The Food of the Gods (1976) User Reviews

Pretty Stupid, But Fun If That Is What You Want

[gavin6942 · 5/10 · 14 October 2010]

A group of people, somehow associated with a football team, go to an island for a getaway. Well, they picked the wrong time for vacation because someone on the island has developed a new kind of food that causes the animals to grow to gigantic sizes. Great if you're raising cattle, not so great when the rats find it.

Inspired by H. G. Wells, directed by B-movie legend Bert Gordon, and starring a young pre-Dante Belinda Balaski, this film is pretty much exactly what you might expect it is. There have been plenty of large animal horror or sci-fi films, both before and after this one. Is this one of the better ones? Who is to say?

The film is good for what it is: people fighting large rats. Sure, it is silly and kind of cheesy, but is that not what you expect from sci-fi films of the time period, especially the giant animal variety? I cannot say this movie had anything special about it, but it sure was not terrible, either.

For what it is worth, Gordon calls this film the one he had the most fun making, due to the cast and crew being on a Canadian island far from the studio. He also had the pleasure of writing the script on the fly when an unexpected snowstorm prevented the original plan!

Paul Corupe says this film has "the most fearsome creatures of any Gordon film", but that seems highly contentious.

Oldie but Goodie

[whlwtcher · 6/10 · 8 January 2021]

Disappointed to see some recent reviews that give this score a low rating. This movie is from the 70s - of course it's cheesy and the special effects are low budget when you compare it to movies made today. Watched this film when I was a kid and loved it - very scary for its time. And the end scene - what if! Definitely haunted me.

Rats of the Gods

[Bogmeister · 5/10 · 19 July 2005]

A great title (borrowed from the greatest science-fiction writer of all time) and downhill from there, but this fun flic with a bad rep, for good reason in a couple of spots, taken in its entirety offers more entertainment value, pound for pound, than most of the other 'eco-terror' flics of the '70s; that's not saying much, but there were plenty of 'em: Bug(75); Night of the Lepus(72); Squirm(76); Kingdom of the Spiders(77); Prophecy(79); Empire of the Ants(77); Frogs(72); Day of the Animals(76); Ben(72); and even Phase IV(74), which was more intelligent but a bore. The only one on par with this is Piranha(78), whose director, Dante, moved to the A-list, and the original Willard(71), which had the added psycho angle. Beyond this, "Food.." contains a wicked depiction of American 'can do' gumption, embodied by Marjoe (an odd choice for leading man). He kills a rooster which was just minding its own business and defending its turf, and never apologizes to the owner (Ida Lupino). Later, he causes the deaths of his buddy (Cypher) and the obvious villain (Meeker-slumming,but the 'go to' guy those days for bad guy roles) by refusing to listen to their logical arguments for getting out of the mess they're in. No, it's his way only, 'cause he's the toughest around these here parts, and if a few people get eaten due to his manly choices, well, that's the American way. In a very strange way, it called to mind the relentless expansion & colonization represented by the American spirit; OK, that's a stretch, but, in another genre, his role would be played by someone like John Wayne, who needs to make the tough decisions. However, if you look more closely at Marjoe's character, he seems to have some crazy death wish. At one point, when they already know the island is infested with giant killers, he decides to go look around in his jeep, which offers no protection at all; his friend, echoing the thoughts of the audience, asks what the hell for? Marjoe doesn't really have an answer; he even says "I don't know." Wild. I first saw this as a teen when it came out, in a downtown theater in San Francisco and sure, most of the FX, especially the dam breaking and water pouring out, caused me to groan in another sort of horror, but seeing people getting eaten alive by giant rats was nothing to laugh off back then. This looked pretty grisly. I recently acquired a decent DVD version and the photography was quite good. Oh, and a bit of a twist ending, to boot! The much later sequel, having little to do with this picture, really was a waste of time.

A shameful way for BIG to go

[pv71989 · 12 June 2002]

You know, something bad happened to Bert I. Gordon. In the 1950s and 60s, he made films that were expected to be high camp ("Amazing Colossal Man," "Beginning of the End," "Attack of the Puppet People," "Earth vs. The Spider," "Village of the Giants" which inspired Irwin Allen's "Land of the Giants"). In the 70s, however, Gordon seemed to try to make his films serious. As with this film and, later, "Empire of the Ants," he found audiences had changed. Eco-horror with some message against nuclear power or industrial waste was the in-thing. Big studios didn't accept his old stuff anymore. So, he changed the tone of his movies and offered it anyone who would fund him. You can see the results.

