Is there anyway that Toho or someone else can make Godzilla scary?

[Thatguy4683]

There has been a couple of times that Godzilla has been scary, Shin, 54, GMK come to mine but that’s only about it at least that’s what I can think of. So I wonder if there’s a way to make a Godzilla interpretation scary, do you have any thoughts that come to mind?

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

I believe it all comes down to perspective and scale, for instance in Return we get a plethora of unique shots that captured the size of Godzilla like never before. Godzilla for me felt imposing and awe-inspiring while still feeling threatening from a human's perspective. The film took advantage of skyscrapers when Maki and co are looking at Godzilla from around his height but then dread seeps in once they become stuck in the skyscraper as Godzilla battles the Super X and the nuclear explosion that occurs in the atmosphere. A good portion of this sets the mood and feeling of being so small compared to Godzilla, and I find that "scary".

Now yes, you can make Godzilla ghostly or go into body horror like GMK and Shin did respectively, and that works pretty well. As seen with those two, Godzilla being a frightening threat works better when there's either meaning behind him or a precedent. For instance, a lot of the danger and terror seen in Shin was lost in international audiences since they didn't directly experience 3/11, but for Japanese audiences this new Godzilla represented something still recent. Then with GMK we had a Godzilla that actively sought out hurting random people and he was rather intelligent in being malicious. I think Earth did a great job making Godzilla absolutely imposing and like you're fighting a losing battle against him. I'd even argue that Earth was the first time since maybe the original film where Godzilla's presence was felt throughout the narrative when he wasn't onscreen.

So this begs the question: How do you (continue) to make Godzilla scary? Well, I believe that taking the basic elements from the examples I mentioned is how one makes Godzilla scary. I don't think he needs to outright go "BOOOO" to the viewer but you can take something scary in real life and apply that to Godzilla's portrayal. You can make him go out of his way to harm people or give him abilities that make our strongest militaries feel so small in comparison. And don't forget scale and perspective, those are essential. Maybe even bring back the horror elements seen in the original Rodan.

[StardustGenius]

imo, Godzilla always looks scariest when looked at from behind, looking upward. Godzilla 54, The Return Of Godzilla, and Shin Godzilla have very good shots of this. Godzilla 2014 also has a good one.

[SpiderZilla]

There has been a couple of times that Godzilla has been scary, Shin, 54, GMK come to mine but that’s only about it at least that’s what I can think of. So I wonder if there’s a way to make a Godzilla interpretation scary, do you have any thoughts that come to mind?

Have Godzilla eat people. Consider Gaira, Rodan, or Gyaos. There’s nothing scarier than a kaiju that is more interested in eating you than knocking down buildings.

[Thatguy4683]

There has been a couple of times that Godzilla has been scary, Shin, 54, GMK come to mine but that’s only about it at least that’s what I can think of. So I wonder if there’s a way to make a Godzilla interpretation scary, do you have any thoughts that come to mind?

Have Godzilla eat people. Consider Gaira, Rodan, or Gyaos. There’s nothing scarier than a kaiju that is more interested in eating you than knocking down buildings.

I mean Godzilla did eat a cow in a deleted scene, does that count?

[Dv-218]

Ngl always found the concept of Kaijus around Godzilla’a size range eating people more ridiculous than scary due to the sheer discrepancy…unless you make it a freaky Anteater or Armadillo styled feeder I guess. Actually THAT can be kinda terrifying if done right.

[LegendZilla]

I think Return nailed making Godzilla being scary (by 80's standards at least). Most of the fear factor came from a mix of personality and body language. 84 Goji gives off the impression of a pissed off wild animal.

Ngl always found the concept of Kaijus around Godzilla’a size range eating people more ridiculous than scary due to the sheer discrepancy…unless you make it a freaky Anteater or Armadillo styled feeder I guess. Actually THAT can be kinda terrifying if done right.

I'd rather have them show Godzilla hunt and kill whales.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

Ngl always found the concept of Kaijus around Godzilla’a size range eating people more ridiculous than scary due to the sheer discrepancy…unless you make it a freaky Anteater or Armadillo styled feeder I guess. Actually THAT can be kinda terrifying if done right.

I wanna see that so bad. I can imagine it in a my head, a kaiju that hunts by tearing open the sides of buildings using it's tongue to slurp up people. Imagine a human POV sequence of the tongue darting through hallways.

Added in 13 minutes 38 seconds:
The best way to make Godzilla scary is to show the side effects of Godzilla's passing. People crushed under rumble or succumbing to radiation sickness. It's barely been touched on outside the original and Marc Cerasini's YA novels.

[Major sssspielberg!]

Shin Godzilla is pretty scary. There ya go.

[edgaguirus]

Ngl always found the concept of Kaijus around Godzilla’a size range eating people more ridiculous than scary due to the sheer discrepancy…unless you make it a freaky Anteater or Armadillo styled feeder I guess. Actually THAT can be kinda terrifying if done right.

Gamera's done that with Onodara and Barugon.

