Welcome back to Atomic Age cinema, where we’re walking through the science fiction films and that helped define the genre. The first film in this series from the ’60s, Gorgo is essentially Britain’s answer to Godzilla, though it also bares plenty of resemblances to King Kong. While I have vague memories of this film being featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, my real introduction was as a kid religiously watching a VHS compilation of monster movie trailers. For whatever reason, of all the films featured, Gorgo was the one I was most looking forward to seeing.
It was a disappointment when I did see it unfortunately because I hyped it up so much in my head, but it will please the Godzilla fans who have grown tired of seeing that kaiju stomping on pagodas and taking out Tokyo Tower. Instead we get Big Ben and Tower Bridge. Seeing someone in a giant monster costume tear apart a miniature city is one of life’s greatest pleasures, but like the best monster movies, it takes a while for Gorgo to get there.
The film opens with a couple of treasure divers at a remote Irish island stumbling upon the creature after it’s awakened by a volcano. Gorgo’s first apppearance mainly involves peple throwing spears at him, but he is eventually captured and sold to a London circus.
You really get a chance to revel in the good and bad of the creature design when he’s getting paraded around the UK capital. It’s not the best creature in the world, but I do like that the eyes kind of open and close. I just wish they could have added a bit more movement. I know he’s strapped in, but let’s a shake here or there, or even some steam coming out of the mouth. That’d be cool.
So as you can see, Gorgo’s about King Kong size. But the movie does promise a Godzilla ripoff, and delivers, when the characters learn that Gorgo is an infant, and London is invaded by his angry mother. The whole movie could be seen as a metaphor for England stripping Ireland of her people and resources and with Gorgo and his mother representing the IRA if you really wanted to try and force a metaphor in there.
It’s your typical miniature city destruction, but it delivers the goods. The costume is far more rubbery around the thighs than I’d like it to be, but as a more amphibian-looking Godzilla, I think it’s pretty good.
I’m not really sure if I recommend this movie. I kind of like it, but I’m certainly not passionate about it. I think that might just the difference between growing up with something and not. I still love Godzilla movies and the original King Kong, but Gorgo leaves me a bit more cold. It could be that it’s just not as good as King Kong or the original Godzilla, of course, but those are two of the greatest films of all time, so comparing Gorgo to them seems unfair. At the same time, the movie isn’t very original, and certainly invites the comparisons.
So if this sounds like something for you, definitely check it out. If you, like Gorgo and his Irish brothers and sisters, have something against the British and would like to see London get deservingly destroyed, this may be the exact movie for you. If you’re unsure, then I’d recommend nearly every film featured in this series above this one.
