Apocalypse Then
Published by McFarland, 2017. 316 pages
Written by Mike Bogue

Anybody who picks up this book thinking that it is just another book of reviews of our favorite giant and mutated monsters from the ’50 and ’60s will be sadly mistaken. Yes, there are plenty of reviews within these pages of movies like Tarantula, The Monster that Challenged the World, Them!, Godzilla, Mothra, and so many more. But there is so much more here, both at face value and much more at a deeper level to really make you think.

Bogue has done an incredible job here going over these movies that many of us love and hold dearly in our fandom. But he also shows how these movies came about, through the use of atomic and nuclear power and the effects that it has. Not just on the cinematic monsters, but what it had done to humanity, and more importantly, what it still does. Even the novice of fans knows about the connections between Godzilla and the bombs that were dropped on Japan in the ’40s. But Bogue goes deeper is how the cinematic influences were different between Japan and the US.

In a brilliant and simple example, he shows the difference of opinions of how the countries felt about when the bombs were dropped, and why they were different. Even with how each countries cinematic representations were displayed, with the US titles usually always winning the day and defeating the beast. But over in Japan, not so much, maybe because they felt this cloud that was still hanging over them will never go away. Ishiro Hondo, director of Godzilla and many other Kaiju films said “There was a heavy atmosphere, a fear that the world was already coming to an end. Ever since I have felt that this ‘atomic fear’ would hang around our necks for eternity.” I think that alone speaks volumes.

Pretty deep stuff in a book about giant monsters, huh? And that is why this book was such a great read. Yes, depressing at times when you think what humanity has done to this earth, not to mention each other. But it is well written and very thought inducing.

On a more positive note, I can pretty much guarantee that after reading some of the movies covered, that you will want to bust them out and re-watch them. Either because you’ve never seen them before, or you have but it has been too long and now you want to re-visit them, but it will happen. I know I was sitting watching The Slime People (1963) shortly after reading Bogue’s write up!