As to a scary Godzilla, show one of two things: How helpless we are compared to them, or the human cost of their attacks. In several films, we see how our best and most powerful weapons and ideas fail to kill the kaiju. In GMK, both the military and the guardian monsters aren't enough to stop Godzilla, even when KG is fully powered. The second option is well demonstrated by the first two films. People are dead and dying, and others have their lives altered in big ways. Those are the best ways to make Godzilla scary.

[LegendZilla]

^A kaiju eating people being done effectively depends on the scale.

[edgaguirus]

Like we see with Ebirah, where the native look quite small on that claw? Or the singer that nearly gets stuck in Gaira's throat, who looks about action figure size in his hand?

[LegendZilla]

If Godzilla were to eat people, I’d prefer if it was done in retaliation like Kong every now and then.

[Janjira-York]

without going the edgy eXtreme ala gmk or shin where its just this un natural mistake tryharding being scary you can make him scary as fuck with just the SCALE


G84 and G14 are not that similar in manerisms but they hit the scary giant monster vibe really well even when 14 is a more neutral and benevolent at times, him just arriving at a beach makes a tsunami,he could just avoid some buildings and still be a natural disaster for anyone in the vicinity, let alone the chaos he makes when he just walks forwards towards the mutos, or moves to the side and destroys the golden gate bridge, a lot of that comes from how insignificant the humans are in that movie, g84 is definitely a lot more malevolent as an angry sentient animal and is large enough to just destroy blocks of city by walking around, in any setting with a human scale godzilla is an unpredictable natural disaster that will cost hundreds of lives even after hes gone and you are stuck in a crumbling building, under a subway station or a beach, hell one movie should have something like getting pulled out to sea either by the wave retreating after he comes to shore or something alongside those lines




point is, big moving thing scary, incredibly scary even without going out of its way to get you in media where you show actual day to day life being just irrelevant towards the kaiju.




or you cuold do jumpscares I guess

[edgaguirus]

You don't need to. Take the hospital scene in GMK. The woman in the bed was in panic, convinced she was going to be killed. Godzilla passes by, she calms, and then Godzilla's tail smashes into the hospital. I think a scene like that is more effective than any jump scare.

[_JNavs_]

Have the people around his feet literally boil from the inside out. Tires instantly pop, car windows and paint melts, aerosol cans explode when he's miles away. etc etc.

[tenup]

This topic caught my eye because this is one thing that has frustrated me with the current Monsterverse entries. Although they deliver an imposing Godzilla it just rarely carries any fear factor. The right execution for this would be to develop characters for the story that actually have stakes which reflect the impact of Godzilla.

After 2014 they should have emphasized more on the casualties of life, loss of property and homes that impacted the many residents of San Francisco and Hawaii. Instead it's merely glazed over by the perspective of one family in the Russels who I personally didn't engage with throughout the story (Ok maybe Mark was somewhat cool). Godzilla can only be scary if you can feel his impact on a ground level.

[Crazy Jim Films]

The best way to make Godzilla scary is to show the side effects of Godzilla's passing. People crushed under rumble or succumbing to radiation sickness. It's barely been touched on outside the original and Marc Cerasini's YA novels.

To add to this, I always felt the scariest monster movies are the ones that go in on the collateral damage aspect. The scenes that most stick with me are those where no heroic narrative is given to the victims or even fierce intent assigned to the monster. For example, in Hedorah, they don't even stop to give much thought to the people killed, it feels less like people killing by a thinking being and more like they were done in by a force of nature. There's something a bit more chilling to the cops being evaporated in Gojira or the reporters being dropped from the tower that lacks any semblance of heroism. There's a lot of that in Rodan too. Contrast with Serizawa's sacrifice in the original film or the hero suicide diving into the ice in Godzilla Raids Again, the deaths that happen sudden and without prejudice feel a lot closer to how death actually happens for most people, particularly in the form of a disaster. There's a whole bunch of that kind of thing in The Giant Behemoth as well.

[AtomicMorningBreath]

This topic caught my eye because this is one thing that has frustrated me with the current Monsterverse entries. Although they deliver an imposing Godzilla it just rarely carries any fear factor. The right execution for this would be to develop characters for the story that actually have stakes which reflect the impact of Godzilla.

After 2014 they should have emphasized more on the casualties of life, loss of property and homes that impacted the many residents of San Francisco and Hawaii. Instead it's merely glazed over by the perspective of one family in the Russels who I personally didn't engage with throughout the story (Ok maybe Mark was somewhat cool). Godzilla can only be scary if you can feel his impact on a ground level.

Those are some great points, and I totally agree with you. Considering the Apple+ series is supposed to take during and after San Francsico, hopefully they will really dive into the real-world implications the discovery of giant monsters would have. Showing the devasting aftermath of the 2014 incident would really hammer home the dire circumstances people faced and the stakes Godzilla and the MUTOs have created.

[edgaguirus]

And show how the general public reacts to the fact kaiju exist. There would be many reactions, but all would be wondering what if a kaiju came to their city. That fear and a demand for answers could lead to problems.