15 Best Kaiju Movies That Don’t Star Godzilla

Toho’s iconic character Godzilla may be the most well-known kaijū (Japanese for ‘strange beast’), but he’s not the only one either. In fact, Toho’s own kaijūverse has films without the ‘Big G’ himself. The Godzilla franchise came together from other movies Toho made after their successful flagship debuted in 1954.

Mothra, Rodan, and Varan are just some of the best kaijū who appeared in standalone films before they were each integrated into Godzilla films. In addition, competing studios came up with their giant monster movies. Some of the best kaijū movies that don’t feature Godzilla, which are the films that are going to be considered when compiling this list.

Updated on March 6th, 2021 by Scoot Allan: Giant monster movie fans have been enjoying watching Titans face off in movies like Godzilla vs. Kong to determine who becomes the top kaijū, which is just the latest in the fan-favorite Legendary’s MonsterVerse. Of course, there are still quite a few kaijū movies that don’t feature the King of the Monsters for fans who are looking to explore the giant monster genre without retreading over frequently explored Godzilla movies. So today we’re going to take a further look at a few of the best kaijū movies without Godzilla, including a few modern takes on the genre that provide exciting new takes to the classic giant monster movie.

15 Pacific Rim Mixed Kaijū Movies With Giant Mecha Anime in 2013

Guillermo del Toro introduced a world under attack from a series of increasingly more dangerous kaijū in 2013’s Pacific Rim, which explained the giant monsters as other-dimensional creatures who were invading Earth through an underwater portal.

Earth’s only defense against the giant kaijū were massive human-piloted mechas known as Jaegers that achieved celebrity status among the surviving population. The movie’s success resulted in a 2018 sequel called Pacific rim: Uprising that further developed the unique world.

14 1970’s Space Amoeba Featured Earth Animals Transformed By Aliens Into Kaijū

Many movies in Toho’s Shōwa era involved aliens. A good example is the 1970 entry Gezora, Ganimes, and Kamoebas: Decisive Battle! Giant Monsters of the South Seas. Other alternate titles were Space Amoeba and Yog: Monster from Space.

This standalone film has aliens crashing on an island in the Pacific and turning ordinary creatures — a cuttlefish, a mata mata turtle, and a crab — into giant monsters. With these behemoths under their control, the aliens hope to take over Earth. The kaijū Kamoebas had a cameo in Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.

13 2008’s Cloverfield Introduced A Mysterious Monster that Launched A Franchise

The found-footage “shaky cam” genre dived into kaijū movie territory with 2008’s Cloverfield, which followed a group of friends at a going-away party who are forced to evacuate the island of Manhattan after a destructive attack from a mysterious aquatic monster.

As the monster – nicknamed “Clover” by fans – tore through New York City and the military assembled to fight it, viewers were caught on the ground floor of the action, and sometimes above it. The Cloverfield franchise is a loosely connected anthology series that has left fans wanting more from Clover.

12 Gorgo Was A Gigantic Aquatic Monster That Debuted In 1961

An underwater volcano causes an earthquake in the Atlantic, and mysterious aquatic animals are unleashed. This includes a giant, bipedal beast dubbed Gorgo. Sailors capture the creature without realizing what they have is an infant.

After selling the young Gorgo to a British circus, the baby’s even larger mother comes to London to reclaim her offspring, and further chaos ensued.

11 The Host Was A South Korean Film From 2006 With A Unique Giant Monster

Bong Joon-Ho’s 2006 South Korean monster movie The Host introduced the giant monster known as the Gwoemul that resulted from environmental dumping ordered by a U.S. military base off the Han River in South Korea.

The disease-carrying monster kidnaps a young girl and terrorizes the city while the family of the young girl attempts to track down the mutated monster. The Host makes a statement about the U.S. military’s presence in South Korea (in a situation they created) while also introducing one of the most unique monsters of the 21st century.

10 1977’s The Legend of Dinosaurs Featured An Epic Duel Between Prehistoric Monsters

From Toei, the producers behind the Super Sentai franchise, Legend of Dinosaurs & Monster Birds is an obscure tokusatsu (special effects) movie. In the U.S., it’s simply called The Legend of Dinosaurs.

In the movie, a Japanese fishing village is under attack by a plesiosaur with a taste for humans. In the meantime, a prehistoric egg has hatched: the contents is a pterosaur, who is fated to fight the plesiosaur until only one creature is victorious.

9 D-War Is An English South Korean Movie From 2007 Starring Rampaging Dragons

Despite having Western actors and being shot partly in English, D-War (or Dragon Wars: D-War) is a South Korean fantasy actioner. It stars Jason Behr (Roswell) and Robert Forster (Jackie Brown) and is directed by Shim Hyung-rae (Yonggary, 1999).

