Son of Kong (1933)

The Son of Kong (also known and publicized simply as Son of Kong) is a 1933 American Pre-Code adventure monster film produced by RKO Pictures. Directed by Ernest Schoedsack and featuring special effects by Willis O’Brien and Buzz Gibson, the film stars Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack and Frank Reicher. The film is the sequel to King Kong, being released just nine months after and is the second entry of the King Kong franchise.

via Wikipedia

If I had to sum up this film it would be: Carl Denham’s redemption arc.

In the aftermath of King Kong’s demise there was a lot of death and destruction and it was all pinned on the man who brought Kong back from Skull Island. So in true Denham fashion, he skips the country to avoid his debts and lawsuits.

Eventually he winds up meeting with the man who gave him the map to Skull Island (and well, he’s not much better) who lies to get himself off that country because he murdered a man. He tells Carl there is treasure on Skull Island.

Well, you can probably see where this all headed, except a girl Carl met stows away on their boat for added intrigue.

This complex group of characters do eventually make it to Skull Island where more chaos ensues. The natives are angry, the wildlife is angry, and the crew is angry. And, like the title says, they meet Little Kong on Skull Island.

I’ve said this before: traditional horror movies don’t end well, and while this is true for most of the characters in this movie Carl Denham does finally redeem himself – though it is never explained if he went back to New York or not.

I did enjoy this movie more than the first because of that redemption arc, and that it put a final ending between the two movies.

My Ranking: ★ ★ ★