The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review
Golems originate out of Jewish folklore (see Judaism in Fantastic Cinema). The golem is a creature of clay that is brought to life using cabbalistic lore. Legends of the golem date all the way back to the Middle Ages, the most famous being the story of Rabbi Loew of 16th Century Prague who is said to have raised a golem to defend the Jewish ghetto from a pogrom only for the creature to go out of control.
The classic film version was Paul Wegener who starred/directed The Golem (1914), which is lost today, and its follow-up The Golem (1920). There have been several remakes and sporadic appearances of the golem since then. Another variant is the Japanese stone deity Majin.
A remake of the popular 1980s sword and sorcery film that was originally produced by Roger Corman. This version is directed by makeup effects artist Steven Kostanski who fills it with an amazing range of creature effects
A disappointing tv mini-series adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novel, which has been (largely) played as a straight adventure with the usual Pratchett comedy taking a backseat
Classic silent film from the German Expressionist period in which a rabbi brings to life a creature made of clay (played by Paul Wegener), which then proceeds to go amok
From the Paz Brothers who previously made Jeruzalem, a new take on the legend of the golem that offers an interpretation of the idea very different to any previous film version
One of the more unusual Japanese monster movies, one that operates just as much a samurai film, concerning the stone god of a mountain that awakens to defend downtrodden peasants
A Japanese monster movie with a difference. The second in a trilogy of films about a giant stone deity that awakens to defend villagers in trouble
The Scorpion King films are such a low expectation series that it is hard to drum up enthusiasm for a fifth entry. The rehashes stock sword and sorcery cliches and passes its time forgettably