Well, you have to give Bert Gordon credit here for at least one thing. As the Iron Man of this picture, he not only directed, produced and wrote the screenplay, but also had a hand in the special visual effects. I hope he was paid well for his efforts.As for the picture, boy oh boy, you can't get much cheesier. You know, you couldn't really get a sense of proportion as to how big those killer rats actually were. The one that attacked Mrs. Skinner (Ida Lupino) through the window of her cabin was just as big as she was, while at other times the perspective offered changed with each object they were swarming next to. I guess it doesn't matter for a flick like this, but it was something quite noticeable.Noticeable too was the goofy body spasms of the lead actor Marjoe Gortner. Gosh, what was he tripping on? Watch him when he picks up a rifle at any time to shoot at the attacking rodents, he looked like Elaine in that 'Seinfeld' episode dancing at the party. Really, it was quite embarrassing.As with another Bert Gordon giganto fest from the following year, "Empire of the Ants", this one is riddled with continuity gaffes and mistakes that provide plenty of camp value for the discerning viewer. How about the old dead guy, Mr. Skinner, after he's killed by the rats - his closed eye flutters as the varmints haul him away. Then there's that moment when Morgan (Gortner) and Brian (Jon Cypher) put their rifles away in a wooden crate on the jeep, but when they arrive where the rats are swarming by the river, they pull their weapons directly out of the vehicle.I don't know, there must have been some reason Ida Lupino decided to take part in this monstrosity, one can only guess. Just like Joan Collins showing up in "Empire of the Ants", maybe they needed the money. One can only imagine what they thought of while reading the moronic script - Yeah, this could be a real career changer.And then, right in the middle of the horror fest with the rats, and the fires, and the rats and the flood, and the rats - the gal Lorna (Pamela Franklin) says to Gortner's Morgan - "I want to make love to you". You know, I actually saw that coming and was hoping please, no, that would just be too stupid. But once again, the script didn't let me down.Only one thing left on my mind now which I'm sure nobody can rightfully answer. The container of 'ambrosia' on the counter in Mrs. Skinner's kitchen had the letters 'F.O.T.G.' hand written on a piece of paper stuck to the jar. Why? Did the Skinners literally know that the stuff inside was actually The Food of The Gods?

In 1976 my parents took us kids to see this movie not realizing what we were about to see. I was only six years old and a particular scene is seared into my memory. There was a woman reaching into a cupboard and when she withdrew her hand she had a large cockroach on her arm. Next thing I know my mom puts her hand over my eyes and tells my dad to drive. Forty years later it's still with me.Just recently I was flipping through the channels and low and behold what do I see listed? You guessed it, FOOD OF THE GODS! I had to see what I missed. It's funny how time and age can change your perception. At six I was terrified of big bugs. At forty-six I found the whole thing laughable. I suppose that in 1976 the special effects were decent enough, in this day and age watching a herd of gigantic rats was hilarious. My teenage son and husband couldn't believe that this movie scared me.So if you're looking for a good fright, you should give this movie a pass. However, if all you're looking for is a good time and not wanting to take anything seriously this is the movie for you.

The Food of the Gods 1976 8/10 (on the B-Movie spectrum) H G Wells' work was always very po-faced and dealt with serious sociological issues using plots involving Aliens and Time-Travel and Creatures; the thing was books such as The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine and The Food of the Gods were very well thought out and somewhat convincing.This Arkoff/Gordon film should have had the giant rats as its central focus and dropped the loose adaptation attempt. When the film gets going and the small group of people are under siege from the giant rats the film is impressive. The miniature sets are great and more often than not the super-imposed rats blend in with the surroundings and cast almost seamlessly- to the point where what you are seeing is so clever that you may just take it all for granted.The giant wasps were terrible, reminding me of the grand-finale of "The Black Scorpion" (1957), where huge rampaging scorpions were reduced to basic black matte-work when the Willis O'Brien effects could not be afforded after money ran out.Forgetting about the shadow-wasps there is fun to be had with giant chickens and flesh-eating caterpillars. The rats really are the star of the show, however, and the explosive climax is breath-taking and should keep you on the edge of your seat. I love the earlier "Night of the Lepus" (1972) for its slow motion invasion of giant rabbits, but Bert I Gordon's film shows if you have a sinister animal reach gigantic proportions terrorising a group of actors who can't be asked to do much, the idea can work.I saw a clip of this film in a pub in France when I was a kid 20 years ago and never forgot it. Now I've seen it and had the time of my life with it! Really good film, have a watch of "Night of the Lepus", "Empire of the Ants" and "Prophecy" (1979). I give this 7/10 on the B-Movie spectrum. Class film.

It's hard to criticize a movie like The Food of the Gods. Meaning, it hits every low point: bad acting, cinematography, writing & dialogue, horrible special effects and worst of all, "suspenseful scenes" that literally will make you laugh out loud. Who needs Mystery Science Theater 3000 to make fun of this – just watch it for your own personal amusement.I did. I laughed very hard in spots, from the stilled framed credits to the opening dialogue ("My name is Morgan and I play football. We'd worked our butts off trying' to get it together for the big Sunday game…") to the big COCK fight between our hero and a large COCK. Also, the film pans from close-ups of "giant" rats to an actual sized car to now regular rats attacking a toy car. PRICELESS FX. Don't forget the TIDAL WAVE and wasps. Heck, the only thing (hilariously) convincing were the enlarged worms and even them, not so much.Footballer – American that is…or is it Canadian? – Morgan (Marjoe) is headed to "the country" (or in human terms, an island) to hunt or whatever male bonding he chooses with his two mates. One of them is inadvertently stung to death by giant wasps. Well, they strike and leave, thankfully, giving our heroes enough time to investigate.They take one of MANY very long trips on the ferry back to shore with their friend's body. Stop. Okay, even at only 88 minutes, this movie drags on far too long. And most of the time was spent, incredibly, on the ferryboat. Did they rent it? And did that take half their budget? But, I digress, for very weak reasons, the two remaining buddies travel back to the island (via ferry, AGAIN) to investigate the death and meet up with both the incredibly hilarious "Mrs. Skinner" (Lupino) who speaks of her (unbeknownst to her, late) husband as "Mr. Skinner" (McLiam) and a pair of coworkers, one of which is to (GASP) profit off a white goo pumping from the ground that caused all creatures to grow to huge proportions.(To speak like the villains in the first Scream movie: Horror Movie Rule #156b – Do NOT trust any bubbling white substance coming up from the ground. The Stuff – 'Enuff Said.) The main enemy, is the rats, but there's worms, wasps and chickens to add to the tension. But, let's think about this: who's the real enemy here? Are we being punished for polluting the Earth? Eh, that's their message at any rate.Spend the rest of the movie laughing at their lines, their driving and rats climbing on a miniature house just for kicks. One of the funniest scenes in the "climax" is a rat's trying to get into the room and a character's shutting the door on its head. It almost matched the JAWS spoof, Land Shark, from Saturday Night Live.Even though this movie is only allotted one out of five stars, I will admit, the finale (end credits,) though thoroughly predictable – heck, they mention it throughout, including the opening, was rather creepy. That almost granted it an additional ½ star.I wanted to see this movie again, as I was scared as a child and always had a thing for When Animals Attack movies (SEE: Empire of the Ants and ants!) but this movie is just simply horrible. Maybe a young toddler would be a'runnin', but no adult should be subjected to this: "You know, I used to think about dying a lot. I'd lie there in bed at night in the dark; I guess I've always had a fear of it. I'd used to fantasize the most horrible deaths. You know the most frightening. None of them come close to being eaten by a rat!"