The movie is based loosely on H.G. Wells' classic "Food of the Gods." Gordon later butchered Wells again with "Empire of the Ants." It revolves around a bunch of people who travel to the countryside and encounter giant, mutated animals and insects. The cast, like "Empire of the Ants" and other 70s eco-horror flicks, is filled with people who should have known better:

Marjoe Gortner (the psycho bag boy from "Earthquake") Pamela Franklin ("The Nanny," "The Legend of Hell House") Ralph Meeker ("Paths of Glory," "The Dirty Dozen") Jon Cypher (Chief Daniels from "Hill Street Blues") Belinda Balaski ("Piranha," "The Howling") Ida Lupino ("The Sea Wolf," "High Sierra," "Junior Bonner")

I was upset that Ida Lupino did that crapstravaganza. That is, until I saw John Huston in "Tentacles," Henry Fonda and Michael Caine in "The Swarm" and "Bradford Dillman in "Bug." Sometimes our favorite, beloved actors and actresses had to take schlock like this to either put food on the table or stay active in Hollywood.

Anyway, the animals are mutating because they're getting into Lupino's "ambrosia," a chemical mix she's supposedly using to make her fowl grow bigger. In H.G. Wells' story, the ambrosia, which means "food of the gods," makes everything bigger, including newborn children of pregnant women. The movie seemed about to touch on that, but didn't (although it was later shown in the very, very, very much unneeded 1989 sequel).

The acting is over the top. Franklin holds her own and Lupino seems to be having fun just being on the silver screen again after a long layoff. But, Gortner, a former brimstone evangelist, is unbelievable.

Ultimately, the undoing is caused by very poor special effects. The giant chicken attack will leave you rolling. Close ups of the head are actually done with a stunt actor in a chicken head trying to peck at people. The close-ups of the heads of the giant rats make them look like the stuffed toys they are. The sight of Ida Lupino beating at the giant plastic worm chewing on her arm will either make you laugh or have you crying as you fondly remember when she did much better films.

What makes this all worse is that Bert I. Gordon did a much better job with giantism in "Village of the Giants" in 1965. Could his talents have slipped this much in 11 years? Personally, I think he should have slipped a little camp into the film to take the edge off. When people think you're giving them crap and trying to pass it off as serious, the results are almost always less than pleasant.

"Food of the Gods" is decidedly unpleasant.

Yeah, it's pretty dumb.

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 26 June 2012]

On an island, some crazy old lady and her husband found some white goo seeping out of the earth. So, they did what anyone would do--they mixed it with animal feed and gave it to their farm animals. The animals then grew to enormous proportions and soon had a craving for human flesh. Some particularly dim people get themselves stuck on the island and must fight giant animal models (being thrust at them by people from the props department) to survive. All the while, a REALLY dumb rich guy is imagining the riches he'll make by harvesting this goo! I was not at all surprised to see Marjoe Gortner starring in a crap movie like this. What surprised me was seeing some once decent actors whoring themselves out in this film. To a small extent I was surprised to see Ralph Meeker but even more surprising was the famous 1930s-40 actress/director Ida Lupino. Was she bankrupt? Was she being blackmailed?! All I know is that the film is every bit as bad as the worst giant animal films of the 50s and 60s and 70s and these two never should have taken these parts.

Dumb acting, VERY dumb writing, horrible props and the like sink this production. One of the finer moments in the film was when giant bees attack as folks are INSIDE the cabin--so naturally one of them goes outside with a shovel to fight them! Later, when a Winnebago has a GIANT rat on the roof, the husband tells his wife (who is safely inside) to come outside to see the rat that is the size of a cow! Duh!!! By the way, this film would make a wonderful double-feature with "Night of the Lepus"--a 70s film about giant killer bunnies that is nearly the equal to "Food of the Gods" in the stupidity department.

Gigantic creatures starving human flesh strike unfortunate people

[ma-cortes · 5/10 · 1 April 2009]

A rare food taken by an old woman (penultimate film for Ida Lupino) provokes the excessive increasing on animals and bugs . Then killer beasts , gigantic flies , huge chicken , wasps , worms and enormous rats strike tourists on a secluded island . Football team players (Marjoe Gotner , John Cypher) enjoying vacations have to fight the giant monsters that are attacking people (Ralph Meeker , Belinda Balaski as an unperiled pregnant woman and Pamela Franklin's last film although she would continue to work on TV in guest).

