Let Them Kiss!
Banner by Amy Louise.
Words by Liam Horgan.
Did you know that Godzilla has a girlfriend? Well to be precise he has a few, but i’m specifically referring to his interspecies lover Mothra, the giant moth. Why am I emerging from my deep sea nest to inform you of this? Well it’s to show that when it comes to big screen monsters, maybe violence isn’t always the answer? Back in 2017 Guillermo Del Toro’s romance film The Shape of Water won four academy awards including Best Picture. This was a monumental achievement for Del Toro. You’ll naturally know The Shape of Water for its fish monster romance plotline. Understandable, considering it is a major selling point of the film. The unconventional romance between a monster and a man is something with which cinema is well acquainted. Since the advent of cinema, we’ve had storylines with monsters. Paul Wegener’s 1915 silent film The Golem and F.W. Murnau’s expressionist horror Nosferatu (1922) are some of film’s earliest examples of creature features. In both cases the silent films demonstrate the typical narrative of a creature falling for a woman. RKO pictures would take this narrative to it’s zenith with 1933’s King Kong. Similar success would be repeated with Cat People (1942), The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and the Cocteau adaptation of the classic fairy-tale, La Belle et la Bête (1946). The 1946 adaptation of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s story (now that’s a tongue twister) demonstrates that long before the advent of film, ‘loving’ monster narratives were indeed present in the public consciousness. So, it’s no surprise then that Del Toro had success with his aquatic monster-loving narrative.
The Shape of Water (2017).
Del Toro is not the first filmmaker to pay homage to the early creature features, many films have covered the topic of love and monsters. Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of the Fly, Burton’s Edward Scisssorhands and even the recent 2014 film Spring deal with similar topics. While some may not have gone to the depths that Del Toro went with Eliza and the Creature, thematically they’re all very similar. However, it’s impossible to talk about monster films without acknowledging the contribution of Japanese Kaiju films. Starting with 1954’s Godzilla, Kaiju films grew and grew in popularity, even resulting in 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla. Such was the Kaiju fervour that in a 1972 poll conducted by The Monster Times, Godzilla was voted the most popular monster, beating the likes of King Kong, Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster. Ever since, giant monster films have been the dominant monster focus at the box office, and the recent Godzilla vs. Kong shows that the appetite for these creatures is still there. Yet, despite Legendary Pictures' success with the so-called “Monster-verse”, I do find myself wondering where this leaves the future of creature features. Legendary’s reboots can only go so far and arguably have already run their course. In comparison, Universal Studios failed to get their ‘Dark Universe’ off the ground. This proposed shared monster universe was anything but successful, trying and failing with both Dracula: Untold and The Mummy (incidentally releasing the same year as The Shape of Water). Poor reviews, disappointing box office and failing to build on the legacy of their campy predecessors meant this shared universe was dead on arrival.
Despite the resurgence of giant monster films as of late, the classic narrative of monster love is notably absent. 2017’s Kong: Skull Island was certainly missing the ape’s fetish for blondes, while Gareth Edwards 2014 offering, Godzilla, focuses on the walking nuke’s attempts to stop two other monsters from mating. When it comes to the Kaiju, romance certainly is dead and that’s a real shame. As I’ve already shown, the narrative of monster love is a trope as old as, well, cinema itself. Somewhat of a curiosity is Gareth Edwards 2010 film Monsters. While Monsters is very similar in concept to films like Cloverfield, it does feature a scene where two monsters interact in a way that can only be described as intimate.
There is something quite wondrous about the interaction between the two giants in Edwards’ film. It’s a rare moment in cinema where giant kaiju are shown interacting in a way which isn’t violent. Back in 2017 (a really good year for monsters wow) the internet was obsessed with one monster and one monster only, the Babadook. Starting as a Tumblr post, the Babadook as a gay icon meme was both genius and mildly insane. It wasn’t long until it was exclaimed that the Babadook had a boyfriend: Pennywise, the demon clown from IT. Everyone was content with this ship until Pennywise murdered two gay men in IT: Chapter 2 but that is a debacle for another day.
Happy Pride Month!
The point, dear reader, is that we were okay with two humanoid creatures and their relationship so the appetite for big monster boyfriends is very real. I think then, it’s time to embrace our monsters embracing. Why should it be Godzilla Vs. Kong and not Godzilla X Kong? Let them kiss. Let them hug. If it’s okay for the humanoid monsters, then let the big boys do it too. I’m not saying I want King Kong and Godzilla to suddenly date but I’m not saying I’m against it either. Who knows, maybe next year we’ll get our big romantic monster epic, until then I go back to my deep sea nest and wait….
