The Food of the Gods

Play trailer

The Food of the Gods

PG

1976

1h 28m

Horror

Sci-Fi

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

18%

Tomatometer

17 Reviews

25%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

When a strange edible substance appears on a remote island, local farmer Mr. Skinner (John McLiam) and his wife (Ida Lupino) deem it a blessing and feed it to their farm animals. Soon other wildlife such as rodents and insects have eaten the food, which makes anything that consumes it grow in size. These gigantic beasts start terrorizing the island, with an athlete named Morgan (Marjoe Gortner) among those who are fighting for their lives against the gargantuan creatures.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Oct 23, 2004

1/4

What happens next is a cross between Night of the Living Dead, The Birds and a disaster movie, if you follow me.

Go to Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Jan 2, 2026

1/4

This adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel is one of the greats -- and by greats, I mean so unspeakably awful that it needs to be witnessed at least once in a lifetime.

Go to Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Aug 29, 2022

4/10

The most memorable aspects of this fast-paced, mediocrely-acted, moderately-exciting endeavor are the 150-pound rats, amusingly portrayed every so often by colossal, fake heads and appendages.

Go to Full Review

Dustin Putman

TheBluFile.com

May 21, 2015

1/4

A flagrant disregard for animals' rights—all for the purposes of a schlocky B-movie—gives "The Food of the Gods" a nasty, unclean stench that steals away whatever fun there is to be had.

Go to Full Review

John Beifuss

Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Feb 16, 2011

3/4

Back in her glory days at Warner Bros., Ida Lupino never could have imagined that a movie role would require her to wring her hands, bug her eyes and make this fervent prayer: 'I won't never sin again, never. Only don't let no rat eat us, please, God!'

Go to Full Review

Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

Feb 17, 2008

2/5

Schlocky, schlocky sci-fi/horror, circa 1976. And it stars Marjoe Gortner. Say more?

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

B P

@Bradster69 1 day ago

Not Bad, but Not My Favorite

See more

Joaquin U

@Joaquin1 Jul 26, 2026

Barely entertaining, mostly a failure. Putting aside the dated and cheap special effects, the script is terrible. The acting is abysmal—not because there aren’t some decent actors, but because the direction is a crime against cinema (and a crime against nature). Gortner has less range than a white sheet of paper, and his character is the lousiest hero ever. I give it one star, only because it might be hilarious for someone with the right kind of smoking material.

See more

George M

@Milkyway Oct 24, 2025

I saw this on a double feature with the equally silly (but well cast as this one) Empire of the Ants. Many reviewers are unnecessarily harsh. When one sees BERT I. GORDON on any film, if you're expecting anything other than entertaining silliness and mostly poor SFX, the viewer should just move on. Yes, this is a silly film. But, compared to ANYTHING made for the SyFy Channel (one of the dumbest abbreviations in history. Anyone else remember when the SCIFI channel, then privately owned was far superior to today?) by the Asylum, this is a masterpiece. It's fast, wastes no time in getting to the point, and, it's fun. It deserves better and more honest reviewers.

See more

Thomas E

@RT52014130 Mar 28, 2025

Good god! This isn't food- its vomit. The gods themselves are sickened.

See more

Mike W

@MikeW269 Mar 14, 2025

It is a waste of time, move on to another.

See more

John W

@RT80415060 Feb 19, 2025

Junk but fairly watchable junk. Passed a bit of time. Special effects compared to today's are laughable but acting decent and with a little imagination from the viewer added, not too bad. Can't see under 40's being impressed though!

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Bert I. Gordon

Director

Marjoe Gortner

Morgan

Pamela Franklin

Lorna

Ralph Meeker

Bensington

Ida Lupino

Mrs. Skinner

Jon Cypher

Brian

Kingdom of the Spiders

55%

37%

Kingdom of the Spiders

Watchlist

Sssssss

30%

25%

Sssssss

Watchlist

Prophecy

35%

36%

Prophecy

Watchlist

Swamp Thing

62%

40%

Swamp Thing

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Swamp Thing

Meteor

5%

14%

Meteor

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

When a strange edible substance appears on a remote island, local farmer Mr. Skinner (John McLiam) and his wife (Ida Lupino) deem it a blessing and feed it to their farm animals. Soon other wildlife such as rodents and insects have eaten the food, which makes anything that consumes it grow in size. These gigantic beasts start terrorizing the island, with an athlete named Morgan (Marjoe Gortner) among those who are fighting for their lives against the gargantuan creatures.

Director: Bert I. Gordon
Producer: Bert I. Gordon
Screenwriter: Bert I. Gordon
Production Co: American International Pictures (AIP)
Rating: PG
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 18, 1976, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 28m

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings