Through much of the history of cinema, the notion of monsters from the sea has been a popular and durable one. From classics such as 1953’s The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, 1955’s It Came from Beneath the Sea (both Harryhausen products) to 1989’s DeepStar Six and Leviathan (channeling Alien and The Thing, respectively), to 1998’s Deep Rising, the themes have dealt with the mysterious depths of the sea, and what nasty beasts she might unleash on those who disrespect, disregard or abuse her. Even Peter Benchley could not resist; in 1996, Beast was released, based on his 1991 novel about a giant squid. Whether the monsters are giant leeches mutated by radiation (1959), or prehistoric beasts that somehow find their way to the present day, such as 1961’s Gorgo or 2018’s The Meg, monsters from the deep occupy a prominent place in film, both on the big and small screens. Of course, one cannot leave out the most famous sea monster of them all, Godzilla. From his debut as Gojira in 1954 to the current 2019 movie, there have now been an amazing 35 Godzilla features. Over the course of sixty-five years, Godzilla has evolved from a dire warning regarding uncontrolled nuclear testing to a sea god which appears in order to save humanity from its follies, but many of the themes embodied in all of these creature features persist. When humans disrespect nature, abuse it, or disregard it, then nature—in these films, the sea—will retaliate in force. In this paper, I propose to discuss these and other select films, the themes running through them, and have some fun doing so.
About the presenterDarlene M Hall
Professor of History at Lake Erie College; specializing in Naval/Maritime History, British/Scottish history, and with a strong interest in films dealing with the sea.