Ahh Halloween is around the corner, literally on Sunday and I’ve seen plenty of costumes in stores and on my feed and I’m seeing the typical costumes: Disney, Ghostface, witches, vampires, odd references but not a lot of actual “creatures”. Like will someone ever dress up as Mothra? Also serving as an idea that occurred to me during my “break” for about 2 weeks, or was it 3, I thought I actually did this idea. Turns out, I didn’t! So tonight, we’re going to discuss creature features and some of my favorites and underrated favorites.
There is ONE rule that I had to remind myself to not cross: I couldn’t think of vampires, werewolves or zombies. Zombies is a given but technically, vampires and werewolves can be classified under “creature” but the lines are incredibly blurry there and I can always do a separate post (or I have done) for those. So by doing that, I made it even more difficult to
These are not listed in any particular order so these aren’t worst to best, least to favorite, but an overall look at what my horror eye likes.
Digging Up the Marrow (2014): Underrated, I enjoy the look(s) of the creatures, even the ones in 2D form and we don’t see them.
C.H.U.D. (1984): Another underrated film, but highlights homelessness, social hierarchy and monsters.
Them! (1954): A classic sci-fi movie about giant mutated ants. The special effects are impressive for this decade of horror.
The Blob (1958): Another fun sci-fi horror starring Steve McQueen about an alien entity that falls from the sky and slowly takes over (and grows) in a small town. It’s aggressive and red.
The Cabin in the Woods (2011): A fun movie that takes horror tropes and spins it. Also there are many, many, many creatures to play I Spy with. Who are your favorites?
The Fly (1986): A popular but favorite body horror film. I don’t know what’s worse: turning into a fly or being so depressed that you don’t want to live anymore as a mutated fly.
Basket Case (1982): This little cult film has become a favorite of mine and I’ve seen it twice this year. Belial is… something. I mean he is a twin but… what? This movie is a fever dream.
Pumpkinhead (1988): I used to confuse this movie for Rumpelstiltskin. I’ve never seen that (minus the vhs cover) but he’s big, scary, intimidating.
Piranha (1978): A fun watch if you’re not afraid of water. That should also be discussed (water themed horror) but I was very impressed by the effects of the piranhas. It looked deadly af.
It Follows (2014): An entity that you can’t see, but you know it’s there. And it takes a form to get close to you. That’s really terrifying and it all stems from being intimate and that’s more terrifying.
The Babadook (2014): Underrated perhaps but this movie is about grief. It just so happens that grief (and guilt) physically manifests into a being that has a top hat.
Sinister (2012): Sometimes I feel like the main character Ellison (Ethan Hawke), hanging around in continuous slumps. Then I remember I don’t live in a home with “home movies” around.
The Stuff (1985): What exactly is The Stuff? It looks like it’ll actually make me sick though. This is a fun film, by the way.
Creepshow (1982): Possibly one of the best horror anthologies ever made? Shout out to the creature that hangs out in the crate. Fluffy is its name?
Gremlins (1984): I don’t want them in my house. I do want Gizmo though. Someone get me a Gizmo funko pop please?
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954): The classic Universal Monster who is an amphibious humanoid but seriously all I can think of is the beautiful scene of it swimming underneath Kay (Julie Adams).
A Quiet Place (2018): Creatures that hunt you based on sound are terrifying. Creatures that hunt you based on sound and looking like a demogorgon’s sibling are damn right scary. Have yet to see the sequel but I will.
The Descent (2005): What would you rather deal with? A crawler or “friends” who betray you by sleeping with your husband? I’d sacrifice her to the crawlers.
There are countless other films that I could have mentioned like Cloverfield, The Thing, or the countless Godzilla features but I want to dig a little deeper and bring up films that highlight the hidden gems like Digging Up the Marrow or C.H.U.D. What are some of your favorite creature feature films? Leave a comment below!
Shots of Horror 