T.'s Favorite Creature Films
If medieval fantasy is the subgenre I’m most passionate about, the second subgenre I’m most passionate about would be creature films, where anything that functions like an animal is a central source of conflict, whether it’s mammals, reptiles, fish, bugs, extraterrestrials, science experiments gone wrong…
The fundamental appeal of the genre for me is how it can provide thrills without inherently raising moral concerns that violent conflict between humans could raise, not that I think using violence to end violence is inherently unjustifiable; just look at how many action films I’ve praised on this blog. That’s also not to say that creature films are always unproblematic, such as when they tastelessly revel in gore and debauchery (and I thankfully haven’t seen many of those).
While it’s very easy to find amateurish schlock in both subgenres, it’s also much easier to find a good creature film than it is to find a good medieval fantasy film, even if Chewbacca makes Star Wars somehow the only outright good bigfoot films.
To avoid repeating myself, I will leave entries off the following list that I have discussed elsewhere (2023 Year in Review, All-Time Favorite Films, Favorite Film Per Year: 1995-2024), such as Jaws (1975)—my favorite horror film sheerly for its character work; The Edge (1997)—more a general survival thriller that’s a creature film in the middle; The Host (2006)—the best non-Japanese foreign creature film I’ve seen; and Godzilla Minus One (2023)—the best foreign creature film I’ve seen.
I also want to give shout-outs to:
Cujo (1983), for being able to distress me with its plausibility more than any other creature film I’ve seen, even if that did not make it fun for me.
Mimic (1997), for having a rosary save the day, albeit in a way that would probably be sacrilegious if it wasn’t the nearest object to cut one’s hand to lure a giant mutated cockroach away from a child using the scent of blood.
Night of the Lepus (1972), for failing harder than any movie to make me take its monsters seriously, yet such a sincere attempt to scare us with giant carnivorous bunnies is so endearing—especially for its use of real bunnies on miniature sets—that I can’t help but admire it in a way that wasn’t intended.
Pacific Rim (2013), for being the most me movie on paper that somehow isn’t in practice—a rare case where I actually wish there wasn’t such a sincere attempt to develop characters when the selling point is giant mechs punching giant monsters.
The Pool (2018), for having the most insane thing I’ve ever seen put to screen, something that’s upset many a dog lover but that had me cackling for the sheer audacity to depict it, which likely says something really dark about me…
And now, here are ten more of my favorite creature films, listed alphabetically:
Aliens (1986)
— Dir. James Cameron
While James Cameron has one of the biggest egos, part of me feels he’s earned it, even if what I think is his masterpiece is the sequel to someone else’s film.
It’s clear which side of the “Alien versus Aliens” preference I fall into, and that’s partly because Alien (1979) has a more pronounced nihilism as opposed to the heartfelt found family theme that develops in its sequel. Aliens also has one of the greatest obnoxious side characters (Jar Jar Binks gave me a tolerance for those) in Bill Paxton’s Hudson, and the Alien Queen is my all-time favorite practical effect.
I get the criticism that Aliens turns the terrifying creature from Alien into cannonfodder, but Alien never establishes what a gun can do to a xenomorph, and the xenomorphs still overwhelm most of the marines here. (Said marines also had a clear influence on those in the Halo games.)
I cannot deny, though, that Alien is still a brilliantly crafted film with the thickest sense of atmosphere I’ve ever seen, and I wish this followup could have carried that over. I have yet to bother with the franchise beyond these first two.
A Quiet Place (2018)
— Dir. John Krasinski
Takes an unprecedented approach to both creature films and alien invasions by crafting a world where everybody has to avoid making noise for their survival.
It also builds its tension through not only the anticipation of its (unfortunate reliance on) jump scares but also through, more importantly, making us care so much about the loving family at the center—and who are still having kids!—that we don’t want to see harm come to them. The most wholesome-hearted frightfest.
Part II (2020) has its moments, enough to make it the most tense movie I’d ever seen on first viewing, but its plot holes felt less forgivable on rewatch. Post-concussion syndrome has prevented me from seeing Day One (2024).
Arachnophobia (1990)
— Dir. Frank Marshall
I deliberately avoided this one for a long time because I hate spiders, especially when movies use real ones; Eight Legged Freaks (2002) was a rare case where I was actually glad that the CGI was bad.
Eventually, I bit the bullet, and while Arachnophobia ended up being freaky and icky as I feared, I also ended up having a lot of fun with it. The final showdown especially is one of the most cathartic I've seen in the genre.
Another creature film from Frank Marshall: Congo (1995), which is delightfully 90s hokum that’s based on a Michael Crichton novel like a later entry on this list.
