10 Essential Monster Movies You Need To See Before Godzilla

Just be glad we didn't wake them all up at once.

The latest trailer for Gareth Edwards' impending Godzilla movie has got the world talking. It's a prime example of how to advertise a film without giving away the plot. Featuring a distressed monologue from Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston and the unsettling choir track from the teaser, the trailer is holding its cards close to its chest. Needless to say, we're excited. We've seen glimpses of the radioactive lizard and now we're licking our lips at the thought of more. Edwards seems to have gone for the right tone, hopefully squashing the Roland Emmerich disaster into a pile of dust. It's still early days, but here's hoping Godzilla has swapped laughable for fearsome in this latest outing. Which got me thinking about the other monster movies out there. More exclusively, the other massive monster movies out there. So here's a list to sit with those thoughts: essential monster movies to see before Godzilla. Films like Alien are excluded because the creature just isn't big enough (although the Alien Queen in Aliens would beg to differ). Instead, we're aiming to seek out those films that drawn inspiration and comparison with the Godzilla character and mythos. Expect to see movies old and new as we look back at some of the films that should be classed as essential preparatory viewing before the mighty lizard makes its long awaited return to the big screen...
Contributor
Contributor

I love all things imaginative, from the page to the screen, and nurture a soft spot for Donald Sutherland and Daniel Bryan.