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Things That Go Bump: 18 Iconic Movie Monsters

By David Young · October 21, 2024

Things That Go Bump: 18 Iconic Movie Monsters

What’s more gripping than a good story, a good world, or a good cast in a movie? Our answer is simple: a good monster! Over the years, some of the most legendary monster movie tales have been retold again and again. Meanwhile, other iconic films are newer, but with monsters that still make their impression on audiences.

Here’s a list of 18 famous monsters from “monster movies,” along with an honorable mention from “monster television”!

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Godzilla, Godzilla (1998)

Screenplay by: Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich, Ted Elliott, and Terry Rossio

Of all the stories told about a dangerous creature from the depths, the ones that keep popping up over the decades mostly stick with good old Godzilla, the original kaiju.

With the advent of these kaiju, or “giant monster,” films came the fascination with all-out devastation from this immense mutant lizard.

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Frankenstein’s Monster, Young Frankenstein (1974)

Screenplay by: Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder

Speaking of timeless monster stories, one of the most iconic in Western literature for over 200 years has been Frankenstein’s monster, the cobbled-together corpse brought to life by dark, immoral sciences.

But in Young Frankenstein, the film’s self-aware parody of the usual tropes demonstrates how classic the monster (Peter Boyle) is while highlighting themes of the original story in new, powerful ways.

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Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Velociraptors, Jurassic Park (1993)

Screenplay by: Michael Crichton, David Koepp, and Malia Scotch Marmo

The most famous of Jurassic Park villains—and by villains, I mean hungry, angry dinosaurs—is the T-rex, whose footsteps cause the ground to quake. But worse than that are the raptors, the serial killer stand-ins of this innovative take on the usual monster movie. Just turn on this 1990s blockbuster and see how well the danger stands up even today.

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Death Angels, A Quiet Place (2018)

Screenplay by: Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski

Introduced with no real name in the film, these alien creatures have hearing that gives them an unearthly edge when hunting. Dubbed “Death Angels” by the fandom of this newer franchise, these predators do an excellent job of inspiring fear in audiences despite a shorter tenure.

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The Werewolf of London, An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Screenplay by: John Landis

David Kessler (David Naughton) has a big problem after facing an attack on the moors during a full moon. With a friend dead and a supposed curse over his head, his future is not too clear. Luckily, he might just learn more about his situation now that the full moon is back.

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The Thing, The Thing (1982)

Screenplay by: Bill Lancaster

One of the most unsettling creatures on the monster movie list was created by John Carpenter in 1982. “The Thing” has become almost synonymous with Carpenter’s creature—over the other films that share its concept. His incarnation has brought the most dread to audiences, even hailing clear ties to the cosmic horror novella, At the Mountains of Madness (1931).

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The Babadook, The Babadook (2014)

Screenplay by: Jennifer Kent

Many movie monsters start as book monsters, but The Babadook takes that whole idea further by manifesting as part of the movie when a family reads the book that summons the titular creature (Timothy John Purcell) into their home.

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Brundlefly, The Fly (1986)

Screenplay by: Charles Edward Pogue and David Cronenberg

Many people have lasting memories of Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) and his fumble in the lab, resulting in a body horror classic. But more than that, The Fly is the story of a monster—a man who’s been turned into one, that is.

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Read More: David Cronenberg’s Vision for Body Horror and the Human Psyche

Imhotep, The Mummy (1999)

Screenplay by: Nina Wilcox Putnam, Richard Schayer, John L. Balderston, Stephen Sommers, Lloyd Fonvielle, and Kevin Jarre

Speaking of men becoming monsters, there is something powerfully poetic about Imhotep’s own story. As the mummy lord awoken after over 3 millennia of slumber, he’s got a specific agenda that involves being a flesh-eating monster while trying to raise the love of his life from the dead. But when has necromancy been the answer to a problem? Probably not often.

