10 Great Modern Monster Movies
One of our favorite things to do on site is to engage with our readers and ask you what your favorite films are. We recently asked our readers what your favorite modern monster movies were and we were bombarded with hundreds upon hundreds of answers.
This post is sponsored by the DVD release of CREATURE starring Mehcad Brooks Serinda Swan, Aaron Hill, and and Sid Haig, CREATURE pays homage to the creature feature and slasher movies of the 1980s. The film tells the tale of the “Lockjaw” – part man, part alligator. When a group of friends on a road trip to New Orleans stumbles upon the mythical monster, “Lockjaw” unleashes an unforeseen terror, destroying everything in its path. CREATURE will be available on DVD March 20th
So without any further ado or fanfare lets get right to and list the 10 Best Modern Monster Movies….. lets do this!
#10) Splinter
Toby Wilkin is an incredibly talented director and an all around nice guy which is both pretty rare in Hollywood. Where most filmmakers and writers are busy stroking their own egos Toby Wilkins was busy making a truly fantastic monster movie that pays hommage to the long history of great classic monster movies.
SPLINTER is the closest thing to a modern day THE THING you can get and put the recent The Thing remake to shame. Its pitiful CGI special effects were no match for Splinters outstanding use of traditional practical FX. In an era where Hollywood is busy remaking and rebooting everything it is such a shame that people like Toby Wilkins get overlooked. Splinter is one of the 10 best sci-fi horror films of all time.
Trapped in an isolated gas station by a voracious Splinter parasite that transforms its still living victims into deadly hosts, a young couple and an escaped convict must find a way to work together to survive this primal terror.
#9) FEAST
FEAST is one of the true gems of modern monster movies and was part of HBO’s Project Greenlight which I am sure most of you still remember. FEAST is the definition of a truly fantastic indie monster movie. It was funny, brutal and action packed while offering a unique and truly engaging story.
Every modern filmmaker can look to FEAST as an example of what to do right in making a monster movie! It is also a prime demonstration that big name stars and budgets mean nothing to the end quality of a film. With a cast of unknown actors and a mediocre budget FEAST is nothing short of genius.
The bad news is that FEAST managed to spawn some of the worst sequels of all time. How such a talented team managed to make such an awesome movie and so many terrible sequels is beyond me.
#8) Neil Marshall’s The Descent
Neil Marshall is legendary for his work on Dog Soldiers and The Descent is one of the great modern monster movies. There are very few directors that are true masters of Horror but Neil Marshall is definitely one of them. From Dog Soldiers to The Descent and Doomsday his work speaks for itself.
I have always had a serious phobia of close quarters and you would be more likely to see me fight a polar bear with a wooden spoon before I would go in a cave. Needless to say The Descent touched a nerve with me since its based deep underground in caves as a group of female cavers encounter something far worse then bats and must find their way out.
Synposis: A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.
#7 Slither
I have always been a sucker for horror comedies and when you throw in a malicious space alien all the better! The only thing better then a horror comedy is a horror comedy that is as polished and as well produced as SLITHER was.
Slither stars two fantastic leads in the form of Elizabeth Banks and Nathan Fillion but the cast in general all deliver truly stand out performances and show that Hollywood has it wrong, it does not have to be all about big boobs and nice teeth.
Slither is one of the best horror movies of the last decade and can easily be called one of the Best horror Comedies of all time.
This film goes to show that horror can be funny without being a laugh out loud b-fest and still be truly gruesome! Splinter is based in a small town which is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters
#6 The Host
I have in the last 10 years found a new found passion for foreign horror and The Host is one of the greatest foreign monster movies. Its pretty much a mix of Jurassic Park meets Jaws. Why the mix?
Well Jaws struck terror into the heart of surfers, swimmers and boaters. The Host strikes terror into everyone when it decides that staying in the water is for chumps and heads on shore to find dinner!
In The Host a monster emerges from Seoul’s Han River and focuses its attention on attacking people. One victim’s loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches. The Host is frankly everything that I had hoped Cloverfield would be.
#5 Jeepers Creepers
I have always been a fan of Justin Long and combined with the directorial talents of Victor Salva Jeepers Creepers is one of the greatest modern monster movies.
The film has alot of controversy around it because of the director but regardless you can not deny that Jeepers Creepers is a truly fantastic film. it is not very often that a director and writer are able to breath new life into a monster but The Creeper is definitely that.
Synopsis: A brother and sister driving home for spring break encounter a flesh-eating creature in the isolated countryside that is on the last day of its ritualistic eating spree.
#4 Cloverfield
Say what you will about Cloverfield there is no denying that it generated massive buzz and was a huge hit. JJ Abrams re-invented the found footage movie with his monster flick.
This movie was as much a marketing juggernaut as it was a box office smash hit. The studio used a very unique viral campaign to not just promote the film but make us practically beg them to take our money and let us see it. In the end its shaky cam made me want to puke but it was still a hit with many.
Cloverfield revolves around a monster attack in New York as told from the point of view of a small group of people.
#3 The Mist
Stephen Kings The Mist is one of those movies you either love or you hate but for me it was a monumental monster movie with one of the best ‘holy sh*t’ moments in a film ever.
Stephen King has a history of really bad film adaptations of his work but he has also had some truly great ones. The Stand mini series I have seen no less then 30 times, The Shining goes without saying and for me you can add The Mist to the list of great movies from the King.
Synopsis: A freak storm unleashes a species of blood-thirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole-up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.
#2 Black Sheep
Packed full of funny cliches involving Sheep Black Sheep is one of the funnniest horror movies to come out of Europe since Shaun of the Dead.
What can you not love about a movie that is about a sheep farmer with higher intentions? What starts out as a plan to make the ultimate sheep turns into a woodland nightmare when the sheep get a hankering for Human Flesh and go on a rampage. What do you do when you combine thousands of sheep with a hand full of animal activists and scientists? One hell of a fun blood bath!
Synopsis: An experiment in genetic engineering turns harmless sheep into blood-thirsty killers that terrorize a sprawling New Zealand farm.
#1 Troll Hunter
I had serious doubts about the value of Troll Hunter. A found footage movie about Trolls? I thought the premise was completely ridiculous and had taken the popular found footage genre to a new level… a new low that is.
Unfortunately Troll Hunter shows that I am not perfect and at times my judgement is very much misplaced. Surprisingly Troll Hunter really works and I can say it is not only one of my favorite found footage films but it is also one of my Top 10 Foreign horror films.
Synopsis: A group of students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter.
This ends our list of the 10 Best Modern Monster movies. Which ones are your favorites? More importantly which ones did we overlook? Sound off in the comments.
