Favorite Monster Movies - the good, the bad, the cheesy

I'm partial to Pumpkinhead myself. He'd be considered a monster right?

Aranion, I like your choices. Those are all fun, guilty pleasures.

Mine:

John Carpenter's The Thing: A Horror/sci-fi classic with a truly grotesque monster.

An American Werewolf in London: Classic horror comedy with some werewolf FX that still look great twenty five years later.

Dragonslayer: Fun, little 80's fantasy adventure starring Peter MacNichol and the dragon still looks good.

And of course the Alien and Predator films belong in any top spot.

Jaws and The Thing, because they're motherfucking awesome. Both are among my 10 ten fave films EVAR.

Honorable mentions:

American Werewolf in London, still the best werewolf movie (though Ginger Snaps comes close.)

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, a 70s made-for-TV film about little, foot-high critters that coem out in the dark. One of the films that shaped me as a horror fan.

Jurassic Park I consider a monster movie. How can a dinosaur not be a monster? And does anyone not get a woody when they see dinosaurs chase and eat people? Didn't think so.

2001: A Space Odyssey. Not a monster movie per se, but HAL 2000 certainly qualifies as a monster.

Alien. If the monsters won't come to us, sometimes we have to go to them.

I'll second the love for Pumkinhead. Just a nifty little flick from Stan Winston in his directoral debut, I believe.

My fave monster movie will always be the original King Kong. Just a near-perfect blueprint for the genre.

I liked Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Valley of the Gwangi, too.

And don't know if it counts, but Talos turning to stare at the men in Jason and the Argonauts is just iconic monster movie-making.

Can't believe I forgot Jurassic Park. Good choice.

Though, I personally love The Lost World and like it a little better than the original since it gives us twice as much dino carnage.

The best made for TV horror film ever. It's in desperate need of a DVD release.

As a side note, owner's of the original 1981 AD&D "Fiend Folio" will know these creatures by the name of "MeenLocks".

Monsters Mashed!

I've been wanting to start up a potential "sticky" thread (like CHUD's Sequel or B-Movie threads) just for Monsters themselves (my favorite kind of horror flick) for awhile now. No need for dueling threads, so I'll help populate this one... Thanks for the initiative.

With Feast hitting a limited release this weekend, Slither and Abominable dvd releases in time for Halloween, and Pan's Labyrinth rearing it's creature-inhabited head in just a few months... it's a great time to be a monster lover.

When a film comes out with Stan Winston, Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Henson's Creature Shop, Weta, Patrick Tatapolous, Chiodo Bros., KNB, etc. attached, I get just as excited as others do for their favorite director's or actor's involvement in a film.

1. I love the Kaiju (Godzilla, Gamera, etc.) & the Yokai (all the other smaller J-Monsters) of Japanese cinema.

2. I'm a nut for all the classic Universal Monsters and Ray Harryhausen (supposedly coming out of retirement= Huzzah!) flicks.

3. I'm secretly waiting for sequels to Nightbreed, Deep Rising, & Gremlins 2.

4. B-Monsters like Critters, Rawhead Rex, Creepozoids, and Crater Lake Monster never fail to entertain me. I even get a little giddy when the Sci-Fi channel premieres some new Creature Feature I haven't seen.

5. I'm definitely partial to Lost World type flicks, Dinosaurs on the Rampage movies, and undersea Nessies & mutant sharks/octopi/reptiles.

6. I love when vampires & werewolves (zombies & ghosts too) are done well and I'm still faithful to the genre by giving the stinkers a chance.

7. I have quite a few Sci-Fi & Fantasy dvds in my collection, but have a soft-spot when ALIENS invade/abduct/impregnate or when an entry (or faximile) from my D&D Monster Manual makes an appearance.

8. I want Monster Squad/Night of the Creeps to hit dvd officially, waiting for Peter Benchley's Beast & Creature mini-series to come out on disc in this region (USA), praying for Coppolla's Dracula to get it's Criterion Laserdisc over to dvd-land, and was quite excited when Freaked got a nice 2-disc treatment from Anchor Bay.

9. I mourned for their predecessors when the terrible Troll 2, Howling 7, and Pumpkinhead 2: Blood Wings vomited into my consciousness. Pumpkinhead 3 & 4 (with Lance H) are in production now!

