It was 1965. Drive-in theaters were the heartbeat of American teenage life. Into this world stumbled a film so bizarre, so drenched in the kitschy aesthetics of the mid-sixties, that it practically defined an entire subgenre of "teen-sploitation" sci-fi. I’m talking about the Village of the Giants movie, a Technicolor fever dream that combined H.G. Wells with slow-motion dancing and oversized prop ducks.
You’ve probably seen the posters. They usually feature a pair of giant legs towering over a convertible. It’s iconic. But if you actually sit down to watch the thing, you realize it’s much more than just a cheap monster flick. It is a snapshot of a very specific cultural moment when Hollywood was desperate to figure out what "the kids" wanted. Honestly, the results were chaotic.
Directed by Bert I. Gordon—affectionately known as "Mr. B.I.G." by his fans because of his obsession with giant-sized creatures—the film is loosely, and I mean very loosely, based on H.G. Wells’ 1904 novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth. But forget the Victorian social commentary. Gordon traded that in for a group of rebellious, go-go dancing delinquents who accidentally ingest a chemical substance called "Goo."
The result? They grow to be 30 feet tall. Then they decide to take over a small town.
The Weird Genius of Bert I. Gordon
Bert I. Gordon wasn't just a director; he was a one-man special effects crew. He had a reputation for stretching a dollar until it screamed. In the Village of the Giants movie, he used a technique called rear-screen projection. Basically, he’d film the "giants" on a separate stage and then overlay them onto footage of normal-sized people.
It didn't always work.
Sometimes the giants look transparent. Sometimes their feet don't quite touch the ground. But there’s a charm to it that modern CGI just can’t replicate. You can feel the hand-crafted nature of the illusions. When you see a giant teenager leaning against a "huge" telephone pole that is clearly a painted piece of PVC pipe, it reminds you of why we love cult cinema. It’s ambitious. It’s flawed. It’s fun.
Gordon’s career was built on this. He gave us The Amazing Colossal Man and Beginning of the End. He knew his audience. He knew that if you put "Giant" in the title and "Teenagers" in the cast, you had a guaranteed hit at the local passion pit.
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A Cast of Rising Stars and One Very Famous Kid
Looking back at the credits is like reading a "Who’s Who" of 1960s pop culture. You’ve got Tommy Kirk, who was a huge Disney star in Old Yeller and The Shaggy Dog. By 1965, he was trying to break away from his clean-cut image. Then there’s Beau Bridges. Yeah, that Beau Bridges. Before he was a multi-award-winning veteran actor, he was a giant delinquent in a tight sweater.
But the real kicker is Ron Howard.
He was billed as Ronny Howard back then. He plays "Genius," the ten-year-old prodigy who actually invents the "Goo" in his basement laboratory. It’s hilarious to watch the future Oscar-winning director of A Beautiful Mind messing around with beakers and accidentally creating a growth serum that causes a massive duck to terrorize the neighborhood.
The movie also featured musical guests like The Beau Brummels and Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon. This was a standard move for the era. If you wanted the youth market, you had to have a scene where everyone stops what they’re doing to listen to a garage rock band for three minutes. It kills the pacing, sure, but the songs are actually pretty catchy.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Plot
People often dismiss this as just another "big monster" movie. They’re wrong. The Village of the Giants movie is actually a weirdly cynical look at the generation gap.
When the teenagers grow big, they don't just eat more burgers. They realize they have the power to dismantle the adult world. They strip the local sheriff of his authority. They take hostages. They demand that the town cater to their whims.
It’s an early, albeit clumsy, metaphor for the rising power of youth culture in the sixties. The adults are portrayed as helpless, bumbling, and totally out of touch. Meanwhile, the giants are hedonistic and arrogant. There’s a scene where the giant teens force the local adults to bring them food and entertainment. It’s almost like a precursor to the campus protests that would define the late sixties, just with more giant chickens and hairspray.
