The Enduring Appeal of Kaiju: Why Giant Monsters Still Reign Supreme
What is it about a hundred-meter-tall creature that continues to captivate audiences decade after decade? The question was at the heart of a recent roundtable discussion hosted by CINEMANÍA and Movistar Plus+ at the Espacio Movistar in Madrid, coinciding with the release of the second season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, available on Movistar Plus+ through Apple TV integration.
The event, moderated by Santiago Alverú, brought together three prominent figures from Spain’s cultural landscape: José Viruete (known as the captain of Campamento Krypton), Aida Santos (a contributor to Bebé a Mordor), and Jorge Loser (from Horror Losers/CINEMANÍA). Together, they explored the roots of the Kaiju genre and the nuances of the new season of the monster series.
Nostalgia and the First Encounters with Godzilla
The conversation began with a trip down memory lane, with participants sharing their earliest memories of encountering these colossal creatures. Alverú recounted his initial frustration with the 1998 Godzilla film, lamenting the lack of a sequel hinted at in the post-credits scene.
José Viruete described the pre-internet era, where discovering these films was a quest in itself. His first glimpse of Godzilla came from an encyclopedia of fantastic cinema, sparking a fascination with the monster’s origins. He recalled only being able to find The Son of Godzilla at his local video store.
Viruete shared a particularly vivid childhood memory: “I started having nightmares of Godzilla attacking the Holy Week procession in Alcalá de Henares because my father was part of a brotherhood and let me sleep in the car at 4 a.m. I dreamed that the monster attacked… which is what I wanted! To be taken away from that procession that didn’t interest me at all.”
The Evolution of Monster Movies: From Practical Effects to Blockbuster Spectacles
Aida Santos traced her introduction to the genre back to the 1990s, specifically the music video for Jamiroquai’s “Deeper Underground.” She then discovered the scale of Japanese monsters through the series Mazinger Z. Jorge Loser reminisced about his obsession with Invasion Extraterrestre, a VHS tape that unleashed a “bath of monsters” upon him – Godzilla, Gidorah, and Motra all in one viewing.
The discussion then moved to more recent films, including Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla and Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ 2017 Kong: Skull Island, culminating in the recent clashes of titans seen in theaters. Jorge Loser analyzed the shift in tone within the franchise, noting how the initial Gareth Edwards film had a distinct experience, but subsequent installments leaned into the audience’s desire for monster-versus-monster action.
Viruete even defended some of the less critically acclaimed entries, such as Godzilla: King of the Monsters, appreciating the spectacle of so many creatures gathering together, echoing the spirit of classic films.
Why Do We Love to Watch Cities Fall?
The panel tackled the central question: why does this genre continue to resonate with audiences after seven decades? Aida Santos linked the fascination to the current sociopolitical climate, suggesting that the threat of global catastrophe creates a desire for unity against a common enemy. “We’re on the brink of the abyss, perhaps closer than ever. It’s a fine time to say, ‘Hey, what if humanity unites against a unique evil… so we stop getting angry with each other.’”
Viruete offered a psychological perspective, noting the appeal of monsters that don’t actually exist. “I suppose it’s because the monsters don’t exist and as long as they don’t exist we’re going to want to see them. If we were seeing them all the time, it wouldn’t be something to joke about, but since they aren’t, we want to see them. And if they’re so big, so gigantic, even better.”
Loser highlighted the cathartic release of destruction, comparing it to a controlled form of chaos: “We all like to see a good Goya Awards drama… but sometimes we just want to see a skyscraper fall and crush people. That’s hard to defend as something culturally valid, but we still like it because it’s like paying a store to let you break all the plates. Who doesn’t want to do that? After 9 hours of perform, two hours of subway and bus, you get home, you have to make dinner… What are you going to watch in this little while? You place on an episode of Monarch and watch a monster eat 20,000 indigenous people.”
The MonsterVerse and the Challenge of Lore
The conversation turned to Monarch itself, with the panelists agreeing that the series serves as a crucial “anchor” for the expanding MonsterVerse. Viruete pointed out the intention to create a solid backstory that was previously only hinted at. He joked about the “chufla” (awkwardness) of the in-universe preparations for monster attacks, adding a touch of realism.
Loser connected this trend to films like Pacific Rim and Japanese cinema, stating, “Monarch is the anchor that the universe needed after seven or eight films. It answers what would happen in the world if there were monsters. In Shin Godzilla, for example, we see an hour of politicians and crisis cabinet, pure bureaucracy going wrong. it’s the response to Fukushima.”
He similarly emphasized the importance of the 1960s aesthetic in Monarch, praising the “pulp adventure” tone and the presence of Kurt Russell, whom he likened to Snake Plissken.
From Gibraltar to Instagram Live: The Future of Kaiju
Alverú noted that while the series visits locations in Africa and Asia, Spain often remains absent. However, Loser pointed out a memorable moment in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire: “It’s mentioned that he’s attacking the Rock of Gibraltar. It’s the best scene in the MonsterVerse: Godzilla jumping off the rock as if he were doing a diving board.”
Viruete added that there’s a strange sense of pride when monsters venture beyond the usual capitals, stating, “I like seeing how he destroys other landscapes and cities. When I was in Paris and went to the Arc de Triomphe, the first thing I thought was, ‘This is where Anguirus appeared from below and destroyed it.’”
The discussion concluded with a hypothetical question: how would people react if Godzilla appeared right now? Santos was direct: “I always get angry with the characters because they start recording. They haven’t taught us what to do. We have to get out or we’ll be crushed, or we have to get under a chair or go to a basement. A parking garage. The subway.”
Viruete noted how cinema has adapted to this scenario: “They’ve already solved how to resist attacks from the big ones, so they invent small parasites, like those in Cloverfield, that get into the subway and can eat you at your size.”
You can enjoy the second season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on Movistar Plus+.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the MonsterVerse? It’s a shared universe of films featuring iconic monsters like Godzilla and King Kong.
- Where can I watch Monarch: Legacy of Monsters? The series is available on Movistar Plus+ through Apple TV integration.
- Who are some of the experts involved in discussing the series? José Viruete, Aida Santos, and Jorge Loser participated in a roundtable discussion about the show.
