Top 5 Godzilla Villains - Number 4

Written by Stu Cooper

We are back for Day 2 of my Top 5 Godzilla villains countdown. There are so many amazing villains to choose from. I tried to consider the monster's impact on the series, strength, look, powers, and battles. This led me to include what I would say is the most bizarre entry in my countdown...BIOLLANTE! Biollante may have had only one film appearance but I consider it to be one of the better Godzilla villains. Let's dive into why that is. Number 2...BIOLLANTE!

Biollante made it's Godzilla monster debut in 1989's "Godzilla vs. Biollante". The film was the second in the rebooted Godzilla series. A sequel of sorts to Godzilla 1985 which rebooted the Godzilla look and story. In either an act of laziness or a stroke of genius, the producer of the film Tomoyuki Tanaka asked fans to send in their ideas and designs for a Godzilla villain. Over 5,000 submissions were sent in and Tanaka chose the Biollante design which was created by a dentist who wrote science fiction in his free time. I wonder if the dentist still gets checks from all the times TOHO has used the image and idea? If so, he has a nice little nest egg. The design of the creature is absolutely menacing and bizarre. It's like Audrey II from "Little Shop of Horrors" on steroids. The creature is based off of a flower, so the look is very plant heavy. The creature also has Godzilla's DNA in it, so you get a mutant plant-godzilla hybrid. The end result has to be seen to be believed.

In the film, Biollante is created when a rogue scientist mixes Godzilla's cells with a rose, AND his own daughter's cells. Sounds like a great idea right? Well the creature immediately starts killing people and proves to be a big mistake. It is pretty interesting to see how romanticized the film is. We see lots of beautiful shots of the rose, and there is a strong emotional story featuring the girl whose cells are used. It almost makes you pity Biollante...until it opens it's giant crocodile mouth to reveal thousands of teeth, venom, and a personality that can only be described as demonic. There is also a supernatural element to Biollante since it apparently has psychic powers, which were developed by the scientist. There is some kind of theme in the story about roses having psychic mystic powers. It's a very odd backstory but that's what makes this villain stand out. It's not just another creature that swam off the shores of Monster Island. This creature has a bit of humanity and a bit of the environment tied into it. The death of Biollante is also incredibly ambiguous, so there is always the possibility that Biollante is still alive somewhere out in space.

Biollante has been featured in several Godzilla video games most notably Super Godzilla for the SNES and the Super Famicom fighting game. It's pretty neat to see Biollante in the games because she is so massive. It's a real boss fight feeling just seeing the creature on screen.

I will always consider Biollante one of my favorite Godzilla villains. The creature itself is the largest Godzilla villain to ever grace the screen and that alone says a lot. It was a fair match for Godzilla and was one of the few villains to feature a psychic ability (aside from one other villain we may get to). Biollante is Film Enigma's Number 4 Greatest Godzilla villain of all-time. Check back tomorrow for Number 3!

Top 5 Godzilla Villains: Number 5

Written by Stu Cooper

With the upcoming release of Godzilla I figured I would countdown my top 5 favorite Godzilla villains. As a life long Godzilla fan, I love thinking about this kind of stuff. The villains in the Godzilla franchise are often what makes the films so memorable. It was always amazing seeing Godzilla mow down a city, but introduce some weird alien monster and you have an extra added bit of entertainment. Over the course of 5 days, leading up to the release of the new Godzilla film, I will be counting down. Today I start with number 5...GIGAN!

GIGAN first appeared in "Godzilla vs. Gigan" in 1972. "Godzilla vs. Gigan" is considered one of the worst entries in the Godzilla series, mostly due to it's slow pacing and bad effects. I on the other hand, love this film. I am slightly biased because as a child my local Blockbuster only had two godzilla films, "Godzilla 1985" and "Godzilla vs. Gigan". I grew to love Gigan and Ghidorah because of this. In the film, Gigan is sent to earth, along with King Ghidorah. The monsters are used as tools of destruction for yet another alien takeover on earth. This time the attackers are weird cockroaches that live inside human skin, and did I mention they live in a giant statue of Godzilla?!

