When it comes to horror movies, some films rely on the atmosphere to instill terror in their viewers. Other films rely on jumpscares. Some horror films, however, create terrifying creatures that remain in the minds of horror fans long after the movies have ended.
Movie monsters can also stand out as technical feats of CGI or visual effects where artists behind the scenes can let their skills shine on-camera. Whether it's their disgusting body-horror or the frightening backstories of the creatures in these films, some horror movie monsters haunt viewers long after the credits roll - a testament to the filmmaker’s craft.
10 The Entity In It Follows Changes Forms To Confuse Its Host
Emerging as a cult classic, It Follows features a supernatural entity that changes form and pursues its next host at the same speed; a steady walk. While this may not seem to be immediately frightening, the monster never stops moving. Therefore, its next host never has time to rest from fleeing it. Some of its forms are incredibly haunting while others appear to be regular people.
This means that the next host will live in constant fear, never knowing if it’s the entity or an innocent person walking by. It Follows has received critical acclaim for the terrifying creature at the center of the story and for the performances, especially from Maika Monroe.
9 The Bear In Annihilation Is Always Being Changed By The Shimmer
Alex Garland’s Annihilation boasts a creature that many have deemed to be the scariest movie monster of all time. The bear, having been stuck in the film’s mysterious “shimmer," has been a victim of having its DNA altered since the genesis of the event.
Its screams are eerily similar to the woman who it killed the night before, and its face is a horrific amalgam of a bear skull and a warped human’s skull. It has led fans to theorize that the bear didn’t start out as a bear, but was once a human and is slowly turning into a monster as the shimmer changes its DNA with the passing days.
8 The Babadook Causes Hallucinations And Is Terrifying
Written and directed by Jennifer Kent in her directorial debut, The Babadook is one of the most famous movie monsters of the 2010s. The Babadook follows a widowed mother and her son as he starts exhibiting erratic behavior that the mother can’t control. Soon after, bizarre events start occurring in their home and the Babadook appears; having a likeness to the book the son made his mother read earlier.
The creature’s terrifying look is intensified by the sounds it emits and the terrifying hallucinations it causes. It blurs reality for The Babadook's protagonist and intensifies the terror of this already-spooky movie.
7 The Blair Witch Was Never Seen In The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project broke ground with its unique marketing, promoting it as true “found footage” and listing the actors as “deceased” or “missing” after their search for the film’s elusive and terrifying Blair Witch. While The Blair Witch Project is shrouded in the tense feeling that the Blair Witch is always near, leaving her trademark stick figures for Heather, Mike, and Josh to find, viewers never actually get a glimpse of her.
Perhaps a testament to the terror that the Blair Witch exuded, The Blair Witch Project has one of the scariest movie monsters that viewers never even see. The implication is enough for viewers to never want to get lost in the woods, just in case.
6 The Brundlefly Got Progressively More Disgusting In The Fly
As an originator of the body horror genre, it’s no surprise that David Cronenberg boasts one of the most revolting movie monsters of all time. When Seth Brundle’s experiment with his teleportation machine goes wrong, he slowly begins turning into a human-fly hybrid; a creature he nicknames the “Brundlefly."
As Seth turns into a fly-like creature, he becomes more terrifying and more difficult for viewers to look at. Cronenberg, a master of horror, goes all in with the Brundlefly in a film about a man who becomes his worst creation.
5 The Creatures In A Quiet Place Are Hyper-Sensitive To Sound
In a post-apocalyptic world where creatures are attracted to sound and have decimated the population, John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place uses the lack of sound to build tension for the viewer. When the creatures are on-screen, viewers see a terrifying face full of teeth and blood.
The creatures are incredibly fast once they hear even the slightest sound. The only way to avoid them is to stay as silent as possible, which viewers learn early on is tougher than it looks.
4 Pennywise Is Terrifying In Both Of His It Appearances
Based on the hugely famous novel by Stephen King, It was most recently rebooted into a duology beginning in 2017. Both Bill Skarsgård and Tim Curry’s takes on Pennywise the Dancing Clown are terrifying in their own right. Just the image of a red balloon has gone on to strike fear in people's hearts thanks to It’s first realization on the screen in 1990. Many viewers now make an effort to stay a safe distance away from storm drains.
There’s nothing scarier than a clown who has the intention of luring children and hurting them. IT would wait until the last minute, when there's no escape, to reveal its true face.
3 The Ritual's Moder Is From Norse Mythology
The Ritual is a highly underrated 2017 film that's directed by David Bruckner. The Ritual follows a group of college friends who get lost on a hike through a secluded forest in Sweden when they quickly realize that they’re being followed. Viewers get glimpses of the creature when it's following the crew, but it's not until the final minutes of the film when fans get to see the creature, known as Moder, in her full glory.
Moder is a creature out of Norse mythology and the daughter of Loki, and takes the form of an elk-like creature. After fans being on-edge from getting glimpses of her in the trees for much of the runtime, it’s simultaneously relieving and horrifying to finally get to see her full form at the end of The Ritual.
2 Behemoth's Size Makes It Terrifying In The Mist
While The Mist (2007) features a host of terrifying creatures, one stands out. Known as “Behemoth," the creature is encountered near the end of the film. It’s not violent, and it doesn’t even seem to notice the life below it due to its sheer size.
Despite Behemoth not actively threatening people, its scale is incredibly daunting. Its figure emerging out of the mist makes for a terrifying reveal, urging viewers to ask what else the mist might be hiding just out of view.
1 The Xenomorph In Alien Is Famous For Its Scariness
Perhaps one of the most famous movie monsters of all time, Alien’s Xenomorph is one of the most terrifying movie monsters to date. When a spaceship crew receive a distress call and land on an unknown moon, they accidentally pick up a parasitic alien that houses itself in the host’s chest until it's ready to burst out of the chest cavity.
The Alien franchise brings back the Xenomorph in subsequent films. It takes various, equally-as-frightening forms, and leaves viewers terrified of what is out there.