Land Sharks, Horny Beasts and Glow-in-the-Dark Aliens: 6 of the Most Unique Movie Monsters!

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned monster movie to get the blood pumping, and with decades of vampires, werewolves and zombies consuming poor victims on the silver screen, there’s no shortage of films to choose from. Personally, I have a soft spot for productions that come up with original monsters that aren’t based on any existing book, legend or animal. Not only can these nightmarish creations serve as an opportunity for filmmakers to find new ways to scare the crap out of horror fans, but they’re also an excuse for special effects wizards to astonish us with their craft.

That’s why I’ve come up with this list of 6 of the most unique movie monsters, as I think it’s time we shine a spotlight on some of the most original antagonists that the genre has to offer. In order to be eligible for the list, the monster must have been created exclusively for the movies and can’t be based on any pre-existing property. That means no remakes, adaptations or re-imaginings of popular beasts like Bigfoot or Mothman.

With only 6 entries, this is more of a brief compilation of the creatures that I find the most interesting rather than a comprehensive list of all the best cinematic beasts, so don’t forget to comment below with your own favorites.

Now, onto the list…

6. The Fungi – Splinter (2008)

The best creature features are the ones that leave you wondering about whether or not you’d survive an encounter with their monstrous antagonists, and Toby Wilkins’ Splinter excels at making you think “how the hell would I beat this thing?”. Mostly taking place in an abandoned gas station, the film follows the unlucky victims of a carjacking that join forces with their kidnappers when they’re attacked by re-animated corpses controlled by a predatory fungus.

While the monster here is technically just a painful-looking infection (reminiscent of a punk-rock version of Marvel’s Venom Symbiote), what makes this beast stand out is the horrific way that it takes over victims while they’re still alive, puppeteering individual body-parts with jerky, bone-shattering movements as it searches for fresh hosts. I’d say that’s pretty terrifying for a villain with no central nervous system.

5. Clover – Cloverfield (2008)

A Found-Footage Kaiju movie backed by a massive budget and enigmatic viral marketing, I think it’s a miracle that Cloverfield exists in the first place. The movie itself was a couple of drafts away from greatness, but there’s no denying the impact that its creature design would have on future monster movies, especially after the posters and trailers did such a good job of keeping it a secret.

While classic Kaiju flicks were usually limited to humanoid designs that could be adapted to fit an actor in a rubber suit, Clover’s otherworldly proportions make it a far more interesting beast (even if it’s only possible due to expensive-looking CGI). In fact, the design might be a little too good, with everything from the aliens from A Quiet Place to Godzilla‘s MUTOs attempting to imitate Clover’s now-iconic gait.

4. Feast Beasts – Feast (2005)

An action/horror/comedy hybrid with a perverse sense of humor and disposable archetypes instead of traditional protagonists, John Gulager’s Feast is a strange little monster movie with a mean streak. Taking place inside a Nevada bar under siege by a group of man-eating abominations, the flick’s antagonists stand out as a bonkers addition to an already unique film.

With intimidating reptilian jaws and an insatiable appetite, the Feast Beasts may be scary to look at, but it’s their indiscriminate mating habits that make them one of the most disturbing entries on this list. These creatures aren’t just hungry, they’re horny as hell, making the most out of their unnatural ability to reproduce with any other species.

With a libido like that, it’s no wonder that Feast would later spawn a pair of equally bizarre sequels.

3. The Aliens – Attack the Block (2011)

It may have taken a decade, but I was ecstatic when I heard that Joe Cornish and John Boyega are finally partnering up again to make a proper sequel to one of the most unique alien invasion films ever made. Focusing on unconventional main characters from a UK council estate as they attempt to fend off intergalactic creatures, Attack the Block also features one of my favorite extraterrestrial monster designs.

Lumbering around like intergalactic apes with a neon-blue maw that can easily consume a drug-dealer’s head in a single bite, these aliens are a force to be reckoned with as they lay waste to urban Brixton. While there are some obvious CGI enhancements, I’ll give the filmmakers bonus points for making the creatures mostly practical, giving the characters a very real threat to interact with.

2. Graboids – Tremors (1990)

Written by Brent Maddock and S. S. Wilson, “Land Sharks” is the original title of the screenplay that would eventually become Tremors. While it’s an appropriate description of this classic monster movie, the desert dwelling Graboids (and their variations in the sequels) are much more than simple Jaws substitutes.

Boasting an iconic design influenced by director Ron Underwood’s real experience working on National Geographic nature documentaries, the Graboids are a marvel of the practical effects industry. With full-sized puppets and clever miniature-work bringing the subterranean predators to life, this is one monster movie that still works just as well today as it did over three decades ago.

1. Xenomorph – Alien (1979)

With an enormous franchise spanning 6 movies, a couple of crossovers and loads of supplemental books, comics and videogames, it’s easy to forget just how revolutionary the original Alien was when it first came out. While Ridley Scott directed the hell out of this “haunted house movie in space”, it’s H.R. Giger’s grotesque Xenomorph design that propelled the film to infamy.

Influencing everything from Pumpkinhead to Jurassic Park‘s Raptors, the Xenomorph’s disturbing biology and Lovecraftian backstory (or lack thereof, depending on what movie you’re watching) make it the stuff of nightmares. Even after all these years, this is one ever-adapting monster that we shouldn’t take for granted. After all, in space, no one can hear you scream.