Ashley Peone
PG 13
Sci-fi, Action, Adventure
Original Language: Japanese
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
A Student Review
I recently went to see Godzilla Minus One in theatres and I thought it was amazing. Granted I do have prior knowledge and have seen a lot of other Godzilla films, but I do not think you need to have seen other Godzilla movies to enjoy this action-packed kaiju film. Its set in Japan amid a war when a new crisis emerges in the form of a gigantic beast (Godzilla!). Although the film is similar to the 1954 Godzilla in that it is a giant monster in an all-out attack and has similar story, it has new storytelling and characterization to bring to the table. The characters are fleshed out well and feel very real. The characters are faced with huge obstacles and dilemmas (in the form of a giant radioactive lizard), and I think the cast did a wonderful job bringing them to life. Not to mention the movie is a whole experience on its own.
The film’s visuals and sound design were remarkable and awe-inspiring. It approached Godzilla's signature attack (Giant breath laser) in a beautifully cinematic way that made my jaw drop! Such a classic moment in most of Godzilla’s films brought even more to life by this movie. Takashi Yamazaki also filmed much more underwater scenes, so if you are afraid of the deep dark depths of the sea, there is some good suspense in this movie. The music was also perfectly chosen/crafted for this movie and added to the breathtaking scenes. The action was simply awesome. I mean come on it is a giant monster; it is Godzilla! If you are ever at the theatres and are not sure what to watch, I highly recommend this film while it is out. It is an amazingly done monster film that is just overall a fun experience even without any prior Godzilla knowledge, this movie stands out on its own. If you are interested in creatures and monsters but have not gotten into kaiju movies such as this one, it is a good introduction to the kaiju world. Takashi Yamazaki has created a truly awe-inspiring addition to the franchise that holds up to the original and provides such an interesting balance of exciting monster action and deeply evocative human narrative. Plus, it currently has 97% on rotten tomatoes!
A Chilling Interview with Tom Voigtlaender
Iz Ordonez-Orschel, '25B
“When the cold wind blows the dead leaves across my porch, I know it’s time for only one thing: Tom’s 31 Days of Horror Halloween Marathon. Since around 2008, I have dedicated the entire month of October to this cavalcade of fake gore, screams, claustrophobic camera shots, and jump scares,” Tom Voigtlaender says. As a horror enthusiast, Tom dedicates hours upon hours of his time consuming horror media, especially during the Halloween season.
Every year, Tom does a 31-day horror movie marathon during October. Since 2008, the marathon has become a yearly tradition that he looks forward to every year. From 2008 to 2014, Tom documented the horror movie journey on his Facebook page, sharing posters and screenshots of his favourite moments from each movie, as well as paragraphs discussing the production, history, and significance of each movie, and a detailed review of the movies.
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“As a result, I have garnered quite the appreciation for the genre as well as its offerings as relics of US cultural history. The horror film genre really is a snapshot into the psyche of the American people. It shows us what we are afraid of at the time.” Voigtlaender states.
The genre of horror is quite historic, more historic than most people believe. To reinforce this point, Tom gives a quote from Dr. Andrew Scahill, who gave an interview to the University of Colorado, discussing the history of horror media and what it says about us as people.
“Horror has always been part of the film vocabulary. Filmmakers were adapting Gothic literature even in the earliest days of silent cinema. As an identifiable film genre, though, I would say German Expressionist cinema in the 1920s is where we should look, with titles like Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and, in a certain aspect, Metropolis—even though it’s sci-fi, there are lots of Gothic horror elements, too. With Hitler’s rise to power, there was a transfer of Jewish talent to America, like Karl Freund who went on to work as a cinematographer for Universal horror titles like Dracula [1931] after his work on Metropolis,” Dr. Andrew called attention to in the interview. “There’s something archaic about horror, something deeply mythological. It’s how we work out the difference between us and them. What we know about identity formation now is that we don’t really form our identity through similarity; we define ourselves by what we are not.”
Just like any other genre of media, horror has changed and morphed with time to reflect what is happening at the time. Tom gives the following examples: fears of communist expansion and nuclear catastrophe, the anti-authoritarian films of the 60s, or the paranoia of the 70s. Zombie films are great examples of how horror movies have evolved over time, “they went from the fear of the passive consumer to a deep fear of our fellow humans in society,” Tom describes.
Regarding the movie marathon, Tom tries to include true favourites every year, for example, Poltergeist (1982), Halloween, (1978), and Ghostbusters (1984). As a father, he also includes less scary options for his kids to enjoy too, such as Hocus Pocus (1993). Each year, Tom concludes the 31-day marathon with his favourite horror movie of all time, the underappreciated gem by Michael Dougherty, Trick R Treat (2007).
Describing his horror-journey this year, Tom says, “This year, when the spirits rasp and tear at the fabric of the veil of death, and their rattling breath whispers ill omens in my ears, I slapped together the marathon in short order. This year I began the marathon with NOPE (2022) (Weird, but intriguing) then Ouija (2014) (Awful. Boring). Then I did a little genre hopping with Solomon Kane (2009) (Cheesy, but I love it). Next was the Witch (2015) (A Slow-burn Masterpiece). Then IT: Chapter 1 (2016) (One of my modern favorites). The Sleepy Hollow (1999) (Full of Tim Burton charm). Sprinkled in there has been Hocus Pocus, Hellboy 2, Ichabod an Mr. Toad, Nightmare Before Christmas with the kiddos. Then I saw the Exorcist: Believer in theaters (it was just OK). I saw Renfield (Had Nic Cage as Dracula! Still was bad) Then I rewatched Robert Egger’s the Lighthouse (2019) (a very weird film). On Friday, the 13th, of course I had to watch THE Friday the 13th, the 1980 original. Watching little kid Kevin Bacon get killed never gets old! I also was delighted by Amazon Prime when they released an adaptation of Dark Harvest (2023) which was a novel that I really enjoyed several years ago. Lastly, I started the new Fall of the House of Usher series on Netflix and have greatly enjoyed it so far.”
As October continues, Tom Voigtlaender encourages anyone that enjoys horror to drop into his room, US 213, to either give him recommendations or to simply just talk horror! “You are always welcome!” he affirms, “Until then: May you have a spooky Halloween season, which, for me, begins when those first leaves start falling and goes till Thanksgiving!”