According to Korean folklore, dragons are destined to return and ravage Earth. The legend comes true and it’s now up to a reporter — who is the reincarnation of a 16th-century warrior who battled the dragons — to stop them. D-War was a critical flop, but it was a financial success. A sequel called D-War II: Mysteries of the Dragon is in the works, apparently.

8 2010’s Monsters Explored An Alien Monster-Infected Quarantine Zone

Gareth Edwards directed 2014’s Godzilla that kicked off Legendary’s MonsterVerse, though he began his cinematic career in 2010 with Monsters, which explored a quarantined zone filled with extraterrestrial monsters that crashlanded aboard a NASA satellite on the U.S./Mexico border.

Edwards not only directed the film, but he also designed and created the special effects which won a number of awards following the release of the movie. A 2014 sequel called Monsters: Dark Continent further developed the monster-filled world.

7 Thieves Battle A Giant Underwater Monster In 1998’s Deep Rising

A luxury ocean liner called the Argonautica is the venue for crime and terror in this 1998 box-office failure. A lone cat burglar and a gang of criminals with a captive boat crew separately raid the ship hoping to make a steal, though they soon get involved in the calamity aboard the Argonautica.

A mammoth and tentacled sea monster, known as the Octalus, emerged from the depths of the ocean to snack on the passengers of the luxury yacht and would-be thieves. Deep Rising didn’t fare well with critics, but it’s developed a sizable cult following since then due to its unique sea monster.

6 1953’s The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms May Have Inspired Godzilla

When researchers test nuclear devices in the Arctic Circle, they accidentally awaken a slumbering, prehistoric monster who has been on ice for millions of years. The creature, which leaves a path of destruction as it heads for New York City, is invulnerable and only extreme measures will stop it.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is thought to have inspired the original Godzilla, which came out in Japan the following year. The monster in this movie even breathes fire, similar to the later King of the Monsters.

5 Marine Researchers Battle A Giant Turtle In 1978’s The Bermuda Depths

This 1978 made-for-TV movie is a curio for tokusatsu lovers. It’s directed by Tsugunobu “Tom” Kotani and produced by Rankin/Bass (The Last Unicorn). The notable special effects are done by Tsuburaya Productions, who is known for the Ultraman franchise in Japan.

In this dreamy film, a couple of marine researchers come across the spirit of a beautiful woman. Also, they do battle with a giant sea turtle that haunts the mysterious area known as the Bermuda Triangle.

4 An Interesting Take On The Kaijū Genre Was Explored In 2016’s Colossal

Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis starred in 2016’s Colossal from writer/director Nacho Vigalondo, which followed an out-of-work writer struggling with alcoholism who discovers she con control a monstrous kaijū.

The kaijū.appears in Seoul, South Korea when she strolls through a New England park at a certain time, though she soon discovers that her childhood friend is also able to manifest a giant robot, which doesn’t bode well for the citizens of Seoul.

3 It’s Adorable Hero Vs. Dangerous Monster in 1972’s Daigoro vs. Goliath

Toho and Tsuburaya Productions collaborated for this underseen 1972 kaijū movie. With its adorable hero and colorful palette, Great Monster Battle: Daigoro vs. Goliath naturally appeals to children.

In the movie, a man adopts Daigoro after his mother is killed during a military attack. The hippo-like creature is otherwise friendly towards humans. Soon, another monster called Goliath appears, and it’s up to Daigoro to protect all his friends.

2 The Story Behind 1985’s North Korean Kaijū Movie Pulgasari Deserves Its Own Movie

To this day, the story behind this infamous North Korean movie continues to fascinate. It all started with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il ordering the abduction of South Korean director Shin Sang-ok and his wife and actress, Choi Eun-hee. They were forced, along with Godzilla special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano, to make a political propaganda film for North Korea. People from Toho were also brought in under the belief they would be working in China.

Based on the Korean legend of the iron-eating monster Bulgasari, Pulgasari is a fantasy movie set in feudal Korea. The story’s namesake is brought to life and helps overthrow the tyrannical government. Pulgasari was loosely remade as a 1996 English-language movie called Galgameth.

1 1995’s Gamera: Guardian of the Universe Rebooted One Of The Top Kaijū Franchises

In this dark and serious reboot of Daiei Films’ long-running Gamera series, the titular turtle-like monster is now a bio-engineered creature whose mission is to stop various evils that threaten the planet.

In the first film of this beloved trilogy directed by Shusuke Kaneko, Gamera rises from the ocean depths to put a stop to Gyaos, a breed of flying monsters who threaten mankind. The Gamera franchise is almost as well-known as Godzilla‘s and should not be missed by kaijū movie fans.

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