This is going to be one to let roll around in your head for a bit before answering. Continuing in our celebration of Halloween and all things horror, we thought it might be fun to hear some of the favorites out there of the good old fashion monsters. You could answer this two different ways. You could point out your favorite monster from the usual suspects, such as vampires, werewolves, science experiment gone wrong, a mummy, or any of that ilk. Or, you could pick a specific monster that just blew you away. Such as the Deadly Spawn, or Pumpkinhead, Critters, or any of the countless other creature terrors that has come our way over the last 100+ years of cinema. Easy enough, right?
So let’s hear it.
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When I was a young lad, vampires and werewolves were always battling it out for the top spot on my favorite monster list. The Id monster from Forbidden Planet along with the Martians in War of the Worlds had me glued to the TV set eyes as wide as saucers! King Ghidorah, or Ghidrah as the US title called him, had cemented himself at the top of my giant monster list from the moment that I saw that glorious first film! Clash of the Titans along with Jason and the Argonauts with their vast array of creatures also captured my young imagination like so many of my generation. Freddy, Jason, and Pinhead have all duked it out for the pole position on my list as well.
But there’s one creature that instantly and permanently shot to the top of my list when it was “born” in a literal explosion of blood and gore and that is the Alien. Nothing could have ever prepared me for the incredible experience that I had watching that film for the first time on vhs back in the day! I knew absolutely nothing about the film going into it other than the fact that there was an Alien in it. Lol! So when that egg opened up and the facehugger jumped out, I was riveted. What the hell is this thing?! Acid for blood?! Fuck! And then came the coup de grace, when the chestburster made its spectacular appearance! Left my jaw on the floor and my dick knocked firmly in the dirt! Hahahaha! Just when I thought it couldn’t get anymore weird and wild then along comes the adult creature with its smooth featureless head with no discernable eyes, nose, or ears. How was it able to find its prey?! And those incredible double jaws! There’s no reasoning with it, you just have to find a way to kill it or you’re dead! Sure there’s been endless rip offs, and yes, the basic story for the film itself has been done before. But it’s the creature along with the stellar cast and Scott and his team’s incredible vision of a grim and bleak future that sets it apart from all of the rest. There’s truly been nothing quite like it ever since! At least not to that level of creative genius anyway. Then Cameron came along and took everything one step further with Aliens, and we have, in my humble opinion, two of the very few perfect films that exist in cinema history!!
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I agree, Ryan. Really tough to come up with a creature to compare with the one from Alien. Very creative and damn scary.
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What’s always fun to read when a question like this is asked is to notice the difference in ages that shows what was influential at different times. Thinking about the question I wondered I thought back to the movies that frightened me as a child but have come to find a nice place on the shelf with my favorites these days. Are they there because of those memories or because they still have that ability to frighten me just a tad?
Growing up in Akron I was fortunate enough to be there when the horror host was at its peak. Starting with Ghoulardi moving on to Big Chuck and Hoolihan and then the Ghoul I was given plenty of opportunity to see tons of horror films growing up. Some truly scared me. I remember the melting faces in HOUSE OF WAX filing into my nightmares. Lon Chaney Jr. as the wolf man transforming had me hiding behind the couch. But there was one fright that stayed with me for a long time.
I don’t know if it qualifies as an actual monster but it was the title character in MR. SARDONICUS. That evil grin that was frozen on his face had me turning from the screen. The segment where he was locked in the closet with his father’s corpse stayed with me. And yet when I saw an issue of FAMOUS MONSTERS with the character on the cover I was compelled to buy it. When discovered it was tossed out by my mother who knew how frightened I was of the image. Maybe it was a way of me confronting my fears. In some ways I think that’s why we all watch horror films to some point.
So there you have it, the grinning image of Mr. Sardonicus is my nomination for monster of the month. If you’ve never seen it then by all means seek it out.
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You bring up a great point, Mark, in that really does have something to do with your age. Stuff that we saw as youngsters can tend to be thought of silly these days.
Mr. Sardonicus was one of the last Castle films (of his more famous titles) that I was able to find back in the VHS days, long before it released. TNT was going to play it one Halloween season. I made sure I was there taping it, and it did not disappoint. While I didn’t think it was scary (granted I was much older than you when you first watched it), but I just felt such dread for this character. It still remains my favorite of Castle’s films.
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mark, I grew up in Canton (right down the road) and I true have very fond memories of the Houlihan & Big Chuck & The Ghoul (just a tad young for Ghoulardi). You are absolutely right that those shows were a great introduction to the classic monsters and I often wonder how horror fans today can truly appreciate the movies of today without the benefit of being brought up on the classics as a building block.
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I will have to agree with Ryan and Jon on Alien as the most memorable monster. It is tough to decide which was my favorite, the original Xenomorph from Alien, or the Queen “Bitch” from the sequel. As Ryan said, both films are perfection. I will also add that I am very partial to Creature of the Black Lagoon as a big favorite as well. I vividly remember first viewing this film on “Chiller Theater” (with horror Host, Chilly Billy Cardille) in Pennsylvania at the age of 12 in 1976. Still one of my fave Universal Monsters!
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Glad that you brought up the Creature, Todd! Going to the local convenience store or gas station to get our 3D glasses so because they were going to show the film on tv is another very memorable childhood moment for me as well! I’ll never forget that awesome experience! They just don’t do cool stuff like that anymore.
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I totally agree with you, Todd, on the Creature from the Black Lagoon. I can’t think of another classic monster where the makeup costume still looks as kick ass today as it did back then. The film still amazes me each and every time I watch it.
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Sorry I’m late on this. Busy weekend.
As a zoology major and an animal lover I have always found creatures with a biological niche or wilderness tinge fascinating. As a kid I fell in love with the Creature as well; as he was a evolutionary oddity.
But perhaps my favorite monster as a child (and one I still love today) is the werewolf. The idea of a human taken by a wild side; making him more animal than man has always been an idea that can be taken in so many ways and lends itself to so many interpretations. There are a lot of great concepts (werewolf as coming of age; werewolf as killer instinct, etc.) and a lot of great movies. Someday, I would really love to see a movie that explores the werewolves’ integration into the wilderness; how they work in packs and other ways they are analogous to there wolf ancestors. Something that focuses on the werewolf as a creature in and of itself and less of a focus on the people cursed by lycanthropy or the focus on the werewolf as a “savage” killer.
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Wow! So many typos here. Guess, I will have to proofread my entries better…
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I think there has been a few movies that try to take the werewolf genre a little differently, but honestly few of them work. But I’m sure it is possible.
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As a kid it was always the Wolf man from the Universal movies, he’s still me favorite from those films. But after seeing Alien when I as a little older that did it for me. The creature in the first film looked amazing and scared the hell of me. Honorable mentions Barlow, Deadly Spawn and Pumpkinhead.
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Glad someone mentioned Deadly Spawn. That blew my mind the first time renting that one.
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I decided not to wait until the last minute like I have seemed to be doing. But found two choices that was very happy with.
Ghost Town (1988) – Not sure why, but I never got around to seeing this one. Maybe because it was from Charlie Band and I didn’t think it would be that good. But I was wrong. It’s a pretty strong film, very stylized, some good old fashion makeup effects, and a fun story. Definitely would recommend this one if you haven’t seen it.
The Snow Woman (1968) – A slightly different take on the traditional Japanese legend of the Snow Woman, but still very well done. Loved the freezing effects and some beautiful camera work. Plenty of atmosphere. Recommended, especially if you like ’60s Japanese horror.
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