15 best monster movies

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Find out who to fear more: Godzilla or Frankenstein, or maybe graboids or deadites.

15. Godzilla

• USA, Japan, 2014.
• Horror, action, fantasy.
• Duration: 123 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

In the late 1990s, an accident destroyed a nuclear power plant in Tokyo. 15 years later, it turns out that the cause of the tragedy was not technical problems, but a huge monster. Now, several such monsters are awakening around the world. Only the even more creepy Godzilla can stop them.

The famous radiation-eating pangolin appeared in Japanese cinema in the mid-1950s. Americans have also released several films about Godzilla. But it was after the 2014 film that they began to create a new cinematic universe. In the near future the studio plans to confront the lizard with King Kong.

14. Mummy

• Great Britain, 1959.
• Horror, adventure.
• Duration: 86 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

In 1895, British archaeologists uncover the tomb of Princess Ananka in Egypt, although a local religious fanatic warns them of the curse. A few years later, a revived mummy begins to hunt for members of the expedition.

The classic film, part of the legendary British horror series by Hammer Studios, is based on the even older 1942 film “The Tomb of the Mummy”. After him, filmmakers repeatedly turned to the topic of the cursed burials of Ancient Egypt. Still, the 1959 version is considered the most successful.

13. Pacific Rim

• USA, 2013.
• Science fiction, thriller.
• Duration: 131 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

The earth is attacked by huge kaiju that come from the depths of the sea. To fight them, mankind builds impressive robots - gamekeepers, which are controlled by two pilots connected by a common "mind" to the machine and to each other. But the monsters are getting worse.

The plot of the Pacific Rim is pretty simple. But the director Guillermo del Toro managed to captivate the audience with cool special effects: throughout the film, huge creepy kaiju fight with heavy rangers in the sea and even destroy entire cities.

12. Monster

• USA, 2008.
• Horror, thriller.
• Duration: 81 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

Rob is about to leave for Japan and is throwing a party for the occasion, filming the events with a video camera. Suddenly, chaos reigns in the streets: it seems that something gigantic has attacked the city.

In this film, the monster itself is not shown much. The picture was created in the style of “found film”, that is, it was allegedly filmed by the participants in the events themselves. The monster appears only in passing, but it is the atmosphere of uncertainty that scares the viewer.

11. Tremors of the earth

• USA, 1990.
• Horror, comedy.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

Handymen Val and Earl decide to move out of a small community of only 14 people. But at the last moment, strong tremors begin in the area. It turns out that huge and dangerous worms - graboids - have settled in the soil.

The monsters jumping out of the ground look scary, of course. But still, the films of this series can be considered rather comedies. Graboids are killed here in various witty ways, and the heroes behave as ridiculous as possible. Six parts of "Tremors of the Earth" have already been released, but only the first two are considered successful.

10. King Kong

• New Zealand, USA, Germany, 2005.
• Adventure, drama, fantasy.
• Duration: 187 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

The main characters - director Carl, screenwriter Jack and actress Anne - travel to an island in the Indian Ocean to shoot an adventure film. At the location, they encounter a huge gorilla that falls in love with a girl.

King Kong is another monster from classic cinema. The film by Peter Jackson retells the plot of the very first picture of 1933. For the plastic of the gorilla in the modern version, the legendary Andy Sirkis was responsible using motion capture technology. That is why the monster turned out to be so realistic.

9. The Wolf Man

• United States, 1941.
• Horror, drama.
• Duration: 70 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

Larry Talbot returns to his native castle in Wales after years of absence. While walking with a girl, a wolf attacks him. Larry kills the predator, but gradually he himself turns into a beast.

It was in this classic film that the image of a werewolf, traditional for popular culture, was born. Of course, at the moment the shooting and makeup are very outdated, but the atmosphere of the picture is still impressive. For lovers of modern cinema in 2010, a remake of the same name with Benicio del Toro was released.

8. Quiet place

• USA, 2018.
• Horror, drama, fantasy.
• Duration: 90 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

Evelyn and Lee Abbott live with their children on a remote farm. They have to spend their entire lives in silence, because somewhere nearby there is a monster that reacts with lightning speed to sound. But it can be difficult for children not to make noise, especially since young Regan is deaf from birth.

