Peter Jackson’s King Kong is Pulp Perfection

Pulp is king. I mean, who doesn’t love a solid pulp action/adventure story? Traveling to exotic locations. Punching nazis. Discovering ancient artifacts and civilizations that harbor some sort of dark secret that could destroy the world. These types of escapades are endlessly fun when done right: Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Rocketeer. The Mummy. And, of course, Peter Jackson’s King Kong. 

Some readers likely rolled their eyes at that last pick. “Really?” they might say. “The schmaltzy movie that takes way too long to get to the island and then has a bunch of random tonal shifts? Bah humbug to that!” King Kong (2005), on the contrary, is a great movie that deserves to be held in the same regard as Jackson’s other works. And all those “bugs” are, in fact, features of the pulp genre.

Pulp started out as exploitive and cheap storytelling in magazines back in the early 1900s. The point was to grab the attention of possible readers with stories that would shock, terrify, and/or amaze them. You’ve seen the covers: Burly men. Gorgeous damsels in distress. Horrific (and offensive) images. The works. 

The original 1933 King Kong is a prime example of the genre. The most famous image is a massive ape on the Empire State Building carrying a screaming blonde woman as biplanes try to shoot it down. You can’t get much pulpier than that.

There are two other notable adaptations of Kong during the 20th century, most famously King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) from the legendary Japanese studio Toho. Interestingly enough, however, this adaptation is more of a critique of Japan’s obsession with sensational television and wrestling than a typical pulp adventure. The other major entry was the 1976 King Kong starring Jessica Lange and Jeff Bridges, which went for a more grounded take on the story. It wasn’t until Peter Jackson was given the opportunity to remake his favorite film that we got back to those original pulp roots.

It makes sense King Kong would be the favorite film of the guy who gave us Brain Dead and The Frighteners. Jackson’s early movies hit those key points of pulp—from using a lawnmower to rip through a crowd of the undead to a zombie sex scene, to a whole movie about the ghost of an executed criminal killing the living to be just like his serial killer idols. Heck, Jackson even gets pulpy in the Lord of the Rings trilogy at points (like Bilbo’s nightmarish “GRAH” face). But with the King Kong project put in his lap, he’s finally able to go all out like he did in his indie days.

In Jackson’s own words, he wanted to make his King Kong a “mysterious adventure.” After sifting through the behind the scenes materials and interviews, however, it’s more accurate to say that he wanted to pay tribute to the film he saw as a kid. He talks in the behind-the-scenes featurettes about how impactful and emotional the first watch of the 1933 classic was to him. And, Jackson’s style being what it is, he’d go above and beyond to sell every element in his adaptation. Instead of mild scares he gives us spine-tingling horrors; goofy comedic moments as opposed to simple jokes strewn about for the hell of it; and awe-inspiring, memorable visuals that make your jaw drop. Funnily enough, his decisions end up making his King Kong the most pulp movie out of his entire rolodex.

King Kong (2005) starts off in Great Depression-era New York City, where everyone is desperate for a job, cash, and/or meaning. A sly director, Carl Denham (Jack Black), uses this to trick a slew of people into getting on a boat to shoot his movie in Singapore. Things start out fun enough until we learn that Carl isn’t taking them to that locale. For his masterpiece, Denham wants to go to a barely charted piece of land called Skull Island to give it that extra punch. After a brutal landing, however, the crew are immediately attacked by the indigenous people of the island. The native islanders offer Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), the film’s star, as a sacrifice to their very real ape god Kong, who takes her deep into the island for God knows what. With little time on their side, Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), the screenwriter and Ann’s love interest, leads the crew on a  journey into Skull Island to save her.

If you want an obvious example of how pulpy this King Kong adaptation is, look no further than its interpretation of Skull Island. The original destination is a land untouched by evolution, held in place since the time of dinosaurs. It’s designed to feel like you’ve jumped back in time. Peter Jackson knew he had to turn the knob to 11 to pull in a modern audience that had evolved since the ‘30s. Like the classic pulps, Jackson puts us in a treacherous location where you die the instant you think you’re safe. Every tree or dinosaur could snap you in two, and that’s not even mentioning the 25 ft tall ape that rules the place. What freaked people out the most, however, wasn’t the scaly or furry: it was the creepy-crawly.

The crew is in pursuit to save Ann when Kong easily knocks them into a ravine. This is literally the characters’ rock-bottom moment as everything starts to go wrong. The camera filming this entire incursion breaks. Ann gets dragged further into the jungle. And on top of all of that, more creatures attack the crew. These are not, however, fun monsters like the dinosaurs seen earlier. These are oozing, disgusting bugs that slowly start to overtake the heroes. The situation is a nightmare as hope of escape slowly dwindles when each character is taken out in a manner more gruesome than the last. We’re definitely concerned as Andy Serkis (playing side character Lumpy in addition to the eponymous Kong) gets swallowed whole by some weird slug thing. We definitely feel the fear when they run out of bullets. So when Coach Taylor (aka Kyle Chandler playing actor Bruce Baxter) swings in to save the day, we feel that much more relieved.

And that’s the trick Jackson learned early on from pulp stories: you don’t always need to be subtle. In the previous scene especially, the subtext is just text. The characters are at the lowest point, so they go to the lowest point of the island. Jackson knows that, sometimes, you just need to turn the dial up. And that’s okay! Not every narrative needs to keep you guessing about the hidden depths. Sometimes it feels good to lay it all out without holding back.

When a writer doesn’t hold back, however, that also means you’re going to witness some wild tone shifts throughout a story. Sometimes it'll be comedic and then sad and then epic and then sad again and then comedic again and so on. The first 15 minutes of the film, for example, show Ann Darrow losing her livelihood in a heartbreaking tale right next to Carl Denham in a wacky race to outrun the cops before he gets arrested. Some people may be turned off by such shifts in mood. 

Jackson’s Kong could be seen as too many different tones and genres crashing against each other all at once. But with pulp, these aren’t flaws. They’re features that should be embraced to get the full experience. In other words, this is a rollercoaster, not a gentle walk through a garden. 

The last act of the film perfectly embodies this concept. Those final 45 minutes show everything from dastardly studio executives being devilishly evil to the heartbreaking tragedy of Kong falling to his death. The ride between these points is meant to feel overwhelming. This is a larger than life, epic story made by a guy who embraced pulp early on. So put your hands up and yell “wooooo!”, because the minute you do you’re in for one hell of a ride with all the highs and lows that come with the genre.

If it’s been a while since you’ve watched Jackson’s King Kong, especially if you didn’t hold it in high regard before, give it another watch. Allow yourself to be taken on a journey and don’t fight the cheese. Long live the King. And long live pulp.