8 of the Most Terrifying Movie Monsters
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Honestly I think the scariest thing here is how Gawker-esque this feels.
Also PennyWise? Really?! Of all the Stephen King monsters, you choose the giant alien spider-clown with the floating fetish?! Just go all out and have the killer clowns from outerspace!
And none of the alien slug things from Slither? The way they forced the victims to deep-throat them and then blew them up was pretty gross. I'd much rather face the dead lights than molesting worms.
Also PennyWise? Really?! Of all the Stephen King monsters, you choose the giant alien spider-clown with the floating fetish?! Just go all out and have the killer clowns from outerspace!
And none of the alien slug things from Slither? The way they forced the victims to deep-throat them and then blew them up was pretty gross. I'd much rather face the dead lights than molesting worms.
Jesus, I have never seen Slither, and now I probably never will. I'm a little scared just reading that.Silentpony said:
As to Pennywise, yeah. He still spooks me. Maybe it's because I've read It so many times. I don't know, but that has always been very high on my list.
Pennywise used to scare the crap out of me when I was a kid. Still does, conceptually, but I'm not afraid to look at him anymore. Tim Curry really owned that role. It is getting another adaptation, so I'm wondering if the actor can pull it off. Never liked the novel though. I've always thought that some of the subject matter King used was kind of jarring, if not downright unnecessary. (That one scene in the sewer when the main characters were kids. You know the one.)
Also, a part of me is still convinced that The Thing is the greatest movie ever made. That'll probably change eventually, but for now it holds that spot on my list.
Also, a part of me is still convinced that The Thing is the greatest movie ever made. That'll probably change eventually, but for now it holds that spot on my list.
Issues I take with this list:
1: Pennywise. I'm with the Nostalgia Critic on this one...he's not scary, he's hilarious. I mean look at this guy:
WUH-HA! WUH-HA! WUH-HA!
2: The Crawlers. Sorry, but The Descent was a crap movie with crap monsters. Hell, I found As Above So Below to be scarier than that.
3: The Predator. I'll give you the Xenomorphs, but Predators have never been scary...they're too badass to be scary.
1: Pennywise. I'm with the Nostalgia Critic on this one...he's not scary, he's hilarious. I mean look at this guy:
WUH-HA! WUH-HA! WUH-HA!
2: The Crawlers. Sorry, but The Descent was a crap movie with crap monsters. Hell, I found As Above So Below to be scarier than that.
3: The Predator. I'll give you the Xenomorphs, but Predators have never been scary...they're too badass to be scary.
That is a hard position to disagree with, actually. My friend recently made the assertion that Alien is the best sci-fi horror movie, and I vehemently argued for The Thing, and actually convinced him that my opinion was right, which, if you've ever had an argument with another human before, then you know that rarely happens. It really is a perfectly made film.Mahorfeus said:
You know what? I concur, but I would elaborate and say that though The Descent fell apart for me as soon as it became an action movie- crossfit ladies vs blind pale 14 year-olds in a cave, or something- it was in fact the spelunking in the first half of the movie that gripped me the most- the scene where one of the team gets trapped temporarily in a shaft was very tense, doubly so because at that point I wasn't sure when the deaths might start.RJ 17 said:
But the monsters, the Crawlers? Personally, when the monsters can be killed bare-handed, they lose a certain level of fear for me. I felt the same way with Attack The block- at first they were savage terrors, but when they are killed like dogs, then I can only see them as, well, dogs. Guess I like my monsters to be harder to kill.
Barring that, this is a pretty good list. It had to have the Thing on it, of course, and the xenomorph as well. Pennywise was a nice choice, as was the Tooth Fairy- much better a movie then I was looking for when I saw this. I might have added some of the more malevolent spirits we've seen of late, some of the ghost stuff from House on Haunted Hill and Grave Encounters were at least chilling at the time. But maybe that's a different list...
I'd like to recommend Harbinger on Netflix for it's decent The Thing-inspired monster FX, and VHS2 for some fun shorts.
The pale man wasn't too bad (except for his fairy snacking habits), when lumped in with all of the other vivid creatures in Pan's Labyrinth.
Freddy himself isn't too scary, but the thought of falling asleep to be at the mercy of an undead murderer out for revenge and more blood is pretty terrifying. But now, I have to listen to that Nightmare on Elm Street Will Smith rap, for the 100th time.
