Monsters are the things that nightmares are made of. They are the things that go bump in the night. They are the reason why small children (and perhaps some adults) sleep with the lights on.
I know many of us grew up watching these classic monster movies. I am sure most of them are some of the first horror movies you remember seeing when you were a kid. Remember those days? Staying up past your bedtime on a Saturday night to catch the late show?
Maybe you even had a local horror host introduce it? Anyway, here is my list of 25 Monster Movies that are absolute must sees for any Horror fan. What better way to spend a lazy afternoon than watching a good old fashioned creature feature?
25. Them! (1954)
During the 50s the threat of the cold war and nuclear war created an entirely new sub-genre of monster movies. Big Monster movies were very popular in the 50s. A few examples include The Black Scorpion, Tarantula, and It Came from Beneath the Sea. Them! was one of the most popular of the big bug movies. The story is about a colony of Ants that get irradiated during some early nuclear tests and grow to an enormous size. Yes, the giant rubber Ants seem pretty cheesy now, but Them! is still a really fun film to watch.
24. Humanoids From the Deep (1980)
Roger Corman’s Humanoids From the Deep has a lot going for it… plenty of violence, nudity, gore, and monsters. The creatures are a result of some military experiments that involved blending Salmon and Humans together. The Humanoids escape and try to kill all the local men and rape the women in order to get them pregnant with fish babies! The final scene with the Humanoids attacking and killing or raping everyone at the Salmon Festival is really something.
23. Trollhunter (2010)
I guarantee you will never look at natural rock formations in the same way after seeing Trollhunter. This found-footage movie shows giant Trolls living in the Norway countryside. A film crew follows a Troll Hunter as he tracks and kills as many Trolls as he can. He finds them under bridges, living in caves, and hiding in forests. Trollhunter is hilarious and the CGI Trolls are amazingly life-like and well done. However the real star of the film is the beautiful Norwegian scenery in every shot.
22. Slither (2006)
Slither is something straight out of an H. P. Lovecraft story. A meteorite crashes into a small town and tons of space worms invade the locals. The first person (played by Michael Rooker) that is infected slowly turns into this giant tentacled monster. But all he wants is to get his wife back. Slither is full of some really great special effects including a balloon like woman that explodes into thousands of space slugs! EWWWww!
21. Monster Squad (1987)
Monster Squad is like watching The Goonies with the Universal Monsters mixed in. The kids have to battle the Monsters, led by Count Dracula, in order to stop them from taking control over the world. The monsters have an updated 80s look thanks to Stan Winston. The Gill-Man (Creature From the Black Lagoon) gets a whole new scary look. What makes Monster Squad really special are all the funny one-liners including “Wolfman’s got Nards!” and the nostalgic look back at what it was like to be a kid in the 80s.
20. Nightbreed (1990)
Clive Barker’s Nightbreed is about a group of mutants that hide away in an underground city called Midian. The mutants are monsters that must hide from the Humans that want to destroy them and their home. Nightbreed is actually one of my favourite movies based on Barker’s work along with Hellraiser and Candyman. Nightbreed is based on Novella called Cabal by Barker. Clive Barker has talked about a television series that is in the works for Nightbreed, saying that it will be made for cable TV so it has a chance to be as sexy or as graphic in terms of violence as it needs to be.
19. Q the Winged Serpent (1982)
Q the Winged Serpent is directed by Larry Cohen, the same guy who gave us God Told Me To, Maniac Cop, The Stuff, and It’s Alive. The Q stands for Quetzalcoatl, an ancient Aztec deity that is brought back to life by an evil cult in New York City. Michael Moriarty plays a thief that stumbles upon Q while running from the cops after a robbery. Q is in fact a girl and has set up her nest in the Chrysler building by laying a giant egg. The monster resembles a Harryhausen style of rubber stop motion monster. It might be slightly on the cheesy side of the FX scale, but the performances by Moriarty and David Carradine more than make up for it.
18. Super 8 (2011)
Super 8 tells the story of 5 friends that are filming a Zombie infection movie on a Super 8 camera. While filming, they witness a spectacular train derailment, and soon realize that someone was trying to stop that train on purpose. After the train accident, people all over town start disappearing, all the dogs run away, and soon the military marches into town. Super 8 feels like an old time movie. You would swear it was from the early 80′s instead of the 2000′s. JJ Abrams has been compared to Spielberg a few times in his career and much like Spielberg before him, Abrams tells a charming coming of age story. The best part of Super 8 is the movie that the kids made at the end. Apparently Romero chemical was to blame for everything!
17. Nosferatu (1922)
One of the first Monster movies ever made was Nosferatu. Even to this day Max Shreck’s portrayal of the famous Vampire is one of the most chilling to watch. Rumors are that Max Shreck was actually a real Vampire and that is why the film is so haunting. In reality though he was a well known Theatre actor and went on to do many more films after Nosferatu. For an interesting and very entertaining movie about the “real” Max Shreck check out The Shadow of the Vampire starring William Dafoe.
