When’s the last time you saw a monster movie and actually cared about the characters – becoming fully invested in their lives and not content to just watch them get trampled underfoot by a 15-story creature? This sneaky little flick from Japan is as solid as they come. Though crafted on a budget of just around $10 million, it has the big-time feel of anything a major studio would drop on us in the summer. But the outstanding visual effects are just part of it – the story is entirely captivating with a rarely-seen depth of emotion and character development… all while a big huge monster still, of course, tramples plenty of people underfoot. 4.5/5 stars
