The Kaiju Transmissions Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Byrd, Tom and Lux are back to take a look at the 1982 semi-obscurity The House Where Evil Dwells. This haunted house shocker is a co-production made with assistance from the legendary Toei studios. It was directed by Kevin Connor (The Land that Time Forgot) and stars Edward Albert, Susan George, and the incomparable Doug McClure. Based on an unpublished novel of the same name, it tells the story of an American family that moves to Japan and the vengeful ghosts that inhabit their house (and bodies). There's killer crabs, zen monks, Sentai on the TV, and more in this oddity that blends American and Japanese ghost movie tropes. Relax and enjoy the conversation!

Byrd, Tom and Trev kick off our annual October horror series with the Italian creature feature Alien From the Deep, directed by Antonio Margheriti (Cannibal Apocalypse).  Although seemingly made to cash-in on both Aliens and the Abyss, the actual plot is anything but.  It tells the story of some Greenpeace activists who attempt to expose a corporation for illegally dumping radioactive waste into a nearby volcano.  But the radiation has attracted a giant alien who has started wreaking havoc in the area.  We have pervy snake farmers, industrial espionage, a giant claw with a mind of its own, and some neat miniature effects in this silly 80s obscurity.  Relax and join the fun!

Byrd and Matt discuss the Asylum's latest monster mockbuster, Ape X Mecha Ape: New World Order.  The third film in the "Ape vs." series sees the giant ape Abraham and his mechanical doppelganger Mecha Ape go up against Kulalu, a Cthulhu knockoff summoned by a doomsday cult to wipe out humanity.  How does this compare to other Asylum efforts?  Listen and find out!  But first Matt gets us caught up with his thoughts on Godzilla x Kong and gives an update on the state of the podcast.  Listen and enjoy the show!

In the lead up to Godzilla vs. Kong, Byrd, Matt, and Tom are joined by author John LeMay (The Lost Films, Kong Unmade, Jaws Unmade) to talk about the original classic showdown!  On this audio commentary, we talk about the surprisingly tragic way the film came about, the sad life of Willis O'Brien, the battle for Kong's rights, the rise of commercialism in post-war Japan, the aborted sequels to this film, Toho's attempts to use Kong in the Heisei series, differences between the Japanese and American versions, and more!  This commentary is loaded, so whether you decide to listen to it along with the movie or by itself, we hope you enjoy the discussion!

Byrd, Matt and Maser Patrol's Kevin Derendorf scrape the bottom of the barrel for more King Kong rip offs and come back with tales to tell!  This time, we discuss the Italian-Canadian film Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century (1977), the Asylum's King of the Lost World (2005) and Bigfoot (2012), the uber obscure The Abominable (aka Ice Kong, 2006), and the recent micro budget reboot, Konga TNT (2020)!  As always, we'll give our reviews and a fair bit of trivia.  Relax and enjoy!

Byrd and Matt are joined by Kevin Derendorf (Maser Patrol/Kaiju For Hipsters) and Justin Mullis (Man Creates Dinosaurs blog) to talk about King Kong's animated forms, with a spotlight on four "unofficial" animated films that were made without the permission of Kong's rights holders.  We discuss the animated musical The Mighty Kong (1998), two Kong Animated Series sequels Kong: King of Atlantis and Kong: Return to the Jungle, and the feature length pilot episode of Kong: King of the Apes.  But first we discuss the original 60s "King Kong Show", and how the convoluted legal rights to King Kong allowed the original films' novelization go into the public domain, and how that lead to these animated productions being made in the first place.  We also bust some very commonly repeated myths about the availability of the rights to King Kong.  Relax and enjoy the conversation!

In 2018, Byrd and Tom joined up with the Movie Graveyard Podcast for an audio commentary for 1961's UK classic Gorgo!  We talked about the state of the giant monster genre at the time, how it would go on to influence kaiju cinema, its origins as a Japanese/British co-production and more.  Listen along and enjoy the discussion!

Byrd and Matt get together with Kevin and Ultra superfan Connor to discuss the most recent Ultraman show, 2020's Ultraman Z!  We talk about its troubled production history, our favorite and least favorite moments, and more!  But first we have a huge kaiju news roundup, as we give our thoughts on the latest for Godzilla vs. Kong, Shin Ultraman, Cloverfield 2, Pacific Rim: The Black, and the upcoming Monsterverse King Kong Netflix cartoon, and Byrd reveals why he's Team Kong!

Byrd and Matt are joined again by Trev and Tom to discuss the 2020 film Love and Monsters!  The film takes place seven years after a giant monster apocalypse, as our protagonist Joel travels across a monster filled terrain to find his high school sweetheart.  The film stars Dylan O'Brien, Michael Rooker and Jessica Henwick, and was directed by Michael Matthews and written by Matthew Robbins and Brian Duffield (Underwater, Spontaneous, and the upcoming Monsterverse Kong animated series on Netflix).  How does the film stack up?  Listen to us argue about it!

We're back with something a little different this time as we're joined by Trev and Tom to discuss some Japanese flavored takes on everyone's favorite caped crusader.  We talk about the heavily anime and kaiju influenced Batman Unlimited animated film, Mechs vs Mutants, and the completely bonkers anime film Batman Ninja!  We're gonna talk giant monsters, giant robots, giant monkeys, giant Batmans and giant... castles!  But first, we discuss the announced Prince of Space remake, and Batman's popularity in Japan, including an aborted crossover film with Godzilla!