10. Not only am I a freak for monster flicks, but I have a section in my dvd collection devoted specifically for the Monster Hunter (Santo, Ash, pick-a-vamp-slayer).

11. Monsters permeate the action figures I collect, the comics I read (Hellboy, Goon, etc.) and the video games I play.

12. Hell, even my favorite musical comedy has a man-eating plant in it.

With all that said, KING KONG has got to be my favorite Hollywood beastie of all time. An island full of dinosaurs, primitives, and atmosphere to spare... oh yeah & a giant skirt-chasing APE!


Definite shout-outs to AWIL, Thing, Alien & Predator series, Jaws and many others mentioned in the thread. Glad to see fellow monster lovers chiming in.

My 2-year old daughters favorite movies are Monsters Inc. & Elmo in Grouchland, so I must be doing something right.

By virtue of the fact that they spend the entirety of the running time hitting you over the head with the notion that they are ANIMALS and not bloodthirsty monsters. I don't disagree with your classification, especially since even the paleontologist later refers to them as creations of science rather than nature. I just prefer my definition of "monster" to include some sort of motivation beyond simply seeking out nourishment. Even Lake Placid (SPOILER), it could be argued, had the creature(s) acting partly in defense of the young'ins.

Oh, and DARKMITE8 wins.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats The King.

Hail to the King, baby.

In Godzilla's defense, he's the King of all Monsters as well... must be a jurisdictional thing.

Not a slight to dear old Gojira, but my monstrous deity of choice comes at'cha in stop-motion, not a rubber suit.

Are you going to prayer group? I hear there's a pot-luck... it's BYOB (bring your own blonde) Sacrafice Night.

KONG KONG KONG!!!

I've said it once and I'll say it again, the all-time scariest movie on regular TV was a little gem called "Dark Night of the Scarecrow". I watch it every year on a burned Dvd that I copied from when it played on TBS some 15 or so years ago. It is an excellent copy and it's even a kick to watch the old commercials from yesteryear. I would kill to get a nice Dvd copy NOW.

What, no love for the Boogens, Belials, Critters, Ghoulies, Munchies, Killer Klowns, Subspecies, Dagons, or Boggy Creek denizens of the Monster Kingdom?

Or howbout the pronouns of MonsterLand... They, It, & Them?

Cronenberg's Fly.

I love that film. I've still got a VHS copy of it I snagged from a video store way back when.... it definitely needs a dvd. It's worth watching just to see a retarded Robert G. Durant get his revenge.

Darkmite- hah, thought this was your thread when I first saw it.

Some great stuff already listed. The most recent monster movie I've dug was probably Evil Aliens. Everyone has to experience that film.

I have a soft spot for Q: the Winged Serpent.

Any idea on a release date for that? I got it SAVED in my Netflix queue. Hope it's better than West's Razor Blade Smile...

Let me add some other faves of mine:
- The giant, mutated mom-zom at the end of Dead Alive & the Sumatran Rat-Monkey
- The cast of the Dark Crystal
- The alien monster from Terrorvision
- The Rancor from ROTJ (and most things Phil Tippet has a hand in)
- Kraken & crew from POTC: Dead Man's chest
- Cyclops from Harryhausen's Sinbad
- Legend's Darkness

It's really tough narrowing it down... there are so many types of monsters, genres they exist in, and methods that they were brought to life on the Big (and little) Screen.

Hell's yeah. Nice call.

Looking forward to:
- Where the Wild Things Are live action movie
- Black Sheep

Here's a few:

'From Beyond'
'Re-Animator'
'John Carpenter's The Thing'
'The Golden Voyage of Sinbad'
'The Fly'
'Starship Troopers'

All this time and no one's mentioned "Humanoids Of The Mothafuckin' Deep"? That movie's got it all- freaky monsters, tons of boobies and endless gallons of gore.

One of the worst monster movies was "Gargoyle". Not the classic cartoon, but the Sci-fi channel film. I believe Nick hated that film as well?

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned The Host.

I still get a kick out of Godzilla just monkey-stomping on Ghidorah's neck in Destroy All Monsters. And the first fight between Godzilla and Battra in Godzilla vs. Mothra. Hell, all the kaiju fights are done with such gusto, it makes the interminable human scenes surrounding them that much more unbearable.

