The Food of the Gods (1976)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Bert I. Gordon

Writers:

H.G. Wells (portion of novel), Bert I. Gordon (screenplay)

Stars:

Marjoe Gortner, Pamela Franklin, Ralph Meeker

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marjoe Gortner	...	Morgan
Pamela Franklin	...	Lorna
Ralph Meeker	...	Bensington
Jon Cypher	...	Brian
Ida Lupino	...	Mrs. Skinner
John McLiam	...	Mr. Skinner
Belinda Balaski	...	Rita
Tom Stovall	...	Thomas
Chuck Courtney	...	Davis
Reg Tunnicliffe	...	Ferry Attendant

Storyline

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 mobilizing to do battle with the human intruders.

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Plot Keywords:

island | rat | wasp | cabin | actual animal killed | 

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Taglines:

One Taste Is All It Takes!

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Genres:

Sci-Fi | Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 June 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

H.G. Wells' The Food of the Gods

Filming Locations:

Cowan's Point, Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Oversized reproductions of worms, chickens, wasps and rats were used to create the gigantic creature effect. Six different mechanized rat heads and four human-motivated rat costumes were also employed.

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Goofs

When Morgan first meets Mrs. Skinner's Rooster, the legs (from the knees down) are visible of the crewmember wielding the giant chicken head.

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Quotes

Lorna Scott: You don't care about anybody but yourself, do you?
Jack Bensington: Is that what you think of me?
Lorna Scott: I think you're the most selfish man I know.
Jack Bensington: So why do you work for me?
Lorna Scott: Because jobs for female bacteriologists are just not that easy to find, Jack.
Jack Bensington: So who told you to be one?
Lorna Scott: You're a bastard, did you know that?
Jack Bensington: Matter of fact, I do.
[laughs]

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Crazy Credits

Based on a Portion of the Novel By H.G. Wells

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Connections

Edited into Attack of the 50 Foot Monster Mania (1999)

User Reviews

Yeah, it's pretty dumb.

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.