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The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Bump
If you know this movie today, there is a 90% chance you saw it on Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K). Season 5, Episode 6.
Mike Nelson and the bots absolutely tore this movie apart. They mocked the slow-motion dancing—which, let’s be honest, goes on way too long. They joked about the "Goo." They pointed out how the giant teenagers seemed to spend most of their time just sitting around in a shed.
The MST3K treatment gave the film a second life. It transformed it from a forgotten bargain-bin VHS into a cult classic. It’s one of those rare cases where the commentary actually makes the original work more enjoyable. You start to appreciate the weird choices Gordon made, like the fact that the "Goo" looks exactly like marshmallow fluff.
The Technical Reality of 1965 Special Effects
Let’s talk about the "Goo."
In the film, it’s a glowing, pulsating substance. In reality, it was likely a mix of chemical compounds and theatrical lighting. Gordon was a master of the "process shot." This involved filming actors through a series of mirrors or using split-screen techniques.
- He would film the background (the town).
- He would film the foreground (the giants) against a black or blue screen.
- He would physically sandwich the film strips together.
The problem was the "matte line." That’s the fuzzy outline you see around the actors. It’s why the giants sometimes look like they have a ghostly aura. To a modern audience used to 4K resolution and perfect compositing, it looks "fake." But in 1965? On a curved drive-in screen? It was pure magic.
The giant props were another story. To make the actors look huge, the crew built oversized furniture and giant versions of everyday items. There’s a scene involving a giant telephone that is actually quite impressive for its time. It required a level of practical craftsmanship that we often overlook today.
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Why It Still Holds Up (In a Weird Way)
Is it a "good" movie? By traditional standards, probably not. The acting is wooden, the script is nonsensical, and the special effects are dated.
But it’s an authentic movie.
It doesn't try to be anything other than a wild ride for teenagers. It’s vibrant. The colors pop. The fashion is incredible. The boots, the hair, the sweaters—it’s a time capsule.
Also, it’s surprisingly dark. There’s a genuine sense of menace when the giants first realize they can do whatever they want. They aren't "misunderstood" kids. They’re kind of jerks. That edge gives the film a bit more weight than your average monster-of-the-week flick.
Where to Watch and What to Look For
If you’re going to watch the Village of the Giants movie, I highly recommend finding the restored Blu-ray version. Seeing those saturated 1960s colors in high definition makes a huge difference.
- Watch the background: Look for the moments where the scale doesn't match. It’s a fun game to play.
- Listen to the soundtrack: Jack Nitzsche did the score. He was a legendary producer who worked with the Rolling Stones and Neil Young. The music is way better than the movie deserves.
- Spot the future stars: Beyond Bridges and Howard, keep an eye out for Tisha Sterling and Toni Basil (of "Mickey" fame).
Actionable Next Steps for Film Buffs
If you’ve read this far, you’re clearly a fan of cult cinema or curious about Hollywood history. Don't just stop at one movie.
- Watch the MST3K version first. It provides the context and humor that makes the viewing experience a lot more palatable for modern sensibilities.
- Compare it to the book. Read H.G. Wells’ The Food of the Gods. It is fascinating to see how a serious philosophical novel about the evolution of humanity was turned into a movie about dancing giants.
- Explore the Bert I. Gordon filmography. Check out The Food of the Gods (1976), which was Gordon’s second attempt at the same source material. It’s much gorier and features giant rats instead of giant teenagers. It’s a wild contrast.
- Research "Process Cinematography." If you’re a tech nerd, look into how Gordon achieved his effects without computers. It will give you a newfound respect for the physical labor involved in 60s filmmaking.
The Village of the Giants movie remains a cornerstone of the "B-movie" pantheon. It represents a time when movies were allowed to be loud, colorful, and completely ridiculous. It doesn't need to be a masterpiece to be important. It just needs to be memorable. And trust me, once you see a 30-foot-tall Beau Bridges, you won’t forget it.