The 10 most horrifying movie monsters
Just because creatures, killers, or monsters from a horror movie have secured a place in the annals of cinema history for being one of its most iconic creations doesn’t necessarily mean the figure in question has retained its terrifying aura.
Classic slasher titans like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, and Freddy Krueger all found themselves becoming increasingly watered down by a slew of subpar sequels, with the latter in particular robbed of his initial horrifying personification by the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise’s increasing reliance on comedy.
In a similar vein, Bela Lugosi’s Dracula and Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein are undeniably two of the most legendary combinations of actor and character there’s ever been regardless of genre, but that hasn’t enshrined them as a pair of horror heavyweights with the potential to strike genuine fear into a mass audience.
On the other hand, the following ten monsters have that ability and then some, launching an all-out assault on the pit of any stomach within eyeshot, burying themselves deep within the skin and refusing to relinquish their grip until the credits come up.
The 10 most horrifying movie monsters:
10. Tristana Medeiros ([•REC], Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, 2007)
Javier Botet has become one of the industry’s go-to guys whenever a terrifying creature needs to be realised through practical effects, but the actor has never bettered the breakout turn that put him on the map to begin with, because Tristana Medeiros is nothing short of ghastly.
A pivotal entry in the found footage genre that spawned three sequels and American remake Quarantine, Botet’s unnerving body language and the way the movie creates the stomach-churning sense that Tristana is lurking behind every shadow and hiding around every corner makes for a nerve-shredding experience.
Even the character’s origins are ghastly, with Tristana becoming patient zero for a demonic virus after being experimented on by the Vatican following a slew of failed exorcisms. Ravaged and withered physically, letting the audience know she’s there before the characters catch on only heightens the visceral impact of her full-blown arrival.
9. The Bear (Annihilation, Alex Garland, 2018)
Not only does Alexa Garland’s Annihilation straddle several genres including horror, sci-fi, action, thriller, and drama, but it intersects at the point of several offshoots of the former. A psychological nightmare wrapped up in cosmic torment drenched in existential terror, The Bear’s methods are every bit as grisly as its appearance.
A four-legged creature that can mimic human voices in order to draw in its prospective victims, the beast also assimilates and absorbs its latest casualties into its very being, placing at least part of them in the purgatory between their physical and spiritual demise. The harrowing sound design makes every second The Bear is on-screen excruciating, projecting unavoidable doom onto the characters as a result.
8. Crawlers (The Descent, Neil Marshall, 2005)
Claustrophobia is an easy means of manufacturing an underlying sense of fear among viewers, and when you combine that with the inherently dangerous world of spelunking before parachuting in a feral band of humanoid hunters that dwell within, The Descent feasts on multiple fronts.
As well as their unsettling appearance, the confined spaces the Crawlers use as their living quarters and hunting grounds ratchets up the tension on a minute-by-minute basis once the cave-diving group of friends discover what they’re up against. This is their world, and an unwitting band of interlopers out of their depth both figuratively and literally make them formidable, unrelenting foes that will leave anyone convinced they’re right behind the protagonists, even if they’re not.
7. Pennywise (It, Tommy Lee Wallace/Andy Muschietti, 1990/2017)
Regardless of whether Tim Curry or Bill Skarsgård is inhabiting the role, coulrophobia is a very real thing that a lot of people suffer from, making an inter-dimensional entity that opted to pass itself off as a clown for the express purpose of murdering children an altogether torturous prospect.
Skarsgård may have pitched his performance more on the theatrical side of the equation, not that it made him any less terrifying, but there’s also an entire generation out there who shiver at the mere mention of Curry’s ominously dead-eyed Pennywise.
Each iteration of the Stephen King creation is disconcertingly charismatic in its own right, lulling both the residents of Derry and anyone who refuses to believe clowns are terrifying into a false sense of security prior to unleashing the monstrosity within.
6. The Entity (It Follows, David Robert Mitchell, 2014)
A sexually-transmitted demon is a concept that’s so ingenious in its conception and execution that it’s a wonder nobody had thought of it before, although after watching It Follows for the first time, it’s easy to wish the concept had never crossed David Robert Mitchell’s mind.
