Of Unknown Origin (1983)

Compared to Leviathan, the second George P. Cosmatos-directed movie with Peter Weller in the lead role, Of Unknown Origin is a more grounded (and slightly less damp) creature feature, one of those edge cases where the “monster” is a regular, everyday animal that just happens to behave in a way that no real animal ever has. But there are other ways to paint a common vermin, in this case a rat, as monstrous other than exploiting common phobias or pure schlocky exaggeration—this is an urban version of man-against-nature, with the central conflict specifically played to Weller’s character, escalating what should have been a normal pest control problem into an obsessive battle to protect his symbols of upward mobility and masculine success. Given that the movie includes its lead character pulling out a copy of Moby-Dick AND watching a film version of “The Old Man and the Sea”, it’s not exactly subtle about the kind of narrative it’s trying to weave.

Leviathan (1989)

Released at the tail end of the eighties, Leviathan followed a string of major projects for Stan Winston—he had worked with Rob Bottin on The Thing, and after opening Stan Winston Studio, crafted the effects for The Terminator, Aliens, and Predator (as well as Invaders From Mars and Pumpkinhead), establishing that team to be the top studio for creature effects in Hollywood. Winston himself was well past his Gargoyles mask-masking days, acting as Producer of Creature Effects alongside his crew, including Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr. (the latter once again tasked with wearing the monster suit), who would move on to Tremors immediately after this. With those in mind, one can’t help but look at Leviathan as a victory lap, the kind of movie that these people could make in their sleep. It doesn’t change the game like Stan Winston Studios prior projects, but it allows them another chance to show why they got those earlier movies in the first place.