And I always had a soft spot for Gorgo, even if it did show that the British should have left the man-in-suit business to the Japanese.

Some more:

The Ymir from 20 Million Miles to Earth
The Monster from the Id in Forbidden Planet
Orca from Orca (I think a revenge-driven killer whale bent on killing Richard Harris moves beyond plain ol' animal territory)
The Beast from Twenty Thousand Fathoms

Yeah, it does. And I'm gonna open up my definition to allow not only for vengeance-fueled beasts but also any creature affected by Man that becomes a threat to humanity. Are the giant ants in Them! acting any differently than they would be if they were regular-sized? No, that's what makes them not only impossible to exist under the laws of physics, but also a science-instigated horror!

Some great picks that I can not disagree with. Great Orca reference!

My pick would be the awesome and nicely twisted remake of The Blob from 1988.

Also the slithering critters from Night of the Creeps.

Recent additions would be Jackson's awesome King Kong. I love the scene with he and Ann on the ice.

The Beast Witin always made me want to gack.

The Blob itself, regardless of incarnation, is a great monster. It's an indiscriminate, indiscernible, flesh-dissolving space menace. That's great stuff, there.

Here's one for the "cheesy" category:

Jellyfish Man (I don't recall if it has a true moniker), from Sting of Death. What the picture does not show is that diving fippers were used for the creature's feet.

I've always enjoyed Swamp Thing too. One of only three good movies Wes Craven has ever made.

Beyond Godzillia and the HArryhausen monsters, both of which have been covered...




I can never get sick of this movie

Speaking of comic book monsters on the big screen, I'm dying to see Mole Man and his monstrous horde in a F4 sequel and a few creatures from Batman's rogue gallery (Manbat & Killer Croc) in a movie.

AND... Doug McClure. Definitely a good one, and for me, it's a toss up between that one and Island of the Fishmen (Dr. Moreau homage) for aquatic fishmen movies (besides the "can't-hold-a-candle-to" Black Lagoon's Creature). Hammerhead is certainly a sight to behold.

The 2nd stringer Kaiju never get any respect. Just ask Varan, Yog, Yongary, Reptilicus, Gargantua, Garuda, Pulgasari, Dogora... Atleast Ghidra & Baragon have the esteamed pleasure of getting their asses handed to them by G-Man himself.

He musta partied with these guys...



He definitely deserves a mention (there's no reasoning with a Blob). The Graboids from Tremors get a shout-out as well.

Incidentally, here are some cool hi-res lobby cards you can print out at work & hang in your cubicles (or use as desktop backgrounds) to advertise that you're part of the Creature Corner "Monster Squad" (yeah I just made that up) to all your co-workers: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/Posters/scifi1.htm

Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection

FYI: (Source: Bobblemonkey: http://chud.com/forums/showthread.ph...81#post1794981 ) Best Buy has an exclusive set that came out this week that includes Tarantula, The Mole People, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Monolith Monsters, and Monster on Campus.

I picked mine up today for $19.99... yahoo! Some previously unreleased gems.

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with it, myself.

I'd prefer individual releases but these are great flicks, and well worth the Jackson.

No one mentinoned 'Monster Squad' yet?...well they have now.

As for a classic monster movie, treating the monster as if it really is that - destruction and screaming following its path. A film that treats its monster with respect, as a myth and a legend....has to be Gojira.

Ok then, back later...

See my manifesto: post #8, point #8
Funny, 8 is DARKMITE8's lucky number.

I have an unhealthy love for this movie. I watched this every single time I came across it on TV when I was a kid.

This is an awesome thread.

I forgot how much I enjoyed these kind of movies and therefore feel the need to add a bunch to my already embarrassingly long Netflix list.

Perfection = Shelby.

Good pick. Nasty fucker this be. The remake is laughable as it goes the "tasteful" route--boo!
You can't have fish/human hybrid monsters and not have tons of galore and titties as far as the eye can see. Am I right?

Is that a trash bag on his head?

Pretty much, yeah.


edit: ladies and gentlemen, it looks as though I just officially wasted my thousandth post....

....and the 999 that came before it, of course.

