The Food of the Gods story

movie: The Food of the Gods (1976) · 1976-06-18

Food mysteriously bubbles up from the ground on a remote island somewhere in British Columbia. Mr. and Mrs. Skinner consider it a gift from God, and feed it to their chickens, which grow larger than humans as a result. Rats, wasps, and grubs also consume the substance, and the island becomes infested with giant vermin. This film is loosely based on a portion of the H. G. Wells novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth.

9 total · 5 major · 4 minor

ThemeLevelMotivation
boyfriend and girlfriend major Rita and Thomas.
expecting parents major Rita and Thomas were expecting a child.
human vs. beast major A swarm of giant rats nearly as big as horses, giant chickens, giant flesh-eating grubs, giant wasps - this film had it all.
nature's revenge major The story dialog made clear that the giant, hostile creatures were brought about as a punishment for the sins humanity had committed against Nature.
romantic love major Rita and Thomas were a loving couple. Morgan and Lorna fell for one another while the giant rats were besieging their cabin.
greed for riches minor Jack was collecting the pale green goop that was oozing up out of the earth with the intention of selling it for millions, while everyone else was desperately trying to figure out how to stop the giant animals from killing everyone.
organized religion minor A farm lady was adamant that the goop coming up out of the ground that she was feeding to her chickens was a gift from the Lord on high.
selfishness minor Jack Bensington's lab assistant called him the most selfish man in the world to his face after he neglected to pick up a panicked pregnant woman who was on the roadside flagging down people for help.
the difficulty of picking a name for a baby minor Thomas wanted to name Rita and his baby after himself, but Rita was lukewarm on the idea.