Creature Feature Monster Movies
Beasties both amazing and laughable. The highest on the list will be worth watching because they're great, and the ones lower down are worth watching because they are hilariously bad. (Warning: I LOVE bad creature features and delight in complaining about them to my husband.)
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- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsSam NeillLaura DernJeff GoldblumA pragmatic paleontologist touring an almost complete theme park on an island in Central America is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park's cloned dinosaurs to run loose.Best dinosaur movie of all time.
- DirectorRon UnderwoodStarsKevin BaconFred WardFinn CarterNatives of a small isolated town defend themselves against strange underground creatures which are killing them one by one.#1 in the subterranean carnivorous worms subgenre. Brilliant movie.
- DirectorJohn KrasinskiStarsEmily BluntJohn KrasinskiMillicent SimmondsA family struggles for survival in a world where most humans have been killed by blind but noise-sensitive creatures. They are forced to communicate in sign language to keep the creatures at bay.Sinister and bone-chilling with gut-wrenching moments. Not something I'm willing to watch a second time due to the intense emotional toll, but a quality movie. (Look up warnings before watching if you're sensitive to children in danger.)
- DirectorColin TrevorrowStarsChris PrattBryce Dallas HowardTy SimpkinsA new theme park, built on the original site of Jurassic Park, creates a genetically modified hybrid dinosaur, the Indominus Rex, which escapes containment and goes on a killing spree.Modern sequels to Jurassic Park (first of several). More of an action movie.
- DirectorRenny HarlinStarsThomas JaneSaffron BurrowsSamuel L. JacksonSearching for a cure to Alzheimer's disease, a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the prey, as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back.Amazing actors, funny moments, and serious terror.
- DirