Top 10 Underrated Monsters in Horror

The horror genre isn’t much without its monsters, so it’s pretty essential to get that element right if a filmmaker has any hope of being remembered. There are some obviously great monsters (a lot of them created by Stan Winston and Chris Walas), like the xenomorph from the Alien franchise, the Predator, Pumpkinhead, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Brundlefly, and the alien from The Thing. What makes a good monster is subjective, of course, but this list focuses on the creepers I love that aren’t discussed as often, that are sometimes buried in movies that aren’t nearly as brilliant as their central fiend.

10. Dwight Renfield (The Night Flier; 1997)

This lesser-known Stephen King adaptation got kind of lost in the mix of ‘90s horror, but it’s actually pretty damn good, if pulpy. Its antagonist, the vampire pilot who goes by “Dwight Renfield,” is more of a monstrous rat than your typical bloodsucker. I personally find his look unsettling, even with his insistence on wearing a cheesy cloak. His initial full reveal is well-done and frightening.

9. Tentacled Monster (Spookies; 1986)

Though this monster is a complete throwaway in the movie, appearing on screen for less than five minutes, it’s a really awesome addition to the pantheon of aquatic creatures that actually predates similar designs in movies like The Kindred (1987) and Leviathan (1989). In a movie filled with fun creepy-crawlies, this one stands out.

8. Humanoids from the Deep (Humanoids from the Deep; 1980)

Roger Corman’s take on the “monsters from the sea” subgenre is a good one, and it’s mostly successful because of the slimy, debris-ridden, large-cranium’d muck creatures that emerge to terrorize the fishing town. They’re even more terrifying because they’re intent on copulating with unwilling human females.

7. Sil (Species; 1995)

Though the alien from Species is basically another H.R. Giger riff on his usual biomechanical-cum-erotica stuff, the design ends up being great anyway. It is juxtaposed against the human form of beautiful Natasha Henstridge, in the context of the overall sensuality of the movie, which makes all its penetrating stabbiness more unnerving.

6. Queen (The Nest; 1988)

For most of its runtime, The Nest is a decently made but typical nature-run-amok story about large and hungry cockroaches invading human spaces. But, in the third act, the movie takes a really bonkers turn towards body horror, in which a bunch of cockroach/human hybrids come into play. Eventually, the queen of this gross nest of spliced creatures is revealed and it’s a disgusting amalgam of a bunch of different mutated corpses that would be right at home in Clive Barker’s story, “In the Hills, the Cities.”

5. Molasar (The Keep; 1983)

I love Michael Mann’s mess of a Nazi demon story, but that’s neither here nor there. One of the major standouts in what’s kind of an inconsistent film is the design of Molasar, the creature haunting the eponymous keep, with his eerie glowing red eyes and golem-like appearance. His earlier, half-skeletal iterations, before his gains back all his power, are even more striking.

4. Syngenor (Scared to Death; 1980)

William Malone’s design for the Syngenor (short for “synthesized genetic organism”) in his debut horror feature is heavily, heavily inspired by Giger, but is very spooky in its own way. It lives in a strange, cobweb-infested, insectile sewer nest and emerges from its lair to feed on human spinal fluid. The movie isn’t nearly as creepy as that makes it sound, but the monster design is fantastic anyway.

3. Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller (C.H.U.D.; 1984)

Although C.H.U.D. certainly has issues with not showing enough of its titular cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers, they make an impression when they’re on screen. Their melty complexion, fluorescent green eyes, stretchy limbs, and intimidating stature make them a ghastly presence that is unfortunately underleveraged.

2. The Suckling (The Suckling; 1990)

The suckling in question is a discarded fetus that’s been mutated by toxic sewer waste. Not only is the final monster a really great man-in-a-rubber-suit creation, its transformation scene is wonderfully gooey. This movie is incredibly cheap, albeit very amusing, so it’s a little shocking that the monster is so terrific.

1. Hungry Beast (TerrorVision; 1986)

The so-called “Hungry Beast” is the perfect cheesy movie monster: it’s an amorphous bio-blob that’s slimy all the time, it has lots of constantly writhing appendages, there’s a sizable mouth with people-chomping teeth, it can shape-shift to resemble its victims (or maybe it takes over their bodies?) … what more could you ask for?