Many questions arose about the logic of this film directed by John Krasinski. But he managed to show the main thing - a tense atmosphere in which any sound seems creepy. And the appearance of a very unusual monster is frightening every time.

7. Evil Dead

• USA, 1981.
• Horror.
• Duration: 90 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

Ash and his friends go to rest in a country house, which is located in the wilderness. In the basement, they discover mysterious artifacts left over from the owner, and accidentally summon monsters.

The grotesque cruelty, along with the almost comedic antics of the protagonist, quickly made the picture of Sam Reimi truly cult. Well, sinister deadites (people in whom an evil spirit has infiltrated) definitely fall into the ranks of the best movie monsters.

6. American werewolf in London

• Great Britain, USA, 1981.
• Horror, comedy.
• Duration: 97 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

Two American students traveling through the English wilderness are attacked by a huge wolf. As a result, one of the guys dies and turns into a ghost, and the other becomes a werewolf.

This picture perfectly combines the traditional horror plot and comic, almost parodic elements. It was this approach that caught the audience. After 15 years, they tried to continue the story by releasing the film "American Werewolf in Paris", but it turned out to be much weaker than the original.

5. Frankenstein

• USA, 1931.
• Horror, drama.
• Duration: 70 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

A young scientist Henry Frankenstein creates a monster in his laboratory, assembled from the body parts of deceased people. The monster, although not evil by nature, unknowingly commits terrible deeds, and those around him want to destroy him.

The adaptation of Mary Shelley's book "Frankenstein, or Modern Prometheus" for many years has defined another famous image. The hulking monster played by Boris Karloff was copied and parodied dozens of times. By the way, then many people mistakenly began to call the monster itself Frankenstein, and not its creator.

4. Jaws

• USA, 1975.
• Horror, thriller.
• Duration: 124 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

The sheriff discovers on the shore the remains of a girl who was torn to pieces by a huge shark. Every day, more and more vacationers become victims of the predator, but the city authorities are trying to hush up the problem. Then the hero decides to catch the monster himself, joining forces with a shark hunter and oceanologist.

The work on Steven Spielberg's film was accompanied by many difficulties. Mechanical sharks were constantly breaking down and filming in the real sea proved to be very difficult. As a result, the director shows little of the entire monster, limiting himself only to hints like a fin sticking out of the water. This is partly what made Jaws one of the top horror movies of all time.

3. Something

• USA, 1982.
• Horror, fantasy, drama.
• Duration: 109 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

Polar explorers find an alien organism in the ice of Antarctica. It turns out that he not only attacks people, but also takes the form of any living being. Now all the inhabitants of the station suspect a monster in each other.

The film by John Carpenter is based on the 1951 film Something from Another World. And this is a rare case when the remake turned out to be better than the original. The director perfectly showed both the atmosphere of general distrust and the abomination of the monster in its true guise.

2. Jurassic Park

• USA, 1993.
• Adventure, fantasy.
• Duration: 127 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

Scientists find dinosaur DNA in the blood of fossil mosquitoes, allowing ancient dinosaurs to be restored. After that, they are sent to an amusement park, where visitors can admire exotic monsters. Shortly before its opening, several scientists go to the park, and at this time one of the employees turns off all protection in it.

Screening the novel by Michael Crichton, Steven Spielberg put maximum effort into creating frightening dinosaur models. He combined visual effects and animatronics - he used real miniature copies of creatures and separate moving parts of a huge size on the site. That is why the picture still looks impressive today.

1. Alien

• Great Britain, USA, 1979.
• Horror, thriller.
• Duration: 116 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 4.

Spacecraft Nostromo receives a distress signal from the unexplored planet LV-426. The team decides to come to the rescue, but encounters a creepy alien who kills one crew member after another.

Ridley Scott's cult film has grown over time into a huge fantasy franchise. They even released crossovers with the Predator. But the main thing is that the xenomorphs themselves are considered one of the best monsters in the history of cinema. They look very unpleasant and are the perfect weapon for destroying entire planets.