Gigan then later appeared in "Godzilla vs. Megalon" in 1973. Gigan appeared to help Megalon try and defeat Godzilla. This film is also considered one of the weaker entries and I don't really remember much about Gigan's role in the film other than the fact that it was small. Gigan would not appear in another Godzilla film until 2004's epic monster rumble "Godzilla: Final Wars". In that film he actually sported a brand new look and ended up being the most intimidating monster in the movie. Fans reacted positively to the makeover and many consider Final Wars to be the perfect final entry to the TOHO Godzilla series. It's unclear if we will ever see Gigan again, but if the new Godzilla film is successful then anything is possible. Gigan did appear one other time, on a show called "Zone Fighter" in which he fought the star monster of the show. I just recently discovered that series so that is something I may have to revisit on here. Gigan has also appeared in a number of Godzilla video games. I remember him most in the NES lost gem "Godzilla". He was one of the bosses, which was great for me as a kid since he was one of the few monsters I was familiar with at a young age.

Gigan comes in at number 5 and it's because of his unique look, deadly weaponry, and frequent appearances in the Godzilla universe. The guy has a chainsaw in his chest and hooks for arms. Do you really need to think about how badass that is? Gigan is a deadly combination of awesomeness. Check back tomorrow to see what monster comes in at number four! At the end of the countdown I will be posting a review of the NEW Godzilla film!

2010: Moby Dick Review

Written by Stu Cooper



2010: Moby Dick (2010)
Starring: Barry Bostwick, Renee O'Connor

One thing I wanted to do with this blog was shine the review light on some films out there that may not be in your local theaters. The film I’m reviewing today is really what I consider a modern day Asylum monster gem. The film is “2010: Moby Dick”, and yes it is a modern day adaptation of the Herman Melville classic novel. I’m sure most of you film fans are familiar with the now notorious ASYLUM production company and the monster films that they premiere on Syfy on a regular basis. You either love these films for what they are, or absolutely hate them. I would consider myself a fan, simply because I realize these films are operating on a limited budget and are really appealing to the monster movie audience that may enjoy films like Godzilla, King Kong, Orca, Anaconda, and all those other giant creature features. So once you get past the fact that the CGI may not be Lord of the Rings equivalent, and the actors will most likely be relative unknowns with limited theatrical presence, then these films are very enjoyable!



The film loosely, and I mean LOOSELY follows the story of Moby Dick written by Herman Melville. In this version Moby Dick is 400 feet long (he is absurdly large on film, dwarfing the biggest Submarine on screen) and Captain Ahab is a sub-marine captain who survived an encounter with the beast at a younger age. In his first encounter with the whale, he loses his leg, just like the original Captain Ahab. That is really where the similarities end between the two tales.

The story picks up several years after the first attack where Captain Ahab now has control of the most powerful submarine on the planet, armed with several nuclear missiles! Ahab is the only one who still believes in Moby Dick’s existence, but he does not let that stop him from using the submarine (and the arsenal) to blow up half the ocean looking for the white whale! Captain Ahab is played by Barry Bostwick (Spin City, Rocky Horror) and he actually does a spectacular job given the cheesy surroundings. Bostwick treats the film as if it was an Oscar nominee and puts a lot of heart and emotion into the character. This actually serves as a saving grace for the film. There is a particular moment where Ahab is giving a monologue to a fellow crewmember explaining his desperation and feelings towards the whale and it really made me care about the character and the outcome. The other main character is Dr. Michelle Herman (Herman, get it? Har Har) and she is played by Renee O’ Connor. Renee tries her hardest to make her character feel significant but it still has a certain cheese that is impossible to ignore. She is brought aboard the sub-marine to assist the Captain in finding the whale because she is apparently a whale specialist. Together the two use their brains to track down and hunt the whale. This path ultimately leads to some brutal results and a continued chase. The final confrontation leaves a little to be desired but it has to be seen to be believed. There is a one on one showdown between Ahab and Moby Dick that tops any kind of CGI Monster/Actor interaction I’ve ever seen. It will definitely leave you scratching your head.



I would recommend this film to those who enjoy monster movies, period. If you enjoy giant creature features and like the Roger Corman/Asylum style, then you will not be disappointed. Just take the film with a grain of salt, set your expectations low, and you will be pleased. If you want to check out a serious Moby Dick film I would recommend the adaptation with Patrick Stewart playing Ahab. That was quite the epic film, But if you just want to munch on popcorn and turn your brain off, this should do the job.

2 out of 5

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Coming soon to Film Enigma...WEEKLY Godzilla film reviews!