Remembering The'70s: THE FOOD of the GODS (1976)

Released the year of my birth this would make The Food of the Gods (1976) thirty-four years old and it took me this long to finally get around to seeing the film. This is surprising considering I saw it's 1989 sequel Gnaw: Food of the Gods Part 2 when it first came out but I never got around to watching the original considering I actually enjoyed the sequel. Although this film is slightly dated due to the out of date SFX, the film still holds its own as a science fiction horror film.

On an island isolated from the rest of the world (it seems) a famer and his wife are gifted with an unusual substance that bubbles up from the Earth's core and has the effect of enormous growth in anything that eats it. When the substance gets into the food supply of the wild life it causes chickens to become huge and wasps to become killing machines with only one bite, and worms to become carnivorous but the most dangerous effect is that it causes the island's rat population to become a ferocious pack of killing machines. Thrown into the mess is a couple of football players trying to get away from the stress of life and a promoter and his scientist associate who want to exploit the substance for profit. Trapped on the island they all must band together in order to survive against a continually growing threat.

The film's success hinges on the suburb casting and the fact that they all play the film seriously and not tongue in cheek (which is a danger considering how out of date the SFX are). The film has its faults which are usually when the actors are in the same scene with the giant animals. Despite this it still has an '70s charm and will be a favorite for lovers of older style cult films.