The Monster Island Film Vault

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! According to MIFV’s analytics, King Kong (and not Godzilla) is good for business right now, so in this excerpt from our Patreon-exclusive livestream, we’re filling in one of the “gaps” from season 1’s The Kong Quest (ba-dum-tsh!) Brendan Morley joins Nathan to discuss the almost-forgotten animated musical (you read that right), The Mighty Kong (1998). It’s not only the first K...

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! In yet another impromptu episode (because reasons), Nate is joined by Daniel DiManna (Godzilla Novelization Project) and Elijah Thomas (Kaiju Conversation) to discuss the semi-obscure Daiei proto-kaiju film, The Whale God. Released in 1962, it was largely unseen outside of Japan until it was released by SRS Cinema this past January. The boys unpack the tremendous talent behind...

Nate, Drew, and Jacob decide to test their mettle by going to a haunted tourist spot in Seoul: Yangma Land, an abandoned theme park. After exploring the place until midnight, they come to a carousel that moves by itself—because it's being ridden by the little girl ghost who haunts the place! She hears Jacob bark like a dog and chases after him, thinking he’s a puppy. The boys hide in a ride, only...

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! You might be wondering, “Aren't you supposed to cover Destroy All Monsters for Godzilla Redux, Nate?” Yes...but I’m not. For reasons. Anyway, we have the next-best thing: the three-part epic from Godzilla: The Series—“Monster Wars”! And who else could be the guests for animated kaiju shenanigans other than Drew and Jacob from The Cel Cast. They and Nate go through each episode...

Nate and Jimmy set their sights on wrangling Utam Goliathon (aka “Ah-Wang”) from the top of Jardine House—only to be interrupted by a confused Kaguya wearing a risqué cosplay bought by Jimmy! This gives Nate the idea to have her talk Goliathon into climbing down the building. But she’s not happy about any of this! Featuring the final performance of Kim Lacanilao as Kaguya. Check out Nathan’s spino...

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! The most cited man on MIFV, John LeMay, returns for his all-but-mandatory-at-least-once-a-season appearance to discuss the second Shaw Bros. film we’ve covered this season: Mighty Peking Man. This infamous cult classic was a favorite of director Quinton Tarantino, and it's easy to see why: it's sleazy yet weirdly artsy. It feels like an exploitation film at points—especially w...

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! In this excerpt from the latest episode of the (usually) Patreon-exclusive livestream podcast, Nathan invites his creative team (plus Elijah Thomas, who crashes the show later) on to discuss the new black-and-white edition of Godzilla Minus One. Is it a different enough experience from the original—or is it even better? These questions are answered in yet another Minus One-fue...

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! You know him and you probably hate him—our guest today is none other than Matt Walsh! Okay, it’s not that Matt Walsh. This one shaves and isn’t a millennial curmudgeon. Anyway, because this Matt Walsh is a madman, he jumped on the joke tier on Patreon, “Jimmy’s Intern,” to discuss 1957’s The Abominable Snowman, making this MIFV’s first Hammer film…and its third yeti film. (Nat...

Nate decides to do some film curation in Hong Kong--with Hannibal Chau. Jimmy escorts him to the Bone Slums to meet the black market dealer and discovers a reel containing the 1999 cut of Reptilian. So, he does what any kaiju film curator would do: he steals it. But Chau won't have any of that! Check out Nathan’s spinoff podcasts, The Henshin Men and The Power Trip. We’d like to give a shout-out t...

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! Neil Riebe makes a dangerous journey to Hong Kong to join Nate for another “Godzilla Redux” with Son of Godzilla. This film was made in the “Year of the Kaiju,” 1967, and along with King Kong Escapes , was Toho’s big contribution to it. The studio’s “B team,” led by director Jun Fukuda, returned to helm this island adventure…that infamously introduced fans to “the Jar Jar Bink...

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! In this comedy-of-errors adventure, Nate, Jimmy, and Daniel DiManna confront Zhīzhūguài, the giant spider from Super Inframan, in Uber-Moguera. They quickly find themselves at the spider monster’s maniacal mercilessness, but a freak accident involving a blu-ray disc transforms Danny into their last hope—Super Infra-Dan! Check out Nathan’s spinoff podcasts, The Henshin Men and...

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! In the part two of a two-part compilation of weekly podcasts originally made for MIFV MAX members on Patreon, Nate breaks down and analyzes the first six episodes of AppleTV+’s MonsterVerse series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. It starts off strong, but like many Americans, it gets squishy in the middle. The flashback storyline is definitely better than the “present day” (2015)...

