The Food of the Gods (1976)

I had a lot of problems with this film, mostly because its nowhere near what you'd expect. The "Food" that is causing all of the animals to grow to incredible sizes affects Bees, Worms, and other animals on the island. The main threat however, are the giant rats, that prey on humans. The first parts of the film are pretty good, but after the halfway point, the film tends to drag itself out a bit. Don't get me wrong, this movie is way better than some of the other giant rat movies I've seen, playing on the natural fear of rodents. What makes it worse is that it is psychologically trying (but telling you why would include spoilers).

I should give this move a "10" simply based on the fact that I remembered watching it when it first came out at the age of 7. This was one of those movies that my mom watched after my brother and I "Went to bed". Little did she know we would often sneak out of bed and peer into the living room where we could clearly see the television. At the point that this movie first showed it's ENORMOUS SIZED animals we were glued to the screen and so enthralled that we couldn't look away. It was only in our dreams that the horrifying scene of the gigantic rats haunted us both again and again. Over the years the nightmares came less and less but the title never left my head...when I just happened to come across this movie that has been tucked away in my mind since I was a little girl I just had to tell you what kind of impact it had on a little 7 year old girls and her 5 year old baby brother. Although the movie is a far stretch from realistic by today's standards back then it was terrifying! Way to go Food of the Gods!!

Bert I. Gordon -- aka BIG -- directed a number of B movies (or sometimes C movies) including "The Food of the Gods" and "Empire of the Ants", both based loosely on H.G. Wells stories. The former depicts a substance that turns animals giant...and then the animals turn against the humans! Nature's vengeance! Watching the movie, I laughed at how atrocious it was. Terrible acting, directing and script, not to mention cheesy special effects. The sort of movie that should have appeared on "Mystery Science Theater 3000". In all fairness to the movie, we do get to see some great shots of the islands off the coast of British Columbia. Aside from that, "The Food of the Gods" is one of the most hilariously bad flicks out there. Ditto "Empire of the Ants".

I give this movie a 7 out of 10 because it is fun to watch. I agree it is a "B" movie thriller, but then so many of the even classic horror movies are "B" thrillers.While this film uses extensive use of rats as the main "Giantized" villain it is still fun to watch.I am not familiar with Bert I. Gordon's older films but this is better then the Empire of the Ants (1977) which was released one year after this film. The acting is better in this film then E.O.T.A. and they didn't even have or need Joan Collins like E.O.T.A. did and even she wasn't needed there.I first saw this movie in a Drive in theater, this was about 4 years after it was released as it was the second feature after Battle Beyond the Stars. This was the best way to see films of this type back then as stadium seating theaters hadn't been created yet. It was fun to watch. Looking back on it now seeing it from an "adult perspective" I was almost 11yo at the time. It's hokey, but I can still enjoy the fun of the film.