16. The Host (2006)
The Host is a bit of a throwback to some of the classic monster movies also on this list. The Host is a giant mutant killer amphibian that wreaks havoc on a South Korean beach. However the Monster isn’t the real story in The Host. The movie centers on a dysfunctional family that is trying to survive the Monster mayhem around them. A small girl is kidnapped by the monster and the rest of her family has to organize themselves enough to rescue her. Sometimes oddly comical and sometimes heart breaking, The Host has some strong messages to tell about politics and family.
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Awesome list! You get bonus points for including Humanoids from the Deep! Doesn’t get as much love as it should.
Glad to see The Mist make the list!!!
Very underrated film, even if Tom Jane’s acting needs some improvement.
Great list; I love a good monster movie. I’ve seen most and have a few on DVD. Very excited for a release of (number 20) Nightbreed: Cabal cut.
Thanks Deth Banger! It is a great Roger Corman movie
Humanoids From The Deep is a Roger Corman movie!? I’m a big Corman fan, but feel ashamed I’ve never heard of this one. I will find it and buy it immediately!
Great list
I thought Slither was such a weird movie! I think Jaws and Gremlins would be my top two. I mean you can’t get much better than Jaws, as it is a classic, and Gremlins is just the cutest, funniest movie ever.
I loved Slither. Horror comedies are always my favorite and Nathan Fillion is fantastic.
Amazing list of films. I own every one except for Nightbreed. You have fantastic taste in monster flicks! Great job!
Thanks Vic, I do love a good monster movie!
Not too bad of a list, but why did you use a picture of a scene from the 1957 Hammer Frankenstein film “The Curse of Frankenstein”? Even if it’s liked more Karloff as The Monster should be pictured.
I was going to ask the same question. Also, when talking about Max Shrek, the picture is of Klaus Kinski.
Actually I didn’t choose the pictures. Not sure why the Hammer one was used but I love that movie as much as the Karloff one. So its all good to me
it was done to confuse people
- Or to see how many would spot these mistakes. Again, I have most Hammer films, but not The Curse Of Frankenstein. Will rush to get that one too now you’ve praised it so highly. Hammer had horror off to a fine art – they just don’t seem to be able to do horror well these days; or very rarely.
I liked your list and know you probably had to cut some monsters off the list…but I’m thinking the Monster from Jeepers Creepers should have made this list over a few of the others you listed…as always I am just one man with an opinion…I just wanted to give him a nod of respect in the comment section..thanks for the blog..:)
He’s one of my favourites too – very frightening!…that is, until he starts doing somersaults over a moving car – almost ruined the film for me.
Great article. I agree with most of it.
Just a small correction: It’s Willem Dafoe, not William.
No Zombies?
I dont want to speak for DirtyGirl but I am 99.99% she doesnt consider zombies monsters
Why Would a Zombie not be a Monster?
It’s debatable; but if they are monsters, Night Of The Living Dead would definitely feature in my top five!
Why Would a Zombie not be a Monster?
Daniel u dirty little man … Zombies are not Monsters.. they are adorable, i even have one pet Zombie
You are absolutely right…I didn’t include Zombies because I don’t consider them Monster movies. That’s why they aren’t included on the monster list. I also only included one Vampire and Werewolf movie each on purpose. Perhaps I need to make some new lists for all those sub-genres? That would fun!
Could be fun, but I see one obstacle being that there have only ever been a handful of good films in each of these sub-genres!! So they might be pretty short lists.
Some best horrors and some shit horrors in the this list…. confusioned
After reading the entry to “Humanoids From The Deep” to my wife:
Oh no, it’s the least terrifying monster ever. Please, no one bring me any cream cheese, or possibly capers. A bagel would not be good right now. Also, don’t tell the Jewish guys about them, the human bits might not be Kosher.
Good list, good entries, but I just can’t find salmon/people monsters scary, unless of course I had somehow run out of ways to prepare them.
I haven’t seen “Humanoids…”, but surely we don’t just judge how good a monster movie is by how scary the monster is. I personally think the greatest monster movie of all time is King Kong (the original, not the crappy remakes!), but I don’t find Kong scary in the least.
Glad to see The Mist make the list!!!
Very underrated film, even if Tom Jane’s acting needs some improvement.
Good list, but just another complaint to the “photo editor”. The original Max Schrek version of “Nosferatu” was chosen (no argument there), but why use a pic from the Klaus Kinski version? Granted, Kinski is enough monster all by himself, but SOMEONE needs to do a bit more “quality control”.
Keep the lists coming. They are fun to debate!
The Mist was a great movie, and excuse me, Tom Jane’s acting was very good!
Good list! But as Monster Movies go – I would have added PREDATOR in there.
Was thinking the same, but they still haven’t come up with a brilliant sequel to match the original. I’m not one for sequels, but thought the Arnie original is crying out for someone to do it justice with a great sequel – though the Brody one was good…far better than that Danny Glover rubbish!
