‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ Director Compares Sequel to a Horror Movie

After five years away from the big screen here in the United States, the most devastating monster in the history of cinema is preparing to tear apart the box office once again. Godzilla: King of Monsters, the highly-anticipated sequel to 2014’s Godzilla, is bringing in all of the classic monsters from the beloved franchise, taking the second installment in the rebooted franchise to even bigger heights. The size and scope of King of Monsters aren’t the only changes being made in this sequel though, as it sounds like this film is moving in a more horrific direction than its predecessor.

During a visit to the set of Godzilla: King of Monsters, ComicBook.com heard from director Mike Dougherty, who teased a new style for his film. While it will remain a big-budget creature feature, it’s also bringing plenty of elements from horror movies to the screen as well.

“I wouldn’t call it a horror movie, there’s definitely horror elements, we’re definitely trying to bring in some of that, definitely going for a lot of suspense, and fear, and tension, and occasionally some gross out moments, the fact that you referenced ‘The Thing’ is fitting,” Dougherty explained. “You know, cause regeneration is one of the things that is also drawn from nature…I’ll leave it at that. Yeah, there’s definitely a little bit more horror to it than I think the previous film had.”

This will almost certainly draw parallels to another popular franchise that made the opposite kind of jump. Ridley Scott’s original Alien film was much more of a tight-knit horror movie, while James Cameron’s sequel focused on the big budget action elements. Although King of Monsters is clearly going to be much bigger than Godzilla, it also seems like it’s going to key in on some smaller, more personal elements of the characters and story, allowing for the horror to creep in.

Are you looking forward to Godzilla: King of Monsters? Let us know in the comments!

Godzilla: King of Monsters is set to hit theaters on May 31st.

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