This is an entertaining movie from expert Bert I. Gordon and freely based on H.G. Welles novel , being AIP's most successful film of the year . Although it suffers from average special effects and regular performances . The flies reproduction are quite badly made but the rats are better staged by means of true bugs increased by optics effects . Over-sized reproduction of massive worms , bulky chicken were utilized to incarnate the enormous creature effects and were also used various diverse mechanized rats . As six different mechanized rat heads and four human-motivated rat costumes were also employed . The miniature design and special props were made by Von Buelow , titles and optical effects by Universal title ; plus , the visual effects by coordinator J. Richardson and , of course , Bert I. Gordon who usually makes his own FX , he's a real craftsman . The movie gives special thanks to football team of Frazer University and the children of Sir John Franklin Community of Vancouver ,British Columbia , where it was filmed.

The film was produced in little budget by Samuel Z. Arkoff who created along with James H Nicholson the American International Pictures in which during the 60s and 70s produced several monster movies and the prestigious Roger Corman-Edgar Allan Poe series . The motion picture was professionally directed by Bert I Gordon. Bert is a B series producer/director , known as Mr B.I.G. He's a monster movies expert in which animals and men suffer voluminous shapes change caused by food or radioactivity. As occurs in ¨The cyclops¨ when the protagonist becomes a giant human monster,as well as a soldier converts in ¨War of the colossal beast¨, the immense insects of ¨Begining of the end¨, a monstrous spider in ¨The spider¨, giant ants in ¨Empire of the ants¨. Other his works in fantasy-terror are : ¨Picture mommy dead¨ and ¨ Necromancy¨, among them. It's followed by a lesser sequel titled ¨Food of gods , part 2 (1989)¨ directed by Damian Lee where the huge rats strike again and maim beautiful women.

Not even so bad it's good

[slick_moon · 1/10 · 15 November 2014]

I am glad I've seen this movie in the sense that survivors of disaster are often grateful for the life experience, but I felt the need to warn others who may be considering it.

I won't attack the acting as a movie this low budget often has to pull winos off the street, and I do make due allowance for the effects budget too, though there are some effects which are just inexcusable in a movie intended for release.

The famously bad giant chicken scene I'll gloss over, not just because it's famous but because the rest is much, much worse.

The most unforgivable effect is surely the "giant wasps" which are motionless, brown silhouettes of some sort of crushed insect, possibly a butterfly or moth, certainly not a wasp of any kind. Probably the same brightly coloured lepidoptera to which our hero points, as it perches on a jar of Food Of The Gods, and proclaims "wasps sure seem to love it" To be fair the giant rats are quite realistic, but they're actually too realistic in that they haven't been given exaggeratedly evil features, or even shot from an angle that makes them seem sinister as in The Unknown. The result is that they're just gosh darn cute, like being attacked by giant hamsters or gerbils. So when the head of one comes smashing through a door, the audience isn't inspired to jump, just to go "aaaw, hello!".

There's one point where they blow up a dam in an effort to drown the giant rats, even though real rats can swim because "giant rats with that weight won't be able to" this is true but it also unnecessarily raises the point that they wouldn't be able to move at all, and would probably break off their own feet. But what is far worse is that the "dam" they decide to blow up is in fact just a wall, hastily built across a small track which is not low enough to be even a very small river bed. And the wall is made of wooden planks. Yes wooden planks. Held together with nails. As a dam. To hold back water.

But the worst thing about this movie by far is the script. Expository dialogue is sadly common enough these days, but this writer attempts expository dialogue, without even actually explaining anything! Our hero: "How did you come to feed it to the livestock?" Farmer's Wife: "well when we realised it wasn't oil, there weren't nothing for it but to feed it to the animals" Audience: "WTF? so anything that isn't oil gets fed to the livestock on your farm? Pebbles? Children? Discos?" And then there's the inevitable attempt to come up with a group plan. Coward:"we can't stay here, I'm leaving, come with me" Girl "but we'll die and get eaten!" Coward: "have you got a better plan?" Girl "I guess not" Audience: "so you're going along with the plan of dying and getting eaten because you haven't got a better plan?"

I love low budget cheese, but seriously take my advice and just don't.

a rat snuff film

[rhinocerosfive-1 · 3/10 · 30 May 2007]

This is a terrible movie with one questionable virtue: the spectacle of dozens of real rats really shotgunned. It looks like they used a 20 gauge. It could be some kind of stunt, but nobody told the rats. Suggestions that the production used pellet guns on the rodents seem unlikely to me, as in my experience it takes a little more than .177 caliber to knock a rat off his feet.

