Japan’s first homemade Godzilla movie since Shin Godzilla takes the King of All Kaiju back to the darkest hours of the 20th century for the nation in an epic, horrifying, and brutally sincere examination of post-war Japan. Just as unflinching in its politics as its predecessor, Minus One stands out in contrast with its exploration of ordinary people in the face of Godzilla’s threat, rather than governmental agencies.

And what a threat it is: Godzilla himself has never looked so brutal and unyielding as he does here, a fitting blend of retro aesthetics evoking his man-in-a-suit roots with a presence that feels like less of a beast and more of a force of nature, the fears of the atomic age made flesh and blood. A monster movie with bite, in more ways than one.