The Food of the Gods

1976 "Welcome to the Bottom of the Food Chain!"
4.6| 1h28m| PG| en
Details

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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American International Pictures

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Reviews

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!
Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.
Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Julian R. White I had a lot of problems with this film, mostly because its nowhere near what you'd expect. The "Food" that is causing all of the animals to grow to incredible sizes affects Bees, Worms, and other animals on the island. The main threat however, are the giant rats, that prey on humans. The first parts of the film are pretty good, but after the halfway point, the film tends to drag itself out a bit. Don't get me wrong, this movie is way better than some of the other giant rat movies I've seen, playing on the natural fear of rodents. What makes it worse is that it is psychologically trying (but telling you why would include spoilers).
imdaveysmom 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.
BA_Harrison 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!).
Lloyd Hansen 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.....