Get ready for bloodthirsty giant animals and insects in this ultra-campy, funny, ecology gone berserk story taken from the classic H.G. Wells novel of the same title...Food of the Gods! When a Farmer living on a small island ( filmed in Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada)discovers a strange foreign substance seeping from his land, he decides to run some experiments soon discovering that when given to animals it acts as a super-growth hormone making fruits and vegetables grow to extreme sizes at a frighteningly rapid rate. He immediately thinks he has hit the jack pot and plans to market the miracle hormone, but soon chickens, rats, worms and insects get into the substance and try it for them selves, morphing them into giant beasts on a rampage. When Morgan (Marjoe Gortner) and some friends decide to go on a hunting trip to the very island where the giant creatures dwell, it does not take long to find out they are the ones being hunted. Morgan is attacked by a giant killer chicken and almost dies as he fights his way out of the coup in a hilarious scene. The group is also attacked by giant wasps and discover their huge nest deep in the woods. The giant rats prove to be the most vicious and deadly as they attack with out warning in large groups. Those who survive some of the early attacks end up in a fight for their lives as they try to escape the island.
Directed by Bert I. Gordon ( Earth vs. the spider, The Amazing Colossal Man ) who was nicknamed "Mr. Big" for his initials and his giant monster movies of the 50's. He started making films at age nine and is known to be the director to have the most films shown on the great TV series Mystery science theater 3000. Gordon was also involved with most of the special effects in his films including this one with the help of Rick Baker, whose extensive resume includes The Exorcist, It's Alive, Star Wars, An American Werewolf In London, Michael Jackson's Thriller video and many other great films. They created six different mechanized rat heads and some rat costumes for some scenes. The story was adapted from a portion of the novel by H.G. Wells, Food of the gods proves to be a great "monster animals attack" film, if not the best in the sub-genre. It was released in 1976 by American International. The proportions of the rats compared to their surrounding stays pretty consistent and the miniatures that were made looked descent. Although it's mostly funny to watch now, there are a few frightening scenes and gory attacks throughout the movie.
MGM released a DVD of food of the gods in their Midnight Movies catalog with no extras. The film is rated PG.
I have a soft spot for classic creature features, and I do consider Food of the gods one of them. Once the movie starts it stays entertaining all the way through with laughs, scares and sheer joy watching the well executed effects for the killer creatures. This is definitely a recommend. Welcome to the bottom of the food chain!
Rating: B-
Review by Jason
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