To elaborate, here's the blurb from the studio that made this brilliant film available on DVD:

Thanks for directing me to it - although you can shut everyone on this thread up in the same way- youve mentioned most of the notables - old, foreign and brand new.

Monster Squad needs to come to DVD soon - my downloaded copy is all scratchy.....but the Shane Black dialogue is still intact...

"Wolfmans got NARDS!!!"

There's gonna be some redundancies as people agree. The more the merrier. I was simply disputing the wrongness of this statement:
No worries. I'm a MS fan & it's all fun here.

Additionally: Caught FEAST last night. Relentless monster goodtimes! One of my fave horror movies of the year... easy. Go see it. Tonight's the last night, if you wanna check it in theaters.
EW's a rag, but I thought this quote was accurate: "Feast isn't quite demented enough to reach Raimi-an heights, but Gulager uses parts of the monster-movie buffalo even the buffalo didn't know existed."
CC's Feast review: http://creature-corner.com/?type=reviews&id=901

EDIT: to add=
http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=reviews&id=7687
Devin's pretty spot-on review.

how can a thread like this die???

any more thoughts on these (thinking of buying):

terrorvision (on dvd anywhere??)
mutant (forbidden world) (dvd ?)
the day time ended
rawhead rex
pumpkinhead
monster man
hybrid ('97)
leviathan
creature (klaus kinski '85)
mutant (84)

any suggestions ?

Pumpkinhead's a fun enough watch, and surprisingly well-made.

Rawhead Rex is generally considered terrible, although the original short story is excellent.

thanks;

going nuts trying to find terrorvision, forbidden world, humanoids of the deep

fucking youtube, you get to catch a glimpse of something you think might redefine your existence...annnnd thats all you get.

I agree w/ Xag, and would add that Leviathan's fucking terrible. Creature is just OK; more a rental just to say you saw it tahn a purchase. I think Humanoids from the Deep is available on Amazaon. At least, I HOPE it is, since I never bought a copy, and want to.

I thought my brother and I, who give this film much love, were the only ones to ever see this. I've never heard anyone mention it before. It is a truly fun film, especially for broadcast TV. I remember seeing it on CBS in the early to mid 80's, right around Halloween, natch.

(thanks for de tip)
for $59.99 ;
this list has a few that look interestin (not all horror):
http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/210/

I own a good chunk of these (in BOLD). I have notoriously low-standards for Monster Movies, especially ones that are older than a decade for some reason... probably the fondness of bad latex over bad CGI. I have an Asian bootleg of the fun Terrorvision, just because my brother and I loved that flick when we were kids. But what do I know? I watch Full Moon, Sci-Fi originals, and New Concorde/New World (Corman) schlock...

I'm also interested in checking out Monster Man (I pick up the box every time I go to Blockbuster) and re-visiting the Alien-ripoff, Mutant (Forbidden World)... and finding a copy of Monstroid (AKA Monster), Galaxy of Terror, Mystery on Monster Island (Terence Stamp, Peter Cushing), the Star Wars rip-off: Starcrash (Caroline Munro, Christopher Plummer, David Hasselhoff), Dark Night of the Scarecrow, The Giant Claw, Pulgasari, War of the Gargantuas, and Octaman (1 of Rick Baker's first creature costumes).



I also own Breeders (98), Lethal Target, The Terror Within, Xtro (1-3), Boogens, Legion, Creepozoids, Laserblast, Deepstar 6, Hammerhead, etc. if that's any indication of the junk on my shelves.*

* And no, these are not my favorite monster flicks and I am not advocating that anyone with any taste watch them (OK you can watch Creepozoids= Linnea Quigley shower scene!).**

** I once watched Jack-O and Creepozoids back to back without any kind of for-knowledge that BOTH featured a Linnea Quigley shower scene. Consider my mind blown that night.

Creature is a definite Must Buy if one is a Kinski fan (why I own it).
For monsters and/or entertainment based on the film itself - not even really worth watching.

I've tried, but cannot get into Q: The Winged Serpent.
I've watched it several times and though I love Carradine, the monster and the egg - it just seems like a slog of 1979 lawyers, construction workers and cops for the whole running time talking about nothing very interesting.

The smart bomb from Dark Star, "let there be light," and the monster from the Id in Forbidden Planet are two of the all time greats.