My Top 10 Monster Movies!

[Flashjeff]

Okay, everybody! Time to 'fess up! How many of you out there love a good old fashioned monster movie? I'm talking about the REALLY big critters terrorizing mankind, be they men in rubber suits, stopmotion animation or the very latest in CGI? I'm proud to admit that I've loved monster movies ever since I was a kid, from the "big bug" flicks of the 50's to the modern day beasties. So, in descending order, here are my top 10 monster movies, some you'll instantly recognize, some you may not, but these are the flicks I love most from this genre:

1) King Kong

2) Godzilla, King of the Monsters

3) THEM!

4) The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms

5) Jurassic Park

6) Rodan

7) Tarantula

8) The Deadly Mantis

9) Tremors

10) Prophecy

HONORABLE MENTION:
The Relic
Q: The Winged Serpent
20 Million Miles To Earth
Valley of the Gwangi
Gorgo

If anyone out there has their own favorites, or wish to comment on mine, by all means, let your voice be heard! Let's have fun discussing our favorite monsters!

 

[mad pierrot]

Good list!

That reminds me, I'm looking forward to the King Kong remake. I hope they don't screw it up, but I have faith in Peter Jackson.

Hmmm...

I'm gonna half to throw JAWS on that list, too!
(Hey, he was big.)

 

[Flashjeff]

That reminds me, I'm looking forward to the King Kong remake. I hope they don't screw it up, but I have faith in Peter Jackson.

Hmmm...

I'm gonna half to throw JAWS on that list, too!
(Hey, he was big.)

Well, that makes two of us, but after seeing LOTR, I have faith in Peter Jackson that he'll do Kong right. I've read that he's set the film in the 1930's like the original, so that's a good sign right there.

As for Jaws, well, I thought about it, but sharks (and that includes the genetically smart great whites from Deep Blue Sea) don't quite rank up there with the big guys. But that's gonna change as I read that MEG (short for Megalodon Carcharodon) is supposed to be coming to the theaters next year or so. For anyone who hasn't heard of it, the best way to describe it is, "Jurassic shark" as this movie's adapted from a novel by Steve Alten about a prehistoric great white shark that somehow survives into the present day, it checks in at SEVENTY FEET long and can swallow an elephant whole! Now that's a flick I wanna see!

 

[Iron Chef]

Wow, a fellow Prophecy fan. That movie gave me some serious heebie-jeebies when I was a kid and would go camping in the woods, heh. Some other films I enjoyed include:

Clash of the Titans
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters
Mighty Joe Young (the original)
The Thing (ok, technically not a "BIG" monster per se... but still a classic)

 

[BrennaCeDria]

The Thing like John Carpenter's The Thing? I'd say that's more Cthulhu than "classic" monsters. And I'm sorry, Jaws DEFINITELY deserves to be on the list. I'll have to put my list together later, it's gonna take some thought.

 

[Flashjeff]

Wow, a fellow Prophecy fan. That movie gave me some serious heebie-jeebies when I was a kid and would go camping in the woods, heh. Some other films I enjoyed include:

Clash of the Titans
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters
Mighty Joe Young (the original)
The Thing (ok, technically not a "BIG" monster per se... but still a classic)

Cool! I didn't think anyone knew what Prophecy was! Yeah, the bear-monster in that flick gave me some serious goosebumps too. I was in my early 20's when it came out and I couldn't evven go near a city park for weeks!

Now, your mention mention of The Thing got me to thinking about a sub-division of my list:

SMALL SCALE TOP 10 MONSTER MOVIES (non-city wrecking division)

1) Alien
2) Predator
3) The Thing From Another Planet (the original from the 50's)
4) It's Alive
5) The Creature From The Black Lagoon
6) Jaws
7) The Howling
8) Silver Bullet
9) Deep Blue Sea
10) An American Werewolf In London

Just a little more to rap about!

 

[Damicci]

What was the movie with the Xmas Tree dancing with the people in the gym and when they turned off the music it got mad and started eating people? I LOVE THAT MOVIE!

 

[DoctorP]

Hey Jeff...could Attack of the killer Tomatoes qualify as a monster flick??

 

[Flashjeff]

Hey Jeff...could Attack of the killer Tomatoes qualify as a monster flick??

HA! More like a screwball comedy which I've seen once or twice! And don't even get me started on Plan 9 From Outer Space! That was just plain dopey!

 

[DoctorP]

so then Attack of the 50 foot women from Mars is out of the question then?

 

[mad pierrot]

As for Jaws, well, I thought about it, but sharks (and that includes the genetically smart great whites from Deep Blue Sea) don't quite rank up there with the big guys. But that's gonna change as I read that MEG (short for Megalodon Carcharodon) is supposed to be coming to the theaters next year or so. For anyone who hasn't heard of it, the best way to describe it is, "Jurassic shark" as this movie's adapted from a novel by Steve Alten about a prehistoric great white shark that somehow survives into the present day, it checks in at SEVENTY FEET long and can swallow an elephant whole! Now that's a flick I wanna see!