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! In the part one of a two-part compilation of weekly podcasts originally made for MIFV MAX members on Patreon, Nate breaks down and analyzes the first six episodes of AppleTV+’s MonsterVerse series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. It starts off strong, but like many Americans, it gets squishy in the middle. The flashback storyline is definitely better than the “present day” (2015)...

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! In MIFV’s fourth season premiere, Nate is joined by Daniel DiManna (Godzilla Novelization Project) to discuss competently-made insanity: Super Inframan. Yes, it barely qualifies as “kaiju,” but Nate needed an excuse to talk about it ( again ). To call it a hyper-caffeinated fusion of Shaw Bros. trademark martial cinema and Japanese henshin heroes would be an understatement. Be...

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! On a new Board-mandated mission, Nate, Jimmy, and Kaguya cut a promo for season 4: “The Monster Island World Tour.” They’ll be traveling the world recapturing escaped kaiju and returning them to the Island, all the while discussing giant monster movies made anywhere but America and Japan. As Jonah sang, “Every country has a monster they’re afraid of in their nation!” Guest Cas...

Nate survived another harrowing year on Monster Island, and now it’s time to renegotiate his contract. But he’s shocked to learn that, while he was sleeping, the Island’s security systems failed, allowing multiple kaiju to escape back to their home countries. Even with the Legal Action Team on his case, Nate and Jimmy can’t avoid having the Board mandate that they spend a year chasing down these m...

Happy New Year, Kaiju Lovers! While I finalize some things for the start of season 4, "The Monster Island World Tour," here's a little bonus episode where I catch up on listener feedback since I fell behind responding to it on the air. As you can tell, there was a lot! I also detail some changes being made to the show this season. Enjoy! Sound effects sourced from Freesound.org . Check out Nathan’...

Merry Christmas, Kaiju Lovers! As our special gift to you, we proudly present an edition of the interviews Nate conducted at the Monster Island premiere of Godzilla Minus One at the Denham Theater. Because the interviewees he left out threatened to sue him, and Raymund advised him to just put them in. These were totally-chosen-at-random fans standing in line to see the film. He meets everyone from...

Merry Christmas, Kaiju Lovers (and Autistic Lizard Productions viewers)! In this excerpt from the Patreon-exclusive livestream series, Nathan is joined by Brendan Morley of Autistic Lizard Productions to discuss a (barely) toku-adjacent Christmas movie, Jingle All Way (1996), which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, and Phil Hartman, among others. Perhaps Nathan just needed an excuse to use his...

  Hello, Kaiju Lovers! There was no way Nate could let Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One—only the most successful live action Japanese film ever released in America—go unanalyzed! So, for this special coda to MIFV season three, he’s joined by everyone’s favorite a-hole/”gatekeeper,” Jack “GMan” Hudgens, to discuss what might be worthy of the “Mount Rushmore of Kaiju Films.” They unpack everyth...

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! This year for Godzilla Day (Nov. 3), Toho celebrated the 50th anniversary of Godzilla vs. Megalon with the release of the short film, “Operation: Jet Jaguar.” In it, everyone’s favorite smiley superhero robot (and Jimmy From NASA’s “sidekick”) battles Godzilla in epic fan service at its best. But it’s more than just that. Nate waxes philosophical about it in this special mini-...

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! In the (overdue) season 3 finale, Nate is forced to deal with Cameron Winter's “Christmas gift”: the Asylum's infamous Monster Island. It’s supposedly a “mockbuster” of 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but even by the Asylum’s standards, that’s a stretch. To unravel the legal loopholes and shenanigans that went into making this...movie, Nate brings on the Island’s star l...

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! In this special episode, Nate attends the Monster Island premiere of Godzilla: Minus at the Denham Theater to interview totally-chosen-at-random fans standing in line to see the film. He meets everyone from lawyers to mad scientists to Russian robot comedians (oh my!). What’s crazy is what Nate had to leave on the cutting room floor, so expect an extended “director’s cut” of t...

Happy Halloween, Kaiju Lovers! The Kaiju Krypt returns—but not Kenny Kappa! No, due to some…impropriety, he has been replaced by a new host, Vinnie Kami. (However, Kenny’s cousin, Kappa Joe, is Vinnie’s butler). Mr. Kami is sure to bring some much-needed dignity back to the Krypt, especially since today’s story is modern literature: “The Fog Horn” by Ray Bradbury. It only inspired The Beast from 2...

“Ameri-kaiju” concludes not with a chronological finale but a popular finale: the modern cinematic classic Jurassic Park. Bex from Redeemed Otaku (yes, the real Bex—she was tested!) joins Nate to not talk about Mothra or something girly for once—but it does involve kids! Besides Jesus and Sailor Moon, JP is her favorite thing in the world. What more can be said about the film that hasn’t already b...