Crawl (2019)
— Dir. Alexandre Aja
With the double-threat of crocodiles and a hurricane, this uniquely and effectively blends the small-scale stakes of a creature film with the large-scale stakes of a disaster film, even if characters walk off serious injuries a bit too easily. It also has one of the most creative uses of a gun I’ve ever seen in a film.
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
— Dir. Jack Arnold
Happened to introduce the most animalistic of the Universal Monsters in the same year that introduced the most iconic animalistic cinematic monster period: Godzilla. The ever-building tension among the boat crew being terrorized by an underwater threat also had a clear influence on Jaws.
…Which is another Universal film, so maybe Bruce is actually the most animalistic Universal Monster? Julie Adams is also perfectly cast as the charming and stunning woman who even an animal could fall in love with.
I have yet to see its threequel, but I felt that its first followup—Revenge of the Creature (1955), also from Jack Arnold—was the natural way to further the story.
The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
— Dir. Stephen Hopkins
The only entry on this list that’s based directly on a true story, about an 1898 effort to hunt a pair of man-eating lions in Kenya, and while it received flack in its time for its embellishments, it’s since come to be seen as the pretty solid thriller it is on its own terms. Michael Douglas especially steals the show when he comes in halfway through as eccentric hunter Charles Remington.
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
— Dir. Ryûhei Kitamura, Kôji Hashimoto, Shûsuke Kaneko
Well, I had to include Godzilla himself in some form on this list!
While the original Gojira (1954), the aforementioned Minus One, and even King of the Monsters (2019)—what I think is one of the most underappreciated popcorn movies of the last few years—are objectively better films, I get such a guilty pleasure out of what was once Japan’s grand series finale that brings back almost every classic monster Godzilla had ever fought up to then!
And then the human side of the boisterous story is an unholy ripoff of Independence Day (1996), Power Rangers, X-Men, Star Wars, The Matrix (1999)…
I’ve shown this to a couple of friends as their first Godzilla movie, and while not the most accessible introduction, it’s certainly entertaining to see their reactions! And if every single scene were laughable, this would pretty much be the best stupid movie ever made! For that, though, we have Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002).
Jurassic Park (1993)
— Dir. Steven Spielberg
When I was little, I was under the impression that CGI—the coolest thing to me at the time—was invented for this film, so for many years, my reductive view of film history was “Before Jurassic Park” and “After Jurassic Park”.
As I grew, I learned that CGI was taking baby steps towards this film for years, and realized that what really makes the dinosaurs tangible is how much of their screen time is portrayed by animatronics. As revolutionary as the CGI was, I’d like to see the timeline where they went with stop-motion as originally planned.
While Jurassic Park has slightly lowered in my estimation over the years as I’ve seen better creature films (especially Jaws), it planted my love for the genre along with Godzilla, and it’s still the one that feels the most like a warm blanket to me.
King Kong (2005)
— Dir. Peter Jackson
The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) (my article on which) bonus features reveal that an overwhelmed Peter Jackson once wanted his followup to the gargantuan trilogy to be “simple as [heck]”; it ended up being a three-hour King Kong remake.
Still, this is the closest thing to a great version of this oft-retold story ever put to screen—the first time Kong was sympathetic and didn't look unintentionally creepy, through CGI that’s still impressive. It’s also one of the most go-for-broke adventure films ever made, to both its merit and its detriment (though not the same detriment as last year’s related overkill, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire).
Tremors (1990)
— Dir. Ron Underwood
In this battle between hillbillies and giant tunneling sand worms, the ways man and beast keep adapting to each other’s strategies make this one of the genuinely cleverest examples of the genre, as is Michael Gross and Reba McEntire grabbing bigger and bigger guns off their wall to shoot the graboid that’s tunneled into their basement one of the genuinely funniest gags of the genre!
The one thing that hurts my enjoyment, alas, is the excessive profanity—even worse than in Jaws, or even in Aliens. I have yet to see all of the direct-to-video sequels, but at least the first couple are surprisingly worthy.
Another creature film from Ron Underwood: Mighty Joe Young (1998), a childhood favorite that’s far more drama and adventure than horror or thriller; I can see why its goofy 90s humor and schmaltz make it forgotten, but I’m still fond of it.
That's quite a list. I always loved the Creature From the Black Lagoon. The monster in it was done so well for the time. I love seeing it swim through the water and stalk people. And Tremors, yes. I think it's a much smarter film than it is given credit for being. The characters really make it, which is the sign of a great creature film, on my opinion. I feel the same about Jaws. Great post, T.