Bert I. Gordon (1922-2023) was kind of a wunderkind, creating sci-fi and B-horror movies with often low-budgets. He was also a special-effects wizard (for better or worse) who put his skills to the test. Despite its not-so-good critical reputation, his 1976 goofy cult classic The Food of the Gods (supposedly based on the H.G. Wells) remains one of his most successful. It’s another one of those silly but entertaining ’70s “nature attacks” flicks with an environmental message.
Buy The Food of the Gods (Special Edition) Blu-rayThe plot (just like other schlock movies of the ’70s) is pretty simple. A mysterious milky-white substance has bubbled onto the ground on an isolated Canadian island (it was filmed in British Columbia) where an elderly couple (film legend Ida Lupino and John McLiam) consider it a “gift” from God, so they feed it to their chickens, which makes them grow to outrageous size. Of course, the gift becomes a horrible curse as other animals (especially rats) get to the substance and grow into bloodthirsty beasts. And as expected, danger comes to the couple (along with visitors played by Marjoe Gortner, Pamela Franklin, Jon Cypher, Ralph Meeker, and Belinda Balaski).
Obviously, the effects (consisting of giant chicken heads, worms, wasps, and rats) aren’t always convincing, but that’s what makes this one so much fun. There’s also the sight of Lupino with a meat cleaver battling a giant rat that makes it even more watchable. You have to respect the actors for getting through it all with a straight face and Gordon trying to do what he can with his effects and direction. And the ludicrous but eerie ending with schoolchildren drinking milk (with what’s left of the “food of the gods”) that has to be seen to be believed. All of that does create one of the niftier midnight movies; one that suggests not to accept all things as gifts.
Special features include audio commentary by film historians Lee Gambin and John Harrison; audio commentary by writer/producer/director Bert I. Gordon; interview with Balaski; theatrical trailer/TV & radio spots; and trailers for other ’70s B-movies such as Frogs, Squirm, Kingdom of the Spiders, and Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw.
