Horror Monster Movies

- just another reason for loving the horror movie

· Alien

Alien was truly not only frightening but it was undoubtedly one of the best horror monsters every put on film. After seeing it after it had grew to adulthood we the audience collectively said along with the character in the movie, "oh sh*t", which basically said it all.


· Predator

The monster in the Predator movie was like many other horror movie monsters, in that his only objective was to kill. Hunt and Kill I should say, which made the whole “intergalactic hunter” element that was added during script developement kind of unsettling. Its one thing to know that you are being relentlessly pursued by a monster who wants to kill you and something completely different to know that he wants your head on a spike as well. This movie is a proof that karma can be a real “bitch”.

· The Thing

The Thing, John Carpenter’s version like a few of his other movies was very creepy. The monster in the movie like the Predator monster was from outer space as well as having an element I’d like to think was taken from Invasion of the Body Snatchers, its ability to replace humans with a version of its own, killing the “poor sap” in the process.

An American Werewolf in London


Each of the werewolves in this horror monster movie were truly frightening due to the excellent job writer-director John Landis did with things like special effects and sound engineering. Both elements can be seen and truly felt in the initial sequence where the character Jack is mauled to death and his friend David, played by David Naughton is injured.

· Jaws

The great white shark of Jaws, given birth to by director Steven Spielberg was a monster in the truest sense of the word. The shark was everything we are not just afraid of but absolutely petrified of. Just ask Sherrif Brody's son.

Like a few of the aforementioned horror movie monsters Jaws was relentless. Maybe because he was just always hungery, I'm not really sure. I wonder had someone just told him about the all you can eat special at the "bottom of the sea" restaraunt maybe that would have been enough. No? Well I tried.

· The Beast with in

This movie came out in the decade of the 80’s and when I saw it I was immediately affected by it, for one reason only, the monster. Well there were two of them. The first was a little “horny” and once he was able to escape from the cellar where he was locked up he decided do something about his condition and when he found a stranded motorist he dragged her from the vehicle and into the woods, raped and not so surprising impregnated her.

And so the “fruit” of this unholy union, a young man, and as he grew did so oblivious to what fate would bring his way, the day when the “beast” that was in him would not only emerge but would change him completely into one of the most disgustingly horrible and frightening horror movie monsters yet.

· Pinhead

Not a horror movie monster in the same sense as the others but he certainly was frightening none the less. Not only that but he was ugly and creepy like those other demons he hung with. What I remember most about Pinhead was this, the way he looked and when he spoke although he didn’t look like what most people envisioned Satan himself to look like, he at least made me think of that chief purveyor of evil. Not only that, it was just something about him that screams, he’s someone you really don’t want to F*ck with.

· The Descent

What’s worse than one truly frightening creature, an enumerable amount of course? Creatures with a predilection for human flesh, not cooked over an open flame either. We’re talking the raw kind. The kind found on those of us who are yet living and breathing. Those ugly f*ckers would not stop until your bones were absolutely stripped free of all the tasty meat every carnivorous monster needs in his diet.

· Jeepers Creepers

The monster in this movie was more of a hybrid monster. In other words, half man, half monster. I mean he did have a driver’s license right? What monster do you know has a set of “wheels” and likes to take it for a spin every once in a while, and in the process terrorize an unsuspecting couple or two. On second thought, he seemed to be a guy with a bad case of “road rage” if anything, he just happen to be ugly as f*ck, with a real f*cked up "grill".

Horror films

Legends of horror- and the birth of the scary horror movie genre

Some of the greatest scary horror movies or characters ever created and there were many, from Wes Craven’s wonderfully and frightening character, Freddie Krueger, in A Nightmare on Elm Street, as brought to life by the great Robert Englund, who by the way, in this movie, was the living, breathing incarnation of the “angel of death, the grim reaper himself, was only made possible by many of the great horror legends of the past and some of the rolls that they made famous.