Sounds cool!
Man, on the subject of bears in the woods, I always like the movie "The Edge," although it's really not a monster flick.

One more to add to the list: the old school Dragon Slayer, the one that came out in the 80s. Good stuff. Man, are there any others we're missing?

 

[kirei_na_me]

Clash of the Titans

Clash of the Titans is a classic! Love that part where Harry Hamlin chops Medusa's head off! Great flick that brings back childhood memories.

My top ten:

Bram Stoker's Dracula
Silver Bullet
Trilogy of Terror
Aliens (not the first, not cubed, not resurrected)
Jaws
The Creature from the Black Lagoon
Candyman
The Howling
Predator
It

Hmmm...there are so many!

These are in no particular order. I see flashjeff and I have some in common.

I saw Trilogy of Terror when I was only 4 years old and it scared me to death. I don't think I could sleep without a light on until I was 15 years old.

 

[mad pierrot]

It!

Man, that movie really freaked me out! Not as good as the book, but still great!

Since now we're talking abit more generally, I gotta say the exorcist freaked me out more than any other movie. It didn't hurt that when I saw it I was going to a Catholic school with a big, creepy dark church. That, and my mother (a devote Catholic) told me some creepy stories about possesion and crap like that from the time she spent in Brazil. Oy vey. Nothing like scaring the bejezus out of your kids!

 

[Iron Chef]

Some other old-skool favorites (doubt many have seen these "gems" except maybe Jeff, heh):

Basket Case (Basket Case 3 was freakin' hilarious too)
Phenomena (aka Creepers w/ a very young Jennifer Connelly)
CHUD (Cannibalistic Human Underground Dwellers...lol)
Parasite (Wow... Demi Moore's first film)
It's Alive (cute babies...)
Rawhead Rex (Kewl!)
Re-Animator (more amusing than anything else)
Rabid (Some serious heebie-jeebies here...)
The Stuff (gawd-awful but amusing at times...)
Hellraiser (the original and maybe the sequel too, rest were crap...)

On another note, maybe the biggest dissapointment for me in this genre was Nightbreed. I absolutely love Clive Barker's work and was eagerly awaiting this film. When it finally came out... bleh.

 

[jarvis]

exorist 1
omen 1
holloween 1
the shineing
the thing (with kurt russle)

 

[jarvis]

for those who said:

trilogy of terror (that lil monkey thing was weird)
or
It's alive (the milk truck sceen was weird)

race with the devil
and
sally don't be afraid of the dark
are must sees!

also the ledgend of boggey creek

all kinda low budget 70's flicks that kinda made you jump...

 

[Apollo]

I am not a big monster film fan, but here goes:

King Kong (I cried...the first film I cried to!!)
The Blob (an old 80s film I think)
Godzilla

I think that is about it....for now...I can't think of any more which made an impression on me.

 

[Flashjeff]

One more to add to the list: the old school Dragon Slayer, the one that came out in the 80s. Good stuff. Man, are there any others we're missing?

Damn! Forgot all about Dragonslayer!! And I recently found it on DVD too! Plus, that badass dragon had a mondo cool name: Vermithrax Perjorative! Awesome!


Wow! Trilogy of Terror! That takes me back! The last segement with Karen Black being chased by that evil doll was the best, and the scariest, especially in the last scene when the doll possesses her and she flashes that demonic grin. Scared the excrement out of me!

It's Alive game me more than my share of goosebumps too. That mutant baby was a mother! For a week after I saw it, I'd jump every time I heard a baby cry! Ahh! Such good stuff from back in the day!

 

[jarvis]

silent rage , with chuck norris was kinda creepy too

 

[Apollo]

I agree that JAWS should be mentioned here......It scared me so much the first time I saw one of the films......

 

[Flashjeff]

silent rage , with chuck norris was kinda creepy too

Another little known classic. And yeah, it was a creepy flick, what with Chuck going toe to toe with an indestructable killer. I think I'm gonna go look for that on DVD!

 

[Apollo]

Oh! I forgot Arachnophobia (1990).....deadly spiders...everywhere...creepy!

 

[kirei_na_me]

What about Child's Play?!

It scared me to death when I first saw it!

Of course, it got more and more humorous with each sequel.

 

[Apollo]

What about Child's Play?!

It scared me to death when I first saw it!

Of course, it got more and more humorous with each sequel.

Yes, it got more and more funny. I remember Chucky was "doing it" with his girlfriend in episode three...

 

[Flashjeff]

What about Child's Play?!

It scared me to death when I first saw it!

Nahh! Not me! I was chuckling from the start. Child's Play was no big deal! Kinda stupid in fact, but that's just my opinion.