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Pennywise the Clown, It (2017)

Screenplay by: Chase Palmer, Cary Joji Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman

Kids fight their fears and a being beyond belief in this film adaptation of Stephen King’s famous, immense novel It. Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) appears to be a clown but proves to be something else altogether. With arcane powers and a very intense personality, he—or “it”—is one of the most memorable and terrifying “creature features” in existence.

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The Creeper, Jeepers Creepers (2001)

Screenplay by: Victor Salva

The Creeper, a demonic being in the Jeepers Creepers films, arises from a slumber every 23 years to feed on humans and incorporate their organs into itself—a cycle fit for an immortal monster. Though the first movie doesn’t shed all too much light on where it comes from, the Creeper is still a well-known icon in the monster movie genre.

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King Kong, King Kong (2005)

Screenplay by: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson

Like the kaiju Godzilla, King Kong is a creature with a storied past—though starting in American films instead of in Japan like his lizard counterpart. From 1933 on, this gargantuan ape has been an icon in the movies, with a depth to his character that is most unlike some monsters on his scale.

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Read More: Unconventional Love: The Strangest Movie Couples

The Infected, 28 Days Later (2002)

Screenplay by: Alex Garland

The infected populations of 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later (2007), and the upcoming 28 Years Later (2025) have always been more indicative of the modern “zombie” tradition. Despite not being called zombies, these creatures helped refuel and reinspire our obsession with inhuman swarms of corpses, whatever they’re called.

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The Ghouls, Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Screenplay by: John A. Russo and George A. Romero

One of the most time-honored traditions in monster cinema is the mindless horde, with “zombie” films at the forefront, with their popularity starting in George A. Romero’s work. Still, any horror nerd will tell you that these are not zombies.

Romero called his monsters “ghouls,” but these corpses still made their way to Hollywood immortality—undeath status notwithstanding.

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The Amphibian Man, The Shape of Water (2017)

Screenplay by: Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor

Sometimes, you’ll see that a monster has gained enough fame that a famous screenwriter wants to put their spin on it. There’s parody like Young Frankenstein, of course, but this approach by Guillermo del Toro is altogether different: an earnest rekindling of the love story that could have been possible between Kay Larence and the Gill-man in The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).

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The Xenomorph, Alien (1979)

Screenplay by: Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett

In the worst-case scenario of alien monster movies, the Xenomorph is a well-designed killing machine. Its disturbing life cycle gives it many more chances to trap and devour humans than other creatures—especially now that the two species have finally crossed paths.

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Read More: Top 10 Scariest Alien Movies

The Gremlins, Gremlins (1984)

Screenplay by: Chris Columbus

Starting as adorable, amazing, hilarious cuties known as the Mogwai, the gremlins of the 1980s holiday film sensation gave a new meaning to the word. Inspired by the tales of unseen creatures that sabotaged air fighters during World War I, these creatures are devious and frightening—not to mention famous for their looks.

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Count Dracula, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Screenplay by: Bram Stoker and James V. Hart

As the monster with the most retold story in Hollywood, the 1897 novel Dracula was inspired by vampire folklore and legends of a psychopathic warlord. Starting the vampire fascination that has lasted nearly 100 years in cinema, Dracula has made appearances in so many other stories as well, possibly making him the most universally well-known of all the movie monsters.

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Honorable Mention: The Demogorgon, Stranger Things (2016 — Present)

Screenplay by: Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer

This is a TV show that embodies the spirit of a monster movie, but it puts that usual cat-and-mouse chase on an 8-episode run instead of resolving things in 100 minutes or so. In addition to bringing in a secret government operation, the story of Stranger Things evolves to call in bigger bads every time—with the most iconic and famous of course being the creature the kids of Hawkins, Indiana come to call “the Demogorgon,” named after an infamous demon creature in Dungeons & Dragons.

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No monsters can exist without their story, but the best monsters live on in our minds long after the story ends. Whether it’s an eldritch horror that appears as a clown or a mindless swarm of undead, there’s a great number of monster movies whose creatures still haunt us plenty!

Read More: Horror Redux: The Most Terrifying Horror Movie Remakes Ever

Scripts from this Article