Godzillahas been everything from an anthropomorphic anti-hero to global force of destruction and back again, but his roots have always been in horror as a dark metaphor for the dangers of nuclear war. Godzilla’s original appearance in 1954’sGodzillahas typically been viewed as a horror movie, given its dark subject matter and the wanton destruction of Godzilla’s attacks. However, in the following years of the period recognized as the Showa Era,Toho’s Godzillaevolved into a borderline silly character as they moved the character towards family-friendliness.
Since the end of the Showa Era,Godzilla’s alignment has shifted between being a villain and an anti-hero, with many subsequent films choosing to ignore everything except the events of the iconic originalGodzillamovie. As a result, some Godzilla movies are darker than others, with many hearkening back to the radioactive lizard’s roots in horror. Ten of Godzilla’s 38 movies in particular are far more horrifying than most of his lighter fare.
All 11 Monsters Created By Godzilla
Godzilla has fought countless monsters in his 70 years on the silver screen, some of which he played a direct or indirect role in creating.
10Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
One Of Godzilla’s Goriest Battles
Godzilla vs. Giganis somewhat of a cult classic among Godzilla fans, as most recognize that it’s not among the highest-quality movies but still appreciate its fun monster action, along with the introduction of the fan-favorite villain Gigan. What takesGodzilla vs. Gigantowards horror is how much blood Gigan draws in the battle against Godzilla. The sharp-edged, hook-handed cyborg bloodies Godzilla’s face with his chest saw, and opens a spurting wound in his neck by clipping him while flying among other wounds. It’s one of the goriest battles that Godzilla has ever endured, edging the movie towards horror.
9The Return of Godzilla (1984)
A Return To Godzilla’s Dark Roots Accented By Cold War Tensions
Following the silliness of the latter stages of the Showa Era, Toho put Big G on ice for nine years before bringing him back with a decidedly darker slant withThe Return of Godzilla. Featuring a sharper, mean-mugging new suit design and a return to the franchise’s anti-nuclear roots,The Return of Godzillacapitalized on Cold War fears to re-establish the franchise’s anti-nuclear message. The first film in Toho’s Heisei Era made it clear that they were targeting adult viewers that were lost in the preceding decades.
1954–1975
15
1984–1995
7
1999–2004
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2016-present
5
2014-present
Godzilla
Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire
Acting as a direct sequel to the 1954 original,The Return of Godzillasaw a more malignant, destructive Godzilla wreaking havoc on Japan as he hadn’t in years. The movie’s dire plot features Soviet nuclear submarines, missile-armed satellites, and Godzilla feeding on nuclear reactors, perfectly capturing the terror of looming nuclear war in both the West and the East. It’s not the strongest narrative, nor the most well-made Godzilla movie, but it certainly qualifies as horror-adjacent.
8Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
The Introduction Of Godzilla’s Nemesis And Some Genuinely Creepy Aliens
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzillais a highlight of the Showa Era for many, thanks in large part to the introduction of Godzilla’s robotic arch-nemesis, Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla proves to be a threat the likes of which Godzilla has never seen before, and his metallic counterpart quickly proves how dangerous he is by producing one of the goriest moments in the Godzilla franchise. Still disguised as the real Godzilla, Mechagodzilla attacks Anguirus and grabs him by the jaws, pulling them apart until blood pours from the monster’s cheeks.
Mechagodzilla continues his rampage against Godzilla and King Caesar, decimating both monsters with an onslaught of lasers, rockets, and explosives. Godzilla is bloodied multiple times and skewered by Mechagodzilla’s sharp finger missiles, and appears to be near death before he is revitalized by his own stored electricity. On top of that carnage, it’s revealed that Mechagodzilla is controlled by a genuinely creepy race of aliens, the ape-like creatures from Black Hole Planet 3. The factors all combine to makeGodzilla vs. Mechagodzillaa horrifying highlight of the Showa Era.
7Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
One Of The Darkest Versions Of Godzilla Wreaks Havoc On The Earth
What makesGodzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attackso terrifying is the origin of its Godzilla. In a rare pivot from the norm, the movie known as “GMK” features King Ghidorah as a guardian monster, while Godzilla plays the role of ultra-powered source of planetary destruction. However, this Godzilla is far more than just a radioactive lizard with a penchant for punching buildings.
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The Godzilla who terrorizes the world inGodzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attackis the physical manifestation of the souls of Japanese soldiers and civilians killed during World War II, who are seeking vengeance on Japan for its denial of past crimes. Godzilla’s all-white eyes, sharp claws, and vicious nature make him one of the scariest versions of the monster, and his ghostly origin and appearance elevate this from a typical Godzilla movie to something closer to horror.
6Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
A Villainous Godzilla Takes On A Horrifying Genetic Monstrosity
Godzilla vs. Biollanteacts as a sequel toThe Return of Godzilla, and features the return of the antagonistic version of the monster, this time pitted against a hybrid monstrosity born out of genetic experimentation. That’s classic sci-fi horror fare, and the final version of Biollante reflects that aesthetic. The hellish orange glow rising from the belly of a massive beast covered in toothed tentacles is indicative of how dangerous Biollante is, as does the rest of the movie’s plot. Psychics, human/plant gene splicing, and murderous covert operatives help makeGodzilla vs. Biollanteone of the scarier Godzilla movies.
5Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
The Death Of Godzilla And A Demonic Ultra-Powered Enemy
Godzilla vs. Destoroyahis a cornerstone of the Godzilla franchise, as it features one of the few true “deaths” of Godzilla. It sees the massive monster (in the form ofGodzilla’s coolest design) melting down like a nuclear reactor, covered in tears in his skin pulsing with orange radioactive energy. As if watching Godzilla perish wasn’t enough, he does it after doing battle with one of the most intimidating enemies Godzilla has ever faced: the nightmarish Destoroyah.
As demonic as Destoroyah’s final “perfect” form looks, his earlier stages might be even more horrific-looking. Born out of a colony of Precambrian crustaceans that began to evolve after exposure to the original 1954Godzilla’s Oxygen Destroyer. Each of its forms is more disgusting-looking than the last, and there are few, if any, Godzilla villains that carry true horror vibes quite like Destoroyah does.
4Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
One Of Godzilla’s Deadliest Enemies Racks Up The Body Count
Not all of Godzilla’s Showa Era movies were inherently silly, asGodzilla vs. Hedorahproves. The highly toxic sludge monster was born out of the Earth’s pollution, and acts a a metaphor for the dangers that humans pose to the planet. A microscopic alien lifeform that fed on pollution and evolved into a massive monster, Hedorah (theoretically, as it occurs off-screen) killed thousands as its flying form coated Japan in a poisonous mist. With its unsettling red eyes and body capable of inflicting chemical burns on Godzilla, Hedorah is among the most horrifying enemies Godzilla has ever faced.
3Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Godzilla’s Destructive And Antagonistic Nature Revisited
Toho brought Godzilla back to his true post-World War II roots withGodzilla Minus Onein 2023. The Academy Award-winning movie was a marvel of visual effects and story-telling, and featured one ofGodzilla’s strongest attacksin addition to one of his scariest designs. The Godzilla ofGodzilla Minus Onefires a blast of atomic breath that acts like a nuclear bomb’s detonation, demolishing an entire city in one fell swoop.
Seeing the ground-level devastation of Godzilla’s attacks is part of what makesGodzilla Minus Oneso scary. The audience is immersed in the carnage and the very real repercussions of an atomic bomb blast, which is something no Godzilla movie has ever even attempted. Add in the fact that Godzilla himself suffers gruesome wounds before regenerating his body in real time and seems to remember and specifically antagonize the movie’s human protagonist, andGodzilla Minus Onecan absolutely be defined as a horror movie.
2Godzilla (1954)
The Horror Movie Origin Story For The Radioactive Monster
It’s hard to match the originalGodzillafor scariness, even 70 years later. The black-and-white footage adds a foreboding aura to the already-scary narrative, which was so potent it inspired nearly everything that came after it in the franchise. Godzilla’s destruction of Tokyo set the standard for thetokusatsustyle of practical effects, and the combination of direction and lighting served to makeGodzilla’s horror genuinely frightening.
The 1954 version ofGodzillaoriginated the practice of “suitmation”, in which an actor in a character body suit interacts with a miniaturized set.
The movie also explored the ground-level effects of Godzilla’s attacks, showcasing the dead, the dying, and those suffering from radiation sickness. The anti-nuclear messaging is powerful and overt, further enhancing the horror factor of the classic. It’s regarded as the best monster movie ever made for a reason, and as such is clearly classified as a true horror movie.
1Shin Godzilla (2016)
Toho’s Kaiju Body Horror Masterpiece
Toho truly threw out the book on Godzilla with the stand-alone epicShin Godzilla, which featured one of the most massive versions of the monster ever put on the screen, along with a terrifying array of powers. The movie’s Godzilla evolves throughout the movie, starting with an aquatic creature before it becomes the grotesque bipedal version that is most recognizable. Shin Godzilla pulsates with a purple atomic energy when its attacks are activated, and it proves capable of firing a laser-like version of the energy from its tail and dorsal spikes in addition to its hyper-powerful atomic breath.
What makesShin Godzillaso scary is the body horror element that its monster invokes. The full-size Godzilla’s skin is stretched and torn revealing open wounds across virtually every inch of its body, while its jaw disturbingly unhinges like a snake to unleash its most devastating attack. The most haunting image, though, comes at the very end of the movie, when a close-up on the tail of the frozen and incapacitated Godzilla reveals that a number of humanoid versions of Godzilla were in the process of breaking off from the main body.
The horrifying implication is that, after evolving into the massive kaiju that terrorized Japan, Shin Godzilla was about to break down into hundreds if not thousands of human-sized Godzilla monsters.Godzilla’s 5th form was considered controversialdue to it crossing into waters completely unexplored by any Godzilla movie ever before, but it opened up an interesting door that could be explored in the future. It cements Shin Godzilla as easily the most horrifyingGodzillamovie ever.
The Godzilla franchise, spanning over six decades, follows the adventures of the titular kaiju, a colossal, prehistoric sea monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation. Originating in Japan, Godzilla has evolved from a destructive force of nature to a protector of humanity, battling various other giant monsters, including iconic foes like King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Mechagodzilla. The series explores themes of environmental destruction, nuclear anxiety, and human resilience. With numerous films, TV series, and an expanding universe, Godzilla remains a cultural icon, captivating audiences worldwide with its epic battles and compelling narratives.
