Monster movies are some of the most recognizable and memorable films in the horror genre because they bring nightmares to life. Whether the movie's monster is ferocious or simply misunderstood, these creatures instantly capture the audience's attention and leave a lasting impression. Movie monsters come in every shape, size, and temperament.
Some of the most iconic horror movie monsters resemble creatures from the real world. Others are completely a product of a screenwriter or director's imagination. These unique beasts are sometimes formidable and terrifying. However, some modern movie monsters are just downright weird.
10 The Gwoemul Terrorizes Seoul In The Host
In the 2006 South Korean movie The Host, ordinary citizens encounter a terrifying creature called the Gwoemul. The Gwoemul is a hideous, mutated beast that most likely originated from an act of human carelessness. Military personnel dumps chemicals down a drain that leads to the Han River, and the Gwoemul emerges several years later.
This amphibious creature is around forty feet long and has a jaw that opens in multiple horrifying ways. The Gwoemul may be very strange-looking, but it also serves as a cautionary tale about the potential effects of pollution.
9 The Reapers Take Vampiric Horror To New Levels In Blade 2
Directed by Guillermo del Toro, Blade II brought several updates to the franchise, including a new breed of genetically-engineered vampires. The Reapers are much more deadly than traditional vampires and twice as ghoulish. Their jaws completely split open, revealing a gaping mouth that would be a horrible last sight for any victim.
Even when they aren't bearing their fangs, these vampires are truly strange to look at, which only adds to their scariness factor. They pose such a significant threat that they even compel Blade to join forces with his worst enemies to defeat them.
8 The Leprechaun Is More Funny Than Scary
The Leprechaun franchise got its start in 1993 with the eponymous first film. Like many great 90s horror movies, the first Leprechaun, which features a young Jennifer Aniston in one of her earliest roles, includes a memorable movie monster with an easy-to-follow backstory.
The weird-but-murderous leprechaun is an icon in his own right. His killing methods are undeniably gruesome, but his strange catchphrases and mannerisms provide comic relief. This campy movie monster has captivated audiences in eight films so far.
7 Button Face Is The True Villain In Nightbreed
Clive Barker's Nightbreed features a whole host of bizarre monsters, but Button Face is perhaps the most diabolical. Button Face is a ruthless serial killer who wants to eliminate everything - and everyone - who isn't exactly like him, including the monsters that populate Midian, a massive city hidden beneath a graveyard.
Button Face's mask is a simple, strange design that is memorable for audiences and terrifying for his victims. When he journeys to Midian to exterminate the Nightbreed, audiences learn that sometimes, human beings can be the worst monsters of all.
6 Butterball Is An Amusing Member Of The Cenobites
Hellraiser's Pinhead and the rest of the Cenobites are both iconic and bizarre, but Butterball stands out from the crowd for a different reason. While all the Cenobites' costumes in the 1987 film are borderline campy, Butterball's is by far the weirdest and the funniest.
Butterball is not featured as heavily as some other Cenobites who are far more imposing, but his strange appearance makes him easily recognizable to horror fans. Most would agree that Butterball's '80s-style sunglasses are what give him his signature look in the original Hellraiser movie.
5 The Kothoga Is An Ancient Mutant Come To Life In The Relic
The Kothoga is an ancient monster that re-emerges when an unfortunate anthropologist undergoes a mutation in the 1995 movie The Relic. This weird beast is definitely the stuff of nightmares, with its crocodile-like scales and huge tusks.
The Kothoga owes its strange and scary appearance to the fact that it is an amalgamation of several creatures with no specific origin. This creature is so powerful and relentless that almost every attempt to defeat it fails. In the end, a fire after a massive explosion finally leads to the Kothoga's demise.
4 The Jeepers Creepers Demonic Monster Is A Nightmare With Wings
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The Jeepers Creepers movies feature an imposing, human-eating monster that terrorizes anyone who crosses its path. This ancient creature, simply known as "The Creeper," is scary enough on foot, but he is even more frightening when he takes flight.
The Creeper looks like a demon come to life and feeds on human internal organs for twenty-three days every twenty-third spring. The weirdest thing about The Creeper is its face, which looks like armor but opens to reveal claws and sharp, pointy teeth. The newest installment to the franchise, Jeepers Creepers: Reborn hit theaters in 2022.
3 Colin Is A Freakish Cautionary Tale In Silent Hill
Whereas most of the monsters in the Silent Hill movies came straight from the franchise's video game villains, Colin was largely the product of film director Christophe Gans' imagination. The resulting monster was so grotesque and effective that the video game franchise later used it as inspiration for Caliban in Silent Hill: Origins.
Colin was once a school janitor, but is damned to suffer as a freakishly contorted creature that slithers along the floor. He is blinded by barbed wire wrapped around his face, which makes him look all the more terrifying and bizarre.
2 The Werecats In Sleepwalkers Are The Pinnacle Of 1990s Weirdness
Author Stephen King has certainly created some strange and fascinating monsters over the years, but one of the weirdest creations in his repertoire is the mother-son team of werecats in Sleepwalkers. In the film, directed by Mick Garris, the pair move into a new town and start terrorizing the residents.
This 1992 movie was adapted from King's first direct-to-film screenplay, and the vampiric felines at its core were so odd looking that they had audiences scratching their heads. The werecats are definitely more funny than frightening, which places Sleepwalkers firmly in the campy spectrum of the horror genre.
1 The Pale Man Is The Most Bizarre Creature In Pan’s Labyrinth
Pan's Labyrinth is a surreal slice of fantasy from director Guillermo Del Toro. Among all the strange and fantastic creatures featured in this film, none is more memorable than The Pale Man. This grotesque monster has eyes in the middle of his hands, a seemingly simple feature that is very effective in making The Pale Man exceptionally creepy.
The Pale Man's otherwise eyeless face is equally horrible to look at, and his body is covered in drooping skin. Although he only appears in one scene, the Pale Man makes a strong impression on audiences because of his weird physical traits.