Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

The Food of the Gods Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 11, 2015

Note: This film is currently available in the double feature The Food of the Gods / Frogs.

Rachel Carson’s 1962 tome Silent Spring was one of the first mainstream efforts to document changes to the environment, changes wrought by Man’s use of chemicals like pesticides. Environmental and ecological awareness only grew as the sixties continued, despite a number of other pressing issues like assassinations, Vietnam, and racial unrest. Perhaps surprisingly (at least given today’s polarized political climate—no pun intended), it was a Republican president, the otherwise infamous Richard M. Nixon, who created the Environmental Protection Agency whole cloth by (are you ready?) executive order in 1970, ushering in a new era of both general awareness as well as (to the consternation of some) government involvement. The late sixties into the seventies saw all sorts of ecologically themed “entertainments” appear in a variety of media, from kiddie fare like Saturday morning cartoons to more putatively adult outings like any number of feature films which broadly fit into a genre dubbed “eco-horror.” In many of these films, Man’s idiocy at sullying up his home planet leads to disastrous results of one kind or another. Scream Factory, the horror imprint of Shout! Factory, has now combined two of these seventies efforts into a surprisingly enjoyable (if often pretty campy) double feature.

Rap fans may only have heard of the Notorious B.I.G., otherwise known as Biggie Smalls or even (heaven forfend) Christopher George Latore Wallace, but for a certain demographic there’s only one “real” B.I.G. worth mentioning, Mister B.I.G. himself, Bert I. Gordon, a longtime journeyman associated with American International Pictures who was responsible for such well remembered features as The Amazing Colossal Man, Earth vs. the Spider and what many consider to be his “masterpiece,” 1958’s Attack of the Puppet People. (Fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 will know that Gordon’s films were regular objects of snarky ridicule on that show.) Gordon (still going strong at 92 as this review is being written) had slowed down a bit by 1976, when The Food of the Gods appeared, but his feel for the pulse of the audience hadn’t diminished in the slightest, with the film doing brisk box office and ultimately becoming one of AIP’s biggest hits in years.

Supposedly based on a book by the legendary H.G. Wells, The Food of the Gods has a rather basic (and not especially “delayed”) set up, where a mysterious milky substance has been bubbling up from under the ground on an isolated island. An elderly couple with a farm on the island, Mr. and Mrs. Skinner (John McLiam and Ida Lupino) have considered this substance to be a “gift” from the Divine and have been giving it to their chickens, which have in turn grown to immense proportions. Unfortunately for the Skinners (and a gaggle of visitors to the island), other beasties like wasps, slugs and (most disgustingly) rats have also been feasting on the stuff, with the expected results.

Any film that wants the audience to buy former evangelist Marjoe Gortner as a professional football player (one of that aforementioned gaggle trapped on the island with a bevy of giant monsters) is obviously not aiming for gritty realism, but The Food of the Gods manages to work up good, gross out fun a lot of the time, offering supporting “potential victim” roles for Ralph Meeker, Jon Cypher and Pamela Franklin. Gordon, who typically did his own special effects, runs the gamut here from ridiculous (a huge rubber chicken) passable (the wasps) to actually pretty good (the horde of rats).

The Food of the Gods Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Food of the Gods is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The film, as should be expected, is awash in optical effects, and those bring with them an added layer of grain and dirt, two things that tend to give some sequences in the film a bit of a gritty and soft ambience. That said, the non-optical sequences look rather good here, with healthy, generally accurate color (perhaps just a bit too ruddy pink, but only slightly) and good if not overwhelming detail. Grain is more than evident and resolves naturally, though there are some passing resolution issues in some darker scenes and some of the aforementioned optical effects sequences. Close-ups offer decent fine detail in everything from the fabrics of the costumes to the bristly hair of those giant mutant rats. Elements are in decent shape, though with typical age related issues like minus density, scratches and dust and dirt.

The Food of the Gods Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Food of the Gods features an uncompressed LPCM 2.0 mono track which capably supports the film's dialogue, sometimes slightly goofy sound effects and rather effectively creepy score by Elliot Kaplan. Things occasionally get a bit noisy in the film, especially once efforts are made to quell the rat invasion, but prioritization is generally excellent. Fidelity is fine and dynamic range fairly wide on this problem free track.

The Food of the Gods Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary with Director Bert I. Gordon is hampered somewhat by the fact that Mr. Gordon is evidently unaware commentaries preferably feature actual talking. Host Kevin Sean Michaels does his best to get Gordon to share information, but it's often a losing battle.


• Interview with Actress Brenda Balaski (1080p; 11:36) is a nice reminiscence by the actress who was "with child" in the film.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:00)


• Radio Spot (1080p; 00:59) plays over a reproduction of the poster.


• Photo Gallery (1080p; 4:21)

The Food of the Gods Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fans of Bert I. Gordon will know pretty much what to expect in The Food of the Gods, namely giant mutants terrorizing hapless humans (a recurring trope in the Gordon oeuvre). Good, goofy fun, with a rather eclectic cast, the film is pure nonsense from start to finish, but it's fun. Technical merits are very good, Scream has assembled a nice supplemental package, and The Food of the Gods comes Recommended.