King Kong (1933)

When you think of what makes up a horror movie, the first thing that generally comes to mind is something along the lines of blood, guts and gore, not necessarily a gigantic gorilla. But that, friends, is the great thing about King Kong -- it's not a horror movie in the traditional sense. Sure, at first glance Kong appears to be just another hirsute monster wreaking havoc on the big screen, but he's not so much a creature of destruction as he is a misunderstood beast provoked to unleash aggression in order to live up to an image of being a beastly eighth wonder of the world. Looking back, the special effects of the 1933 film may pale in comparison to the modern-day wizardry seen in Peter Jackson's update. However, director Merian C. Cooper certainly deserves recognition for paving the way for future special effects spectacles like Jurassic Park -- not to mention the creature-feature in general.

King Kong explores the soul of a monster -- making audiences scream and cry throughout the film -- in large part due to Kong's breakthrough special effects.

While shooting a jungle movie on the remote Skull Island, filmmaker Denham and his crew stumble upon a prehistoric world populated by dinosaurs and giant snakes. The most dangerous and magnificent of all...

Digg	del.icio.us