10 Essential Monster Movies You Need To See Before Godzilla

2. King Kong (1933-2005)

Movie Monster: Giant Gorilla, Dinosaurs & Giant insects King Kong was the first monster movies of its kind, produced by RKO back in 1933. Featuring a giant gorilla atop the Empire State Building and Fay Wray's legendary shrieking, Kong has been a lynch-pin of pop culture nostalgia for the best part of a hundred years. Its popularity spawned two remakes and a sequel in the mix - each with their own merits as well as faults - and has even put the great ape at odds with the monster of the moment, Godzilla himself. In reality, the original film is now a rather harsh betrayal of the social values of the time. Watching it nowadays, King Kong represents the Western fear of colonialism and racial attitudes littering the culture. "Ain't we got enough of them in New York?" asks a theatre patron (referring to gorillas). You can Google that if you don't believe it. Along with white actors going black face and a violent, beastly Kong acting as a poster child for immigrants, the film is shocking in its portrayal - something which Peter Jackson justly altered in his remake.