Tuesday night, I had the privilege of viewing a 35mm print of director Ishiro Honda’s iconic, 1954 version of GODZILLA at the Alamo Ritz. Since this special SXSW screening was hosted by Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, rumor was that the advertised event was just a ruse to show an early cut of Gareth Edwards’ upcoming GODZILLA reboot.

This was not the case. However, Toho Co.’s Japanese original is the single, most tragic, horror film I’ve ever seen, and experiencing it on the big screen had been a priority since I learned it would be at SXSW (it was gonna be win/win for me either way). That may sound strange to readers who only know Godzilla, in passing, as a gargantuan lizard who went head to head with King Kong, Mothra and Matthew Broderick; but that’s what makes the original film so unique in the pantheon of Japanese monster movies. With its noiry, black and white cinematography, you could take out the rubber dinosaur, and the cataclysmic carnage would look like documentary footage from any number of war zones or natural disasters. After all, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki occurred only nine years earlier, and were no doubt still fresh in the filmmaker’s minds.

After the movie ended to thunderous applause, 2014’s GODZILLA director Gareth Edwards was brought to the stage to introduce his latest trailer and give his Austin audience a special treat: a chance to see an extended sequence from the new movie. Edwards assured the crowd the film was still a work in progress, and mentioned that composer Alexandre Desplat had only scored the scene the day before.

The sequence begins at a Hawaiian beach resort. Something’s amiss as the water drifts from the shore, leaving piles of dead fish in the muddy sand.

Suddenly, an apocalyptic tidal wave builds as we see the big G’s spiky vertebrae emerge from the Pacific.

From an aircraft carrier, Ken Watanabe’s character looks on with horror at the sight of Playstation 1-era CGI/Godzilla making his way to the shore. Once there, the King of the Monsters does what he does best, leveling anything that stands, and flooding the town which forces the power to go out. Rooftop soldiers blast away at his thick, scaly skin, but you can guess how much good that does.

Meanwhile, Aaron Taylor-Johnson ’s character is on a train, comforting a little boy. The lights come on, and a break in the score indicates all is well… until the train is snipped in half by a NEW CHALLENGER!

This new kaiju resembles some cross-pollination between a bat and a mantis, while looking like he’d fit right in with the rest of his Toho cousins. Of course Godzilla is having none of that and steps up to the plate for what I’m sure will be an monstrously epic throwdown.

Godzilla roars.

I admit that I’m not easily won over by most trailers/movie clips since I realize it’s easy to take an expensive, two hour movie and cut out a really awesome two minute ad. That said, this footage managed to include the sense of dread dripping throughout the original film and lead up to some classic, Toho-style, monster on monster action. Any film, that can seemingly mix the tone of 1954 Godzilla with some updated action from the later crossover entries has earned my anticipation.

During the Q&A, I asked Edwards if the film was a sequel to the 1954 film like the trailer implies. The director denied this and said he was trying to make a film for a new generation who had never seen the originals; but he would include plenty of references for the die-hard fans. I was fortunate enough to chat with Gareth afterwards, and he confirmed that a second monster had been planned since early on in development. For him, and perhaps Toho, who he says was very hands-on with the production, it was expected for Godzilla to fight another big baddie. For the hardcore fans, reps handed out buttons, special shirts and free Mondo posters for the upcoming film in the lobby. This all made for a monstrously memorable night.

Gareth Edwards and our Ryan Bijan at the GODZILLA 2014 footage screening.

An epic rebirth to Toho’s iconic Godzilla, this spectacular adventure pits the world’s most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity’s scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.

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