In your short description of Jaws you said the “The local police chief is a shark expert”. This is not the case in the movie. In the film Martin Brody the chief of police knows nothing about sharks, that is why they bring marine biologist/oceanographer Matt Hooper in to help Brody and also why they hire Quint to track and kill the shark. Sorry I had to correct you, but regardless of genre it is one of my favorite movies of all time. All in all not a bad list.
Always been one of my favourite films too! The scene where Quint talks about delivering “the bomb” is one of my all-time favourite scenes – the atmosphere is electrifying!
I am not certain why the original King Kong movie is not on this list but the soulless 2005 rem-make is …the list was probably made before Pacific Rim
You’ve beat me to this comment. I think, all in all, this is a very well thought out list; but I was really shocked that anyone could think that ridiculous sequel is better than the original!! The original would, without a shadow of a doubt, be my Number One. I also always include it in my Top 20 films of all time!
I own a great deal of movies mostly horror and I’m a little surprised at several of your choices. I never viewed king kong as a horror movie and the other thing I was surprised that is missing. The obvious “exercisim of emily rose, the original amittyville horror, the original boogyman, pscho, the shining, cujo, the frogs, and how about the movie it. I have a great deal more and I do believe that you showed a great deal of respect to the classics, but it seems that you should have brodened you time scope and lessened the critique. Too many of these movies came out when I was just a little girl and they never did what a good horror movie is supposed to do and scare me.
- But most of these aren’t “monster” films.
- when King Kong was released in the UK (I don’t know about the USA, but think it would be similar), it was given a certificate “H” (for Horror), and only adults were aloud to see it. Myself, I definitely class it as a horror, as – for me anyway – it still contains one of the most horrific (and expertly filmed) scenes ever put to film: the sleeping woman in her bed…Plus, every time someone dies, their agonised, and almost too realistic, screams make it all so horrific to witness.
- Horror films don’t have to scare. some are just horrific, or disturbing, or simply entertaining. I am never scared watching Jaws, but I still think it’s one of the greatest horrors of all time.
Brilliant list! Makes me want to marathon.
Thanks for the Them love. It is a great and scary movie. I’m sure the effects were stand up in their time but even today the story and chatacters draw you in enough to make them “real”. A good movie never needs an effects caveat the same way good effects don’t save a bad movie.
Nice to see some love for Jackson’s Kong. The original is a great film too. I don’t know why the new one draws such ire.
And the Mist…I would include this in any best of horror list. So underrated, so harrowing
- I think Jackson’s Kong is so disliked for several reasons:
1) It lacks the energy, excitement, adventure, sense of awe, and sheer horror of the original.
2) Naomi Watts (great that she is in everything she does) is just not a patch on Fay Wray!
3) When a movie is this great (and I think – along with countless others – that the original is one of the greatest movies ever made), many just think: What’s the point in remaking it!?
4) All the stupid bits:
- People running in and out of the legs of charging dinosaurs without getting trampled!
- Someone shooting all the centipedes off a chap when five minutes before they had never handled a gun!
- King Kong battling two T-Rex with Ann Darrow in his fist: every bone in her body should have been broken (a dozens of times over!). Not even a superhero could survive this much battering! But when Kong puts her down, she has barely a bruise on her!
- Kong skating on ice without breaking it!
- Ann Darrow running – yes, “running” – up a vertical ladder…and for a considerable distance…and, to top the lot: she’s doing it in high heals!!
- Ann and hero standing and having a hug right near the edge, at the very top of the Empire State Building – when really they would be laying down and clinging on for dear life!
- I know there are many others, but I’ve forgotten them now. I took my two young sons to see it, and all I heard all film from them was “Daddy, that’s stupid!…”. So even young children can see that this version is ridiculous in the extreme.
The only thing I liked about the film was the Fay Wray tribute when Jack Black says he’ll hire Ann Darrow because “Fay” isn’t available.
Two interesting facts:
- When Fay Wray died, all the lights in the Empire State Building were switched off for 15 minutes in remembrance of this screen legend.
- Fay Wray was offered a part in Jackson’s remake, but declined because she (like countless others) couldn’t see the point in remaking one of the greatest movies of all time.
But to conclude, I will say this: Jackson’s version was a hundred times better than the first remake! That one’s not even worth talking about!
Totally agree there’s far too much emphasis on special effects these days (and CGI is nowhere near as effective as stop-motion!). Like you say, the old films – like Them – concentrate more on character and story, which, I agree, draw you into the film far more than any special effects.
Great list! Agree wholeheartedly with your first and second. Got any others?
- though I think Bride Of Frankenstein is almost as good as Frankenstein.
Did you consider any of the Ray Harryhausen creations? One of the most frightening monsters for me was – and still is – the cyclops in The Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad.
You used a screenshot from the hammer horror version of frankenstein, which is um a completely different movie then the original universal one from the 30s. Not a good first impression for a horror movie website. bewildering fuck ups
how do you justify placing all of these classic films next to ‘troll hunters’?