and the survivors must fight to survive. Except there's also a voracious crocodile thrown in the equation, making everything more dangerous and interesting. Even if the visual effects aren't the best, it's a movie that provides guaranteed entertainment for disaster movie fans.
It might be far from what we now consider kaijū cinema, but we can't talk about giant monster movies without mentioning the "grandmother" of them all: the original King Kong from 1933. With a mix of live action, stop-motion animation, and innovative double exposure techniques for the time, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack created an adventure story that is part humanity vs. nature, part colonialism allegory, and pure spectacle that laid the foundation for everything that followed: a colossal creature, chaotic cities, and action as thrilling as it is tragic.
It's worth mentioning Colossal as one of the most innovative kaijū films of recent times for several reasons. Beyond Anne Hathaway's phenomenal (and underrated) performance, the film breaks away from genre conventions to address not collective chaos and destruction, but personal. The story follows a writer that hits rock bottom: unemployed and dumped by her boyfriend due to her alcoholism, she returns to her childhood home, where reconnecting with old friends worsens her addiction. Simultaneously, a giant monster mysteriously appears in South Korea, causing immeasurable devastation. When the woman realizes her connection to the monster and the reason for its appearance, she decides to turn her life around.
The epitome of kaijū movies, both in of versatility and longevity, is the Godzilla saga, which has defined many aspects of the subgenre since its inception. And Godzilla Minus One is the culmination of its role as an allegory for nuclear fear and the trauma of imperial Japan, whose scars run deep in the Asian country.
The West has attempted to create its own versions of giant monster movies with varying levels of success, but undoubtedly, one of its best examples came from the found footage genre. At its core, Cloverfield doesn’t tell a complex story: a giant beast appears to devastate every inch of New York City, and a small group of young people tries to survive the night. However, the fact that one of them is holding a camera at all times brings an unusual closeness to the action and tragedy, making it a film that almost feels like a cathartic response to 9/11.