In the 2010s and beyond, atomic monsters staged a resurgence, not as relics of Cold War panic but as flexible metaphors for a new century of instability. Radiation no longer dominates the genre’s imagination; instead, filmmakers graft its anxieties onto pandemics, climate collapse, genetic engineering, and political paralysis. From intimate, character-driven explorations to blockbuster spectacles, the atomic monster adapted to a fragmented world. Some films reasserted the allegorical weight of the genre, grounding its spectacle in disaster trauma and institutional failure, while others offered globalized mythology. Together, these works reveal how the atomic monster, far from obsolete, remains a barometer for the evolving fears of the 21st century.

FILMS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

Monsters (2010), Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King Of The Monsters (2019), Godzilla Vs. Kong (2021), Shin Godzilla (2016), The Girl with All the Gifts (2016), Rampage (2018), Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/a.darkish.cinema.podcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Email us:

⁠⁠⁠adarkishcinemapodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠

Find our store on Facebook and Instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/ashanddreamsokc⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/ashanddreamsokc/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music:

Waltz Primordial, Galactic Rap, Exit The Premises

By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/