Godzilla in the Horror Universe: GODZILLA

Every Friday I will be posting here an excerpt from my book, the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia.  These excerpts will be entries from the book featuring some of my favorite series, often series you might not expect to find in a book about horror crossovers.  

GODZILLA (FILM)

Release Date: November 3, 1954 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: Godzilla

The Story: Atomic testing in the pacific raises a monster who terrorizes Tokyo.

Notes: The Japanese name for the creature is Gojira. Godzilla is the Americanized version. The U.S. adaption of this film added some American elements, but for Horror Universe purposes both are the same event. Like with the War of the Worlds and King Kong, the events of this film must have been minimized by world governments and secret organizations after the fact. This Godzilla is killed at the end of the movie, and the first sequel makes it clear that…