I never watched The Descent, but I saw its Dueling Movie, [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/DuelingWorks/FilmHorror] The Cave. (From posts I've read above, it probably isn't any better than The Descent.) The nasties in that movie were bat-people (mutants, not costumed crime fighters with a flying rodent motif). The design of the creatures was what was really unsettling. IIRC, their now empty eye sockets housed some sort of vibrating echolocation organs. Add near darkness to that and you got a decent (sorry, pun not intended) horror monster.
Half of the scenes in 1982's The Thing can supply a lifetime of nightmares, and/or inspire new generations of practical effects artists when comparing that film to the recent remake/sequel.
Predator? As a movie villain, not scary at all (especially when you've got Ahnold going "Em he-re! Com ohn kill mee. Do-w-it no-ow!"). As a real life foe? Sure, you might need a spare pair of pants if your traps manage to best a Predator.
Xenomorphs are definitely my top pick for sci-fi monster. The life cycle, the behavior (especially when dealing with a lone wolf), the physiology, and the appearance all make it so damn scary. Too bad they haven't got a great movie in about 30 years.
Honestly, I thought that the worst monster was Ofelia's stepfather. He was merciless to everyone he had power over. He achieved true monster status halfway through the movie, with the hunters, and elite monster status with what he did at the end of the movie.
But, were the adventures Ofelia went on really dreams or pretend? I think the movie was vague enough that she may have a happy ending in the fairy world, even if the others thought she was dying. The only strong point against that would be the mandrake root not screaming when it was found by an adult, but then again... magic.
But, were the adventures Ofelia went on really dreams or pretend? I think the movie was vague enough that she may have a happy ending in the fairy world, even if the others thought she was dying. The only strong point against that would be the mandrake root not screaming when it was found by an adult, but then again... magic.
Freddy himself isn't too scary, but the thought of falling asleep to be at the mercy of an undead murderer out for revenge and more blood is pretty terrifying. But now, I have to listen to that Nightmare on Elm Street Will Smith rap, for the 100th time.
I never watched The Descent, but I saw its Dueling Movie, [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/DuelingWorks/FilmHorror] The Cave. (From posts I've read above, it probably isn't any better than The Descent.) The nasties in that movie were bat-people (mutants, not costumed crime fighters with a flying rodent motif). The design of the creatures was what was really unsettling. IIRC, their now empty eye sockets housed some sort of vibrating echolocation organs. Add near darkness to that and you got a decent (sorry, pun not intended) horror monster.
Half of the scenes in 1982's The Thing can supply a lifetime of nightmares, and/or inspire new generations of practical effects artists when comparing that film to the recent remake/sequel.
Predator? As a movie villain, not scary at all (especially when you've got Ahnold going "Em he-re! Com ohn kill mee. Do-w-it no-ow!"). As a real life foe? Sure, you might need a spare pair of pants if your traps manage to best a Predator.
Xenomorphs are definitely my top pick for sci-fi monster. The life cycle, the behavior (especially when dealing with a lone wolf), the physiology, and the appearance all make it so damn scary. Too bad they haven't got a great movie in about 30 years.
The Xenomorph has the more terrifying appearance, but perhaps the Facehugger is even scarier, considering the effects you have to suffer if it gets you. I guess I'd rather be eaten/captured by a Xenomorph than have one of those Facehuggers latch to my face, stick his... thing... down my throat and "impregnate" me with a baby alien that will burst out of my chest at some point.Hairless Mammoth said:
Seriously. That's so disgusting.
I haven't seen it but from that description I'd like to point out that Slither is sounding awfully like the same fate you get with the Facehuggers... who, as someone pointed out, is arguably more terrifying than the Xenomorph itself.Darks63 said:
That being said, I have to backup Pennywise on this list. Forget the deadlights and all that extra crap, he didn't list 'IT' on the list he listed Pennywise, and Tim Curry when he's being intense is absolutely terrifying.
Also... Gawker? Really? That's some Godwin's Law crap right there, you lose the argument.
Its by the guy who did Guardians of the Galaxy, and stars Nathan Fillion, so there's a lot of wit and comedy to balance out the gore and grossness. If I remember, there's only one person who actually blows up, and the way its framed, your more likely to be laughing yourself sick than being made sick.ffronw said:
Oh, Slither sure is a hoot. The main villain is Michael Rooker (Walking Dead and Guardians of the Galaxy) and it has a TON of memorable scenes, most of them pretty gross.ffronw said:
Personally, this is the one that stood out the most for me and it still makes me cringe with disgusted glee.