The Monster Island Film Vault

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! And happy birthday, Ray Harryhausen! And Nate and Elijah, too. Yes, they’re back for their annual crossover, and this year in their reverse order coverage of Ray’s filmography, they’ve reached an outlier: One Million Years B.C. (1967). While it has a cinematographer and director Ray had worked with, this wasn’t produced by Charles H. Schneer or distributed by Columbia Pictures. No, this is a Hammer Film and a remake of a 1940 movie starring Lon Chaney Jr. Not only is it one of the British studio’s most successful films, it might be the most iconic dinosaur film predating Jurassic Park (see MIFV episode 79). Nate and Elijah get into all the nitty-gritty of this prehistoric epic—including the censored cuts made to the U.S. version—in this sensational celebration!

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! Hello, MIFV MAX members! First-time guest Rob Buck of The Power Chamber Podcast joins Nate for ”The Ultra Journey” to discuss the first of its kind in the Ultra Series: Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of the Star of Light. This was the first wholly original tie-in film for a then-current Ultraman show on TV. While the title promises a crossover, behind-the-scenes shenanigans kept it from being as epic as it could’ve been. That being said, as a ”midquel” for Dyna, it’s a solid piece of tokusatsu. The film explicitly expresses the franchise’s vehement anti-nihilism worldview and shows why the TDG Trilogy era is beloved. Since one of the main antagonists, the amazingly named Deathfacer, is an evil giant robot programmed with the memories of the Super GUTS team, this episode’s Toku Topic is a (sorta) brief history of artificial intelligence (A.I.). Enjoy!

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! It’s been six years since Eric Elliott published issues one and two of his fan comic, Batman Meets Godzilla, but now the epic conclusion is out! He makes good on his promise to return to MIFV in this special interview to discuss the reasons for the delay, the artists who made it possible, and POW-ZAP-ZOOM shenanigans that happen in this comic. Celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Adam West Batman series with this interview—after you read issue three!

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! We meet now...at the end of all things. Or at least the end of Monarch: legacy of Monsters season 2. Nate gushes over what might be the best episode of the series, discussing the Kong vs. Titan X fight, the show’s trademark ”drama logic,” and the unfortunately spoiled surprise at the end. (Hint: It ties to one of MIFV’s most popular episodes). Then Nate concludes with his theories about where season 3 could potentially go, if the series is renewed and gives his final thoughts on the season as a whole.

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! In part 2 of the originally Patreon-exclusive weekly coverage of season 2 of AppleTV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the show’s valleys start manifesting—but this stretch episodes also includes Godzilla. For one episode, Nate had to look up a Japanese children’s song he’d never heard, for one thing. There is a character death, an obvious revelation, and a gimmicky “meeting” between Wyatt and Kurt Russell as Lee Shaw. Thankfully, it did get onto an upward trajectory. What’d you think of these episodes? Part 3 will drop Friday.