It is of course possible that there is a special effect involved; if so it's a technology I've never seen. Certainly these rats react violently to the projectiles that hit them, and they don't seem to like it. They are knocked end over end by bloody impact. Meat flies off the wounds, even. They seem hurt, and they squirm pretty convincingly. Perhaps they are good rat actors. But I don't think Clyde Beatty and Siegfried Sassoon together could train 100 rats to pretend to drown, then play dead while floating underwater, a trick employed here with great verisimilitude.

There is lots of bad process photography, and the puppet rat heads are more impressive than the awful script and underutilized all-star cast. Bert Gordon never did less with so much. But the real rats are filmed in slow motion against miniatures in medium and long shots, and they die there, with more realism than is achieved by any other part of the picture. Wholesale slaughter of furred creatures seems unlikely so late as '76, but I doubt the FOTG set even saw a licensed caterer, much less OSHA or the Humane Society.

Campy Fun

[imdaveysmom · 4/10 · 19 November 2016]

In 1976 my parents took us kids to see this movie not realizing what we were about to see. I was only six years old and a particular scene is seared into my memory. There was a woman reaching into a cupboard and when she withdrew her hand she had a large cockroach on her arm. Next thing I know my mom puts her hand over my eyes and tells my dad to drive. Forty years later it's still with me.

Just recently I was flipping through the channels and low and behold what do I see listed? You guessed it, FOOD OF THE GODS! I had to see what I missed. It's funny how time and age can change your perception. At six I was terrified of big bugs. At forty-six I found the whole thing laughable. I suppose that in 1976 the special effects were decent enough, in this day and age watching a herd of gigantic rats was hilarious. My teenage son and husband couldn't believe that this movie scared me.

So if you're looking for a good fright, you should give this movie a pass. However, if all you're looking for is a good time and not wanting to take anything seriously this is the movie for you.

Delightful B movie fun

[Nightman85 · 7/10 · 1 October 2005]

Another of Bert I. Gordon's adaptations of the works of H. G. Wells, the others being the Village of the Giants (1965) and Empire of the Ants (1977), results in yet another amusing tale of giant critters reeking havoc!

Football star vacations on an island, where a mysterious substance on a farm is causing the local animals to grow to giant, killer sizes! Whats more fun than giant poultry?

Entertaining, some what cheesy, B sci-fi thriller is great fun for fans of the drive-in era. It's a wild and bizarre tale, as we have giant rats, chickens, and insects threatening human life! Although the film does show its budget, with a wide display of hokey B movie FX, it's all pretty fun schlock. The cast does a decent job, the best being handsome hero Marjoe Gortner.

The film never gets quite as silly as Gordon's later Empire of the Ants, but it does have its share of fun for fans of the B movie genre.

** 1/2 out of ****

Rats and chickens and wasps, oh my!

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 9 November 2015]

Directed by Bert I. Gordon, king of the low-budget big monster movie, The Food of the Gods is a clunky slice of B-movie hokum brought to life using exactly the same kind of low-rent special effects techniques the director used on his debut, King Dinosaur, over two decades earlier (and on numerous films thereafter). Rear projection, scale models, over-sized creature props and soft-edged mattes are the order of the day, none of which are very effective.

Amongst those facing off against the unconvincing creatures—which include whoppin' big wasps, gigantic grubs, chuffin' great chickens, and ruddy big rats—are football star Morgan (Marjoe Gortner), his pal Brian (Jon Cypher), unscrupulous businessman Bensington (Ralph Meeker), his sassy assistant Lorna (Pamela Franklin), loopy farmer's wife Mrs.Skinner (Ida Lupino), and young couple Thomas (Tom Stovall) and Rita (Belinda Balaski).

With its shoddy effects, laughable script, and diabolical performances (poor Ida Lupino—to wind down such an illustrious career by being gnawed to death!), The Food Of The Gods is an undeniably awful movie, but it still manages to be marginally more entertaining than Gordon's final giant monster movie, the utterly awful Empire Of The Ants, simply thanks to its greater variety of immense animalia (after all, you've seen one enormous ant, you've seen them all!).

Loved this film! Here's why................