One scary horror movie, a personal favorite of mine, An American Werewolf in London which is as good today as it was when John Landis wrote it many years ago. The story was pretty well written but what resonated most with people and therefore they remembered the most about the movie were the special effects. Great story, great special effects and what you have is a pretty good scary horror movie, timeless in fact, at least in my opinion, and made possible because of its forerunner…

Lon Chaney, Jr’s The Wolfman

Unfortunately, written and produced during a time when many full-length features were a little over 60 minutes of running time, The Wolfman was a classic from the day it hit the big screen. But what it lacked in story and length it more than made up for in great set designs, cinematography and of course, special effects, which I don’t think would be a stretch for me to say, with respect to the later, were before its time. Accentuated superbly by the acting performance of one of the original legends of horror Lon Chaney, Jr., who embodied the shape shifting lycanthrope like no one has since, been able to do, not only allowing the movie to make its mark in motion picture history, but also setting the standard for every subsequent “werewolf big screen story”.

The Howling



Made a few years before An American Werewolf in London, “The Howling” released at a time when the “drive in movie” was still en vogue. I still recall how the story played on a screen as large as what I saw it on, also owes much of its success to Chaney’s Werewolf.

Silver Bullet

Then there was “Silver Bullet”, written by the “King of the Macabre” Steven King, not particularly a good Werewolf movie, in fact the story was probably better on the written page than on the silver screen but like each of the aforementioned was only made possible, from the perspective of being “green lit” because of so many other Werewolf movies that had their roots in “the original werewolf” movie.

And then there was Dracula…

A role made most famously by Bela Lugosi, left an indelible mark in motion picture history, so much so, that others have tried to play the role but none did it like him.

I remember seeing the movie as a young child and from the first time I was able to see what this man was able to do with the role I became an immediate fan of not only Bela Lugosi but of the character Dracula.

It was something about how he spoke such as when he would say his name. “Hello, my name is”…well you know the rest. But the most notable element of Bela Lugosi’s portrayal of Dracula and there fore the most memorable was the pure evil he was able to capture in his eyes and how he would use them to not only elicit fear in his victims but to also seduce them when needed.

As mentioned, other actors have taken a “bite” out of the role, most recently Gerard Butler. And sometime before him there was Frank Langella. When Dracula came out staring Frank Langella many people where very much impressed with his portrayal of the character and some have even went as far to say that what he brought to the role far exceeded anything that had been done prior.

Bela Lugosi I’m sure had he been alive during this time would have taken exception to such a statement. After all how can anyone improve upon perfection? Look, as good as Frank Langella’s performance was as well as the movie in general, Bela Lugosi to this day remains the singular figure synonymous with the role of Dracula.

Of course that is my opinion, but I believe that its more than just opinion, it’s a fact. Bela Lugosi was in fact Dracula and every actor who had the pleasure of also playing the role has only one man to thank for the privilege.

Legends of Horror Movie Pack

Zombie Horror Movies

Ultimately, zombies are terrifying for a number of reasons. Unlike vampires, there is nothing romantic about them. Zombies are simply there to not only destroy humanity but to convert it. After all, the end result of a zombie apocalypse is that a population of people who were once alive are transformed into the bloodthirsty walking dead.

Zombies are apocalyptic, which also conjures up certain nightmares in our psyche. People are obsessed with the end of the world. Writers, religious scholars, scientists, etc., have all theorized since the early days of civilization about how the world will eventually end. Zombie horror movies represent one more theory that while obviously fictional still appeals to that certain yearning for apocalyptic fantasy that seems to exist in most people. While outlandish, the thought of a world in which the living return to consume the dead is both terrifying and wildly imaginative. And it really isn't any more fantastical than those believed by numerous societies and religious devotees.

As a fan of zombie movies, I particularly enjoy the claustrophobic feelings that a good zombie film can create. To watch as a group of survivors have to fend for themselves while fighting off hordes of the dead makes for excellent drama, which accounts for the success of the genre to begin with.

Of course, not all zombie films focus on the survival aspects of a potential epidemic. Some zombie movies are comedies. So what is the appeal there? Well, I think zombies are a way for us to shatter the taboo of death. After all, we're all going to die eventually. Those are the grim facts. By watching zombie movies, we can assuage our anxieties about the inevitable end. Perhaps some of use even wish to become zombies ourselves.