Once the curse is passed on, The Entity can take any form, and those trapped by its relentless spectre won’t find out until it’s too late. Such was the instant impact made once the premise had been established, It Follows demanded even more attention than the usual horror movie, based entirely on everyone’s eyes frantically scanning every second of every frame to see if the methodical monster was closing in.
5. Seth Brundle (The Fly, David Cronenberg, 1986)
David Cronenberg dabbling in his signature themes of body horror and sexuality gone awry has provided cinema with countless unforgettable moments over the years, but none have been quite so jaw-droppingly disgusting as Jeff Goldblum’s evolution from eccentric scientist to the stuff of nightmares.
Ultimately destroyed by his own hubris, Brundle’s initial confidence in what he believes to be a successful teleportation soon gives way to skin-crawling physical and mental alterations. Losing his grip on sanity while gradually falling foul to his own DNA-splicing experiment, the third act that unleashes the “Brundlefly” within is revolting in both its construction and execution, with the gooey practical effects still among the most distressingly convincing ever put to film.
4. Mister Babadook (The Babadook, Jennifer Kent, 2014)
Mister Babadook may have taken on a second life as a meme before evolving into an unlikely icon of the LGBTQ+ community, but hearing those disembodied cries of “DOOK!” is more than enough to send shivers down the spine every time, a testament to the sheer spine-tingling unease generated by Jennifer Kent’s creation.
A genuinely involving narrative that roots the story in themes of trauma, parenthood, depression, and mental health creates an attachment to the characters at a base level, making it exponentially scarier when it turns out those things going bump in the night are far from being the results of a child’s overactive imagination.
Once Mister Babadook is placed firmly in the spotlight, the way it scuttles around the walls and becomes increasingly guttural in its screams only serves to increase the heart rate and cause serious palpitations.
3. Xenomorph (Alien/Aliens, Ridley Scott/James Cameron, 1979/1986)
Franchise fatigue may have set in amongst the multitude of sequels, crossovers, and prequels, but the Xenomorph, as witnessed in Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s Aliens endures as an animalistic and primal representation of humanity’s deepest-seated fears.
Whether that’s a fear of predators, insects, aliens, a gruesome death, disease, violence, or anything in between, the single Xenomorph that stalks the corridors of the Nostromo and the velociraptor-like pack hunters that flood the decimated colony of LV-426 exist as a masterclass in how to both design a creature and weaponize it for maximum effect.
With its snarling mandibles, hulking size, and an insatiable appetite to remove any obstacle in its path, Alien and Aliens endure as perhaps the best marriage – and subsequent deployment – of creature and concept the sci-fi and horror genres have ever been unfortunate enough to encounter.
2. Count Orlok (Nosferatu, F.W. Murnau, 1922)
To say cinema has evolved by leaps and bounds over the last century would be an understatement of gargantuan proportions, and yet, the gaunt and otherworldly performance of Max Schreck’s Count Orlok is every bit as unsettling when witnessed for the first time through a modern lens.
Setting the template from which innumerable horror movies would follow, the sharp-toothed and gangly creature that’s humanoid enough to be discomfiting while existing just far enough on the fringes of fantasy to be the stuff of nightmares, and the way in which it moves, acts, and lurks on the periphery has cast a suitably fitting shadow over the entire genre for the last 100 years.
1. The Thing (The Thing, John Carpenter, 1982)
The most horrifying thing about the titular extra-terrestrial lifeform from John Carpenter’s classic is that it’s never once established what it looks like in its original form, with that encroaching paranoia having just as much of an effect on the audience as it does the characters.
The Thing moves from victim to victim without letting anybody in close proximity be aware until it unleashes the monster within, and each time it takes over a new host and evolves into something else entirely, it’s always a horrifying amalgamation the mind struggles to comprehend upon first viewing.
That lapse in connecting the synapses means it takes a moment for the brain to understand what the eyes are seeing, such is the unpredictable nature of its shapeshifting ability, a sentiment The Thing has already capitalized on by striking terror into the heart of the viewer.