[lloydhansen · 9/10 · 29 April 2009]

I first saw this movie at the local drive-in theater when I was about 13yrs old. It scared the you-know-what out of me back then. I just rented the DVD and sitting there on my sofa, in my mid 40s I enjoyed it all over again! Sure, it's silly....very "B-rated" type film....but if you just accept that going into it, you won't be disappointed. In this day of Computer Generated garbage, it's refreshing to see REAL special effects. The rats are still scary some 30 years later!

Rent it, enjoy it for what it is: a campy, silly scary movie. I just love it! It saddens me to see that it's made it's way onto several "worst movie" lists. Relax people, enjoy it!

I've gotta go....I think I hear rats coming.....

Dated, but endearingly cheesy

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 25 January 2015]

A last-gasp attempt at the 1950s 'giant monster' B-movie, directed by schlock purveyor Burt I. Gordon (aka 'Mr Big') who utilises some of his famed back screen-projected beasts onto the screen for the last time. FOOD OF THE GODS is apparently partly based on a tale by H. G. Wells, but turns out to a typical entry into the genre.

The storyline is simplicity in itself: creatures on a remote island have grown to giant size, and a group of diverse characters must battle to save themselves. In the lead is former child evangelist Marjoe Gortner, one of the oddest looking leads to populate '70s cinema; in support is Ida Lupino in her last screen appearance. Still, one of the performances really register as this is a film all about the giant creatures.

And the effects are pretty decent, at least in places. Things start off badly with some dodgy giant wasps and chickens, but once the rats come into it things really pick up, with some elaborately-staged set-pieces that convince in places. After that point it's an action-packed ride to the climax, with added gore and bloodshed for modern-day '70s audience. Although I had concerns about animal welfare - some of the rats look like they get genuinely injured/drowned - FOOD OF THE GODS turns out to be a surprisingly entertaining little monster flick for fans of the genre and a film which doesn't deserve it's poor reputation.

Not as bad as People are making it out to be...

[hurtz2bdead · 5/10 · 18 March 2006]

I remember this movie as a kid and just watched it again last night for the first time in 20+ years. Yeah the acting is pretty weak and a lot of the effects are laughable, but it really is pretty entertaining. Eerie music and a bunch of filthy looking rats add to that whole creepy '70's vibe.The lead character is kind of a cheesy Joe Namath wannabe. He must be quite the stud if he has the lead chick wanting to bone him in the midst of a vicious rat attack! The man vs. chicken scence is what I remember most from chidhood and it is hilarious. The wasps are the only truly poor effect as they are very obviously superimposed. But the cheese factor is a lot of the charm here, as with a lot of the movies of this era. If you like this flick I also would recommend "Frogs", another "nature takes it's revenge" movie that was a popular theme in the '70's. Worth a look....

So bad it's good!

[chad478 · 9 June 2001]

Wasps, worms, chickens, and rats feed off of an icky, gooey substance that causes them to grow to gigantic proportions, then terrorize the occupants of a remote mountain cabin. This trashy adaptation of the classic H.G. Wells story isn't just any ordinary bad movie. It's a movie that starts off so bad that you are compelled to actually keep watching it to see how much worse it can possibly get, and you have one heck of a good time in the process. Surprisingly, the film does have some fine points. The special effects are really quite acceptable, considering the era and the film's limited budget. And, amazingly, some of the performers manage to retain their dignity. Pamela Franklin as a sassy lady scientist and Ida Lupino as a bible-spouting farmer's wife come off best. This movie was a remake of the 1965 release VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS, also filmed by Bert I. Gordon.

My friend was killed by your wasps.....

[FlashCallahan · 5/10 · 12 December 2011]

Morgan and his friends are on a hunting trip on a remote Canadian island when they are attacked by a swarm of giant wasps.

Looking for help, Morgan stumbles across a barn inhabited by an enormous killer chicken.

After doing some exploring, they discover the entire island is crawling with animals that have somehow grown to giant size.

The most dangerous of all of these, however, are the rats, who are mobilising to do battle with the human intruders....

If you want to see a film with a man fighting a giant rubber chicken, look no further.

Yes, the film is trite, it has so many problems that you just have to laugh at all the bizarreness of the finished product.

Killer wasps that look like they are ghosts, rats superimposed to look like they are huge, Mrs skinner saying 'oh my god' every five minutes, and Morgans mullet.

The script is awful, the narration bad, and the acting is what can be expected, when the most recognisable people in this, are the bloke from American Ninja 3, and the one who played 'Man At Arms' in Masters of the Universe.