Fortunately, there is a wide range of zombie movies available for fans of the genre. First, there is the hardcore survivalist movies, followed by the action-comedy variety and then the offbeat comedy films. There is always something new on the horizon as well, since filmmakers are constantly trying to re-imagine the traditional zombie movie. Zombies have changed a lot since the release of Romero's 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead, and will probably continue to change well into the future. Our desire to see these lumbering, hungry dead folks on the big screen seems to have no end, as well. So we can all look forward to a brighter future with more undead entertainment coming our way.

Visit our zombie horror movies blog to learn more about zombie films in general and see our collection of zombie art.

Legends of Horror 50 Movie Pack

Get an instant library of some of the greatest horror classics and stars ever to come out of Hollywood on twelve DVDs. View chilling performances from the great horror legends including Charles Laughton, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., Alfred Hitchcock, Margaret Lockwood, Peter Lorre, Barbara Steele, Tod Slaughter, Vincent Price... and more! The Legends of Horror 50-MoviePack has something for everyone. This comprehensive collection of great classic horror films has been assembled in one exciting package, all for an amazingly low price!

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The Amityville Horror Collection (The Amityville Horror/ The Amityville Horror II: The Possession/ The Amityville Horror III: The Demon/ Bonus Disc - Amityville Confidential)

Price: $19.98

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The Midnight Horror Collection: Road Trip to Hell

THE CRAVING
On a road trip across the country, a group of college friends become stranded in the desert. Miles from anywhere and with limited supplies, they discover that when the sun goes down, a deadly killer comes out. Something that will not go into the night quietly...or without a meal. The group must battle the creature for their lives in a desolate, harsh land that few have survived.

SHELTERED
On the eve of a massive storm, Joey, an awkward but straight-laced bartender, offers a group of vacationers refuge at his house. As the storm wreaks havoc outside, the group slowly discovers why they've been invited to the house, just how disturbed their host is, and that they'll have to fight a crazed killer if they're to see the light of dawn.

HELL'S HIGHWAY
A road trip for four college friends turns into a twisted, bloody nightmare when they pick up Lucinda, a hot, young hitchhiker who lusts for the kill. After she terrorizes them, the group kills her. But around the next bend--and every bend--she appears like a mirage, ready to slaughter again...

FEEDING GROUNDS
En route to a weekend at a desert cabin, four young couples find themselves in a dangerous situation that will push them to their breaking points. After a glitch in plans forces them to pull over, they burn time by getting the party started amid the gorgeous desert scenery until a grisly discovery sets them running. But there's nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide...

Price: $9.99

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WORST HORROR MOVIE EVER MADE:THE RE-MAKE

Horror spoofs are rather tame, so Bill Zebub has created one that pushes the boundaries so far that you will wonder how the hell he got the cast to do those things on film. In these days, even offensiveness has become politically-correct. Watch The Worst Horror Move Ever Made and know what it's like to cringe. This movie is a re-make, with a new cast, plenty of gore and boobs, and superbly filmed.

Price: $9.95

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Child’s Play: The use of dolls in horror movies

Written by "MonsterMan"


Child’s Play—the use of dolls in horror movies

“Child’s play” was a horror movie that came out in the 80’s at a time when most of the movies that were being produced in Hollywood were not just horror movies but “slasher films” most of which were nothing more than low-budget “GrindHouse” fare. And like many of its contemporaries, although not a “slasher film” Child’s play in retrospect was an average film at best.

The movie is about a doll named “Chucky” that comes to life after it is possessed with the spirit of a harden criminal named Charles Lee Ray the infamous "Lakeshore Strangler" as he is so named in the movie. The doll later goes on to become, should I say, quite the “little terror”.

Despite its flawed story the producers of Child’s Play tried to capitalize on the brilliant use of “dolls” in other horror movies in order to make the story work. The most recent example of this was the sinister looking doll used to inspire fear in the “Saw” franchise. Fortunately that’s where the similarities between the two movies end.

“Saw”

The doll in the movie, as you remember doesn’t do any of Jigsaw’s bidding as far as killing or torturing and although inanimate except for when starring in many of his “home movies” which he leaves for the “viewing pleasure” of his victims, the doll is quite disturbing nonetheless. Its something about seeing that doll sitting in a chair, its mouth seemingly moving on its own, to the voice of one very creepy sounding Tobin Bell who plays the homicidal maniac Jigsaw, along with the movie’s music playing in the background, the combination of the various elements leaves you chilled to the bone.

I’m not sure if there were too many other instances in motion picture history where a message is delivered on screen with as much unsettling and horrific impact as it was the first time the writers of Saw initiated the clever use of a doll in this movie.

“The Trilogy of Terror”

Another example of the effective use of a doll on screen was in a movie I saw when I was all of 9 or 10 years old. The movie was called The Trilogy of Terror. Although the premise of the first two stories escapes me, the final installment, I won’t easily forget.

Karen black plays a woman who while out shopping comes across this little “warrior” doll that she apparently decides will go quite nicely in her home. Although as UGLY as this little guy was (and boy was he ugly you should have seen his teeth) I’m not sure how she could possibly want it or think that it could some how compliment her home’s decor.

Nevertheless at some point in the story the doll seemingly comes alive and begins to terrorize the woman moving about her home with the precision of a highly skilled hunter stalking his prey.

Imagine the absolute terror she must have experienced after hearing the pitter-patter of little feet piercing the quietness with in her home only to later DISCOVER the sound was from the doll that is suddenly not where she originally placed it.

In hindsight, not only was the sight of that little ugly black doll with ENORMOUS razor sharp teeth scurrying about quite disturbing to me as a child but the clever way in which the director animated and contorted its already ugly face to look genuinely angry and more terrifying than how it previously looked before its sudden animated state.

“Peek a boo...I see you”

Another truly awesome use of a doll on the big screen was in the movie Poltergeist. The classic horror film by Steven Spielberg remains a personal favorite of mine since the day I saw it in the theater some years ago.

The movie was about a family of 5, a couple and their 3 children whose home experiences arguably the most terrorizing poltergeist activity ever put on film. Of all the rooms that were experiencing the paranormal activity in the family’s home the one with the most belonged to the two youngest children. As if they didn’t have enough already to be afraid of, you know with the “monsters” in their closet and the “boogie man” lurking in the shadows?

The room was typical of most kids rooms, there was a large number of toys and of course a number of dolls. But there was one doll in particular that their son Tommy didn’t care for much, a clown that sat in a chair across from his bed that appeared as if it was staring. Because the doll was a clown it had this “silly looking” smile on its face and although not disturbing, it was unforgettable nonetheless.

So much so that each night as the young boy attempted to go to sleep before he could put his head down he would cover the clown with something to prevent it from seemingly watching him. One night after the frighten child gingerly approaches the doll to that end he returns to his bed where he would struggle to fall asleep, periodically looking over his shoulder, in the dolls direction, to make sure it was still in the chair. Moments later the child repeats the process but this time he finds the doll gone, the boy’s fear heightens, now more evident as the shear look of terror extends the whole of his face.

Electing not to leave the somewhat secure confines of his bed he does the only other thing that he could think of doing at this point which is…

Look under the bed.

Just the act of looking under the bed, for a child is like peering into “the abyss of hell” as it is symbolic of the place where their worst fears are realized and so the only other thing, at this point, worst than having to look under his bed would be finding the dolls two eyes peering back at him from out of the darkness.

But that’s not what happened is it?

After Tommy discovers the doll isn’t under his bed he lifts his head back up and suddenly notices over his shoulder the doll behind him. And now with his fear at a crescendo the doll grabs the terror stricken little boy about the neck, takes him to the floor and not so coincidentally, drags him under his bed.

Again another demonstration of the effective use of a doll in a horror movie and although it wasn’t scary in the same sense as some of the other dolls I’ve seen “running amok” on screen, the scene nonetheless worked quite nicely within the context of the overall story.

