The Food of the Gods
by Bert I. Gordon
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Actor: Ida Lupino, Jon Cypher, Marjoe Gortner, Pamela Franklin, Ralph MeekerDirector: Bert I. Gordon
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Reginald H. Morris
Producer: Bert I. Gordon
Writer: Bert I. Gordon
Editor: Corky Ehlers
Producer: Samuel Z. Arkoff
Writer: H.G. Wells
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-09-11
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of The Food of the Gods
DVD Review: Fans of Marjoe Gortner Will Like It
Summary: 1 Stars
And very possibly nobody else. I suppose this is indeed what's called a "cult film."
MGM calls this series "Midnight Movies," and that's appropriate. Remember when you'd watch all the low-budget horror flicks on local TV stations at midnight? "Shock Theater" was ours from Philadelphia, but we all had something like, I'll bet. This movie fits that mold.
I reviewed the book only recently[...]and said that I had to know whether Marjoe Gortner plays a big person or a little person. Well, folks, this IS a low-budget flick: they only alluded to the part of the book where humans got really huge. And BTW, in true cheap trick flick style, the picture on the cover is not something that ever happened in the movie. But it does give you a cleavage shot, which I'm assuming is the point.
[...] That was what made me want to see this movie. Actually, he's pretty believable as an actor. Or maybe it's just that the rest of the cast was not particularly good actors. Only Ida Lupino, who played Mrs. Skinner, was a name you may have heard. Lorna, Marjoe's love interest was played by Pamela Franklin, and she did the best she could, but the part was very oddly straddling several cliches. She was Bensington's (Ralph Meeker, a name vaguely familiar) employee, some sort of biochemist. She talks frankly to him about what a pig he is, presumably knowing he can't afford to fire her.
OK, plot synopsis, for those who expect the movie to at least resemble the book. It's real different, folks. Morgan (Marjoe) is a football player who decides he needs a bit of a vacation, so he goes to "the island." Said island is never named, but the credits mention Vancouver. He takes his PR guy with him, who needs a break, too, and one of the other players, I think. It was not quite clear exactly who the third guy was. Perhaps he was a former player who was now coaching? Seemed a little old to be an active player.
Anyway, he was the first to die, stung by giant wasps. They took the body to the coroner, who concluded that he must have been stung by at least 150 wasps -- but then he's thinking the regular size ones. So Marjoe and the PR guy return to the island to try to find out what's going on. Mrs. Skinner has the Food of the Gods (although she would not call it that, since she is apparently a very devout Christian), only in this movie it came pouring down a hillside. Therefore, the "mad scientist" part falls on Bensington, who (as Lorna points out more than once) doesn't care anything about anyone except himself and his money. Mr. Skinner had gone to the mainland to discuss a deal with Bensington, and he returns to the island to try to consummate the deal with Mrs. Skinner, or simply rob her of the stuff.
You see, it makes anything immature grow big, very big and very fast. When she explains about the giant chickens, she pointed out that it didn't seem to affect the full-grown chickens at all. "So nothing happened to the adult chickens?" asks Morgan. "I'm not saying that," she answered. "They got et by the big ones."
It doesn't take long to discover that rats have gotten to the feed prepared for the chickens, and the rest of the story concentrates on the rats. Mrs. Skinner does get attacked by some sort of larval, wormy thing, but they have legs, so maybe they are supposed to be caterpillars. Anyway, they are gross, and they grab her hand when she reaches into her pantry. If you can explain why she kept her hand there instead of drawing it back quickly, I'd appreciate it.
Much of the special effects are pretty obvious, and the size of the creatures doesn't seem to stay all that consistent. The rats, especially, seem all much of one size when they are attacking what is clearly a model house, but seem different when they are shown up close. The DVD case lists this Fun Fact: "Oversized reproductions of worms, chickens, wasps and rats were used to create the 'gigantic creature' effect. Six different mechanized rat heads and four human-motivated rat costumes were also employed." Worms don't have legs, folks.
There are many questions. Why was Mr. Skinner driving with his car window down when it was pouring rain? What were those mysterious lights in front of him, perhaps reflections on the camera lens? Where did the food of the gods come from, after all? Once a single rat broke through the kitchen window, why didn't they pour through there? Why was there a single white rat leading the pack?
I can give it one star. It's not a total waste of time. It's just a cheap and rather predictable movie.
Description of The Food of the Gods
FOOD OF THE GODS - DVD MovieThough many of director Bert I. Gordon's previous films tackle the man versus nature theme central to the sci-fi genre, Food of the Gods' ecological concern makes it a bit more prescient than his classics from the 50s and 60s. Having unleashed gargantuan humans in Village of the Giants, and insects in Empire of the Ants, Gordon adapted the eponymous H.G. Wells novel into a film that highlights human responsibility in nature as well as his ability to make animals look as large as trees and cars. Set on an island off the Canadian coast, Morgan (Marjoe Gortner) and some buddies from his football team retreat to the "country," but flee horrified after three giant wasps sting their friend to death. Following this initial attack, the viewer learns that on a nearby farm, Mrs. Skinner (Ida Lupino) and her husband are feeding a mysterious, toxic ambrosia labeled F.O.T.G. to their chickens, causing them to grow into huge mutants. As other forest dwellers accidentally ingest this foamy liquid, which bubbles up from the ground in a polluted artesian well, they become rabid human killers, symbolizing the revenge nature reaps on those who don't protect her. Meanwhile, bacteriologists Jack Bensington (Ralph Meeker) and Lorna (Pamela Franklin) visit to buy the rights to this disgusting, yellow goo. The most satisfaction comes during scenes in which maggots hiding amongst Mrs. Skinner's canned peaches attack her arm, or when giant rats invade a neighbor's motorhome. The culmination of horror in the final scenes is slightly gory (think bomb-exploded rats) but humorous enough not to nauseate. Serious environmental undertones in Food of the Gods only add depth to its schlocky tendencies, making it, overall, a great example of the "gigantic creature" special effects mastered by this remarkable director. ?Trinie Dalton
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