It tries to be serious, but fails miserably, but is good for a once only, laugh in.

And to threaten us with a sequel featuring huge cows deserves a round of applause.

Crazy stuff, but so worth watching.

"Being punished 'cause we sinned against nature!"

[classicsoncall · 4/10 · 12 October 2017]

Well, you have to give Bert Gordon credit here for at least one thing. As the Iron Man of this picture, he not only directed, produced and wrote the screenplay, but also had a hand in the special visual effects. I hope he was paid well for his efforts.

As for the picture, boy oh boy, you can't get much cheesier. You know, you couldn't really get a sense of proportion as to how big those killer rats actually were. The one that attacked Mrs. Skinner (Ida Lupino) through the window of her cabin was just as big as she was, while at other times the perspective offered changed with each object they were swarming next to. I guess it doesn't matter for a flick like this, but it was something quite noticeable.

Noticeable too was the goofy body spasms of the lead actor Marjoe Gortner. Gosh, what was he tripping on? Watch him when he picks up a rifle at any time to shoot at the attacking rodents, he looked like Elaine in that 'Seinfeld' episode dancing at the party. Really, it was quite embarrassing.

As with another Bert Gordon giganto fest from the following year, "Empire of the Ants", this one is riddled with continuity gaffes and mistakes that provide plenty of camp value for the discerning viewer. How about the old dead guy, Mr. Skinner, after he's killed by the rats - his closed eye flutters as the varmints haul him away. Then there's that moment when Morgan (Gortner) and Brian (Jon Cypher) put their rifles away in a wooden crate on the jeep, but when they arrive where the rats are swarming by the river, they pull their weapons directly out of the vehicle.

I don't know, there must have been some reason Ida Lupino decided to take part in this monstrosity, one can only guess. Just like Joan Collins showing up in "Empire of the Ants", maybe they needed the money. One can only imagine what they thought of while reading the moronic script - Yeah, this could be a real career changer.

And then, right in the middle of the horror fest with the rats, and the fires, and the rats and the flood, and the rats - the gal Lorna (Pamela Franklin) says to Gortner's Morgan - "I want to make love to you". You know, I actually saw that coming and was hoping please, no, that would just be too stupid. But once again, the script didn't let me down.

Only one thing left on my mind now which I'm sure nobody can rightfully answer. The container of 'ambrosia' on the counter in Mrs. Skinner's kitchen had the letters 'F.O.T.G.' hand written on a piece of paper stuck to the jar. Why? Did the Skinners literally know that the stuff inside was actually The Food of The Gods?

Why did it have to be rats?

[thesar-2 · 1/10 · 19 September 2010]

It's hard to criticize a movie like The Food of the Gods. Meaning, it hits every low point: bad acting, cinematography, writing & dialogue, horrible special effects and worst of all, "suspenseful scenes" that literally will make you laugh out loud. Who needs Mystery Science Theater 3000 to make fun of this – just watch it for your own personal amusement.

I did. I laughed very hard in spots, from the stilled framed credits to the opening dialogue ("My name is Morgan and I play football. We'd worked our butts off trying' to get it together for the big Sunday game…") to the big COCK fight between our hero and a large COCK. Also, the film pans from close-ups of "giant" rats to an actual sized car to now regular rats attacking a toy car. PRICELESS FX. Don't forget the TIDAL WAVE and wasps. Heck, the only thing (hilariously) convincing were the enlarged worms and even them, not so much.

Footballer – American that is…or is it Canadian? – Morgan (Marjoe) is headed to "the country" (or in human terms, an island) to hunt or whatever male bonding he chooses with his two mates. One of them is inadvertently stung to death by giant wasps. Well, they strike and leave, thankfully, giving our heroes enough time to investigate.

They take one of MANY very long trips on the ferry back to shore with their friend's body. Stop. Okay, even at only 88 minutes, this movie drags on far too long. And most of the time was spent, incredibly, on the ferryboat. Did they rent it? And did that take half their budget? But, I digress, for very weak reasons, the two remaining buddies travel back to the island (via ferry, AGAIN) to investigate the death and meet up with both the incredibly hilarious "Mrs. Skinner" (Lupino) who speaks of her (unbeknownst to her, late) husband as "Mr. Skinner" (McLiam) and a pair of coworkers, one of which is to (GASP) profit off a white goo pumping from the ground that caused all creatures to grow to huge proportions.

(To speak like the villains in the first Scream movie: Horror Movie Rule #156b – Do NOT trust any bubbling white substance coming up from the ground. The Stuff – 'Enuff Said.) The main enemy, is the rats, but there's worms, wasps and chickens to add to the tension. But, let's think about this: who's the real enemy here? Are we being punished for polluting the Earth? Eh, that's their message at any rate.

Spend the rest of the movie laughing at their lines, their driving and rats climbing on a miniature house just for kicks. One of the funniest scenes in the "climax" is a rat's trying to get into the room and a character's shutting the door on its head. It almost matched the JAWS spoof, Land Shark, from Saturday Night Live.

Even though this movie is only allotted one out of five stars, I will admit, the finale (end credits,) though thoroughly predictable – heck, they mention it throughout, including the opening, was rather creepy. That almost granted it an additional ½ star.

I wanted to see this movie again, as I was scared as a child and always had a thing for When Animals Attack movies (SEE: Empire of the Ants and ants!) but this movie is just simply horrible. Maybe a young toddler would be a'runnin', but no adult should be subjected to this: "You know, I used to think about dying a lot. I'd lie there in bed at night in the dark; I guess I've always had a fear of it. I'd used to fantasize the most horrible deaths. You know the most frightening. None of them come close to being eaten by a rat!"

Not My Idea Of A Good Time

[boblipton · 4/10 · 2 February 2021]

Marjoe Gortner and associates battle giant rats in this movie directed by Bert I. Gordon for AIP.

It's not that bad for what it tries to be, even if it's not to my taste. Gortner has, apparently, learned how to act beneath his curly, perfect wig, but he only seems to come alive when he is sermonizing. Your idea of good cinema may involve Ida Lupino being gnawed to death by a rat larger than she is, but it's not mine; hence my poor opinion. On the other hand, the giant puppets are very good. That's probably due to an uncredited Rick Baker.

Those Chickens Tried To Kill Me

[Theo Robertson · 4/10 · 7 May 2017]

As a child I do remember reading HG Wells novel THE FOOD OF THE GOODS . I can't remember much about it apart from a few giant chickens running amok and heavy political satire. Round about the same time a film version was trailed on television but there was no way I could see it because the local Rothesay cinema had just closed and the film was an X certificate which meant I was far too young to be allowed in to a cinema showing. When the video era came in to being circa the early 80s didn't recall it being available on home video and unlike other adaptations of Wells work it seems forgotten almost as it never existed in the first place.

One good thing about living in 2017 is it's very easy tracking movies down so gave this movie a go Well to be fair to the producers they have got a couple of things right. One is human arrogance digging itself a grave which is often motivated by a greedy elite. Of course the downside is that these people are painted in very broad strokes and are far from three dimensional people you'd meet in the real world. There's also gaps in internal logic in that the mutated giant animals going on a rampage are confined to three types of animals namely rats , wasps and chickens . What about other wild mammals , birdlife or arachnids ?

To be fair there is some very lowbrow enjoyment watching a film where the hero is almost pecked to death by a giant chicken then complaining "These chickens tried to kill me" I'd be very upset too if it happened to me. And if that's not bad enough he ends up stuck in a shack with giant hungry rats outside. In short THE FOOD OF THE GODS almost satisfies a hunger for brainless fun. Almost

Giant animals attack humans!

[shuz · 6/10 · 2 October 1998]

For some unknown reason, this movie is one of my guilty pleasures. It is a bad movie I can't get enough of. Watching Ida Lupino screech as a giant plastic worm chews on her arm was a camp moment unlike any other. A giant chicken takes out some townsfolk, as do giant rats and giant wasps. All of this happens because the animals eat what appears to be hot marshmallow creme gurgling out of the earth. The special effects are from what appears to be the caveman era, but it is still fun to watch. Another movie that could almost work if remade with today's special effects (and a major script overhaul).

Just as bad as it's reputation suggests!

[The_Void · 4/10 · 16 September 2007]

There are two types of bad films: bad films that are fun and somehow end up being good, and bad films that are no fun and only manage to be crap. Given the plot line, this bad film really should have belonged to the former group; but somehow it doesn't manage it and ends up being a part of the latter. Quite how a film about ravenous, over-sized animals could be so boring escapes me, but somehow director Bert I. Gordon has managed to make it so. The film is based on a story by the great H.G. Wells, and while I haven't read it, I think it's safe to say that The Food of the Gods is a lot better on paper than it is on screen! The plot focuses on a group of friends who go hunting on a Canadian island. It's not long before they are attacked by a group of wasps, but they're not just any wasps - they're giant aggressive wasps! One of their number is killed by the wasps, so the friends go looking for help, when they come upon a barn inhabited by giant chickens! It's not long before they put two and two together and realise that something funny is going on - shortly before they meet the most dangerous creature on the island, the rats...

Giant animal films don't tend to be high quality, and this one does nothing to buck that trend. Most of the action is unexciting, and when you've got people battling giant animals - that really shouldn't be the case! The special effects are decent in places, the rat attack looks decent enough considering that this is a very low quality film, but some of the effects look terrible and the gore isn't any good either. The plot is fairly basic and there isn't much explanation for anything, which is a shame as the story basically just lays out it's stall (a load of white goo trickling down the side of the mountain) and lets the giant creatures take it from there; but the giants aren't enough to keep things entertaining, and the film fails for that reason. It becomes hard to care about anything shortly after the film starts, and that doesn't get any better as it moves on. Probably quite unsurprisingly, I wasn't impressed at all with The Food of the Gods, and that's a shame as this could have been quite decent if it had been handled better. I can't really recommend wasting time with this film - shiny new DVD release or not!

Good Bert I Gordon material

[searchanddestroy-1 · 8/10 · 16 July 2022]

Bert I Gordon made movies with his wife, as Andrew Stone did, but for another kind of features. Gordon was not a great director in the monster genre, unlike Jack Arnold or Nathan Juran; he had his fifties period and his sixties - seventies one. This one is rather good, as EMPIRE OF THE ANTS was too, though maybe at a lesser scale. Good camera work, atmosphere, and don't forget that there was no CGI at this time. It is thrilling, entertaining. Good job; there were batches of craps in those seventies era, far far worse than this movie. Poor Ida Lupino in such a film, who she was the first female director in Hollywood, in the early fifties, and for daring subjects, not just silly comedies. This Bert Gordon stuff has some ecological elements, but far lousier than John Frankenheimer's PROPHECY with which there is no comparison anyway. But good ending for this Bert Gordon's movie; a true horror film ending; open ending.

Amusing nonsense.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 29 June 2014]

In this adaptation of a portion of H.G. Wells's "The Food of the Gods", a strange substance bubbles up out of the Earth and causes giantism in forms of animal life including wasps, chickens, worms, and rats. Among the unlucky people caught up in this invasion of plus- sized critters are football player Morgan (Marjoe Gortner), his teams' P.R. man Brian (Jon Cypher), expectant couple Thomas (Tom Stovall) and Rita (Belinda Balaski), pathologically greedy opportunist Bensington (Ralph Meeker) and his associate Lorna (Pamela Franklin), and farm woman Mrs. Skinner (Ida Lupino).

You gotta love him; veteran film director Bert I. Gordon was *still* relying on his favourite movie theme of large menaces at this point in time. This effort is ultimately dumb, silly, and sloppy, but just like many bad B movies, it's not without appeal, especially when it comes to supposed shock scenes (that chicken attack scene early on in the movie is a riot). The special effects, as one will expect, are for the most part none too convincing. The acting is variable; Gortner is likable as always as the hero. Veterans Lupino and Meeker had certainly been in much better films, but they're as solid as ever. Meeker is particularly funny in a very one note and sleazy portrayal. The lovely Ms. Balaski does well as the young mother to be who feels no need to marry the father of her baby. Gordon does generate some atmosphere from the surroundings; this was filmed on location in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

One thing's for sure: this will rub many animal rights activists the wrong way.

Six out of 10.

The GODS cannot be happy with this one...

[JasparLamarCrabb · 2/10 · 14 January 2006]

Some kind of mysterious liquid is making animals grow to humongous size. They soon starting attacking humans. Eventually, rats become the dominant species. FOOD OF GODS is bad even by director Bert I. Gordon standards. The visual effects are unrelentingly awful but they take a backseat to the woeful acting of the undistinguished cast. You know you're in for it when the hero is played by none other than Marjoe Gortner, an actor who is creepy even when he's playing it straight. What's more depressing, the fact that this garbage was even made or the fact that screen legend Ida Lupino was reduced to appearing in stuff like this near the end of her career? Based on the novel by H.G. Wells, who must have rolled over in his grave. Like you, he too would surely be rooting for the animals in this mess.