The doll a symbol of innocence

Of course there are many other excellent examples of how dolls have been used for dramatic impact in motion picture history but the reason it works so well in horror movies is due to what dolls symbolize. For the most part dolls are synonymous with the innocence of a child but when they are utilized on screen in the many threatening ways they have been, mainly in horror films, the symbolism tends to get lost in a world where absolutely all things are possible and for the moviegoer perception becomes reality, at least for 90 minutes it does.

Read my other article about Scary Doll Movies

Top Scary Movies- 4 Horror movies not easily forgotten

Written by the "MonsterMan"

What are the top scary movies of all time? Well since this list is totally subjective, I’ll just give you what I think are the top ones and you can determine where they come down on your list.

What makes a good scary horror movie? In my opinion it’s a movie that is riveting, that is pulse pounding, that is unnerving and that gets you really moving around, or should I say squirming in your seat. A good scary horror movie is a movie that keeps you talking years, sometimes decades after you initially see it. Alien for me was that type of movie.

Alien

Alien although probably more sci-fi then it was horror; it certainly had all the elements of an excellent horror movie. Can you possibly think of anything more frightening then being trapped not just on a ship but also against the vast emptiness of outer space and being relentlessly pursued by the monster in that movie? Makes you glad you weren’t among those on the ship, doesn’t?

The Exorcist

The Exorcist is if not the top scary movie on my list it certainly is one of the top scariest movies of all time. I think we would agree that if you polled 100 fans of the genre and asked them what are the top 3 most horrifying movies they’ve ever seen all of them would more than likely place The Exorcist in one of those first 3 positions. One of the things that made this movie good was its uniqueness. Because the story was based on true events it seemed less entertaining, in the conventional Hollywood storytelling sense. Not that it wasn’t entertaining, because it was, but when sitting in the theater and watching it after seeing its trailers and the previews that were many times aired on television after midnight with the knowledge that the movie is based on true events it tends to have more of a profound impact upon you therefore staying with you long after the credits roll.

I can still remember as a child staying up late watching television in the dark, as I would often do when the preview for this movie came on. It scared the living you know what out of me. Not only that, every time it came on subsequent to my first time seeing it, I would quickly run to the television to change the channel. The Exorcist was so dark and disturbing that even a 30-45 second trailer airing on television was hard to view.

Halloween

I would seriously be remiss if I didn’t mention this next movie in our conversation of top scary movies. Halloween remains not only a cult classic but for me a personal favorite of all the many horror movies I’ve ever seen. When I think of what made this movie so good and it obviously was a number of factors but for me it was the unbelievable portrayal of Michael Myers by Nick Castle. John Carpenter seriously made you believe that if the “Boogie Man” were to ever take on flesh and come to life his name would be Michael Myers as played by Nick Castle in Halloween.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

As our discussion of the top scary movies comes to an end I want to speak briefly about another movie that continues to stand the test of time as one of the greatest horror movies ever and that being A Nightmare on Elm Street. Although this movie provided a good 90 minutes of escapism for me and others, at least from an entertainment standpoint, it was however unsettling, in that it demanded that each of us examine one of the unfortunate realities of life and that being our own eventual death. At every horrifying turn in the movie Wes Craven relentlessly reminds us, through his brilliantly developed main character Freddy Krueger (portrayed by Robert Englund) that whether asleep or awake, young or old, rich or poor we are hopelessly incapable of evading death when it eventually does comes for us. For me my only solace is knowing that when it comes knocking at my door, Freddy Krueger won’t be standing there.

Be sure to read this other article: Top Horror Movies

Worse horror movies ever part 1

Here's my list:

1. The Exorcist Part 2
2. Motel Hell
3. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
4. Halloween 3: Season of the witch
5. HellRaiser
6. I Eat Your Skin
7. Screaming Skull
8. Fright Night (Although entertaining it was very bad)
9. Evil Dead: Army of Darkness
10. It’s Alive
11. The Boogie Man (The Original)
12. Pet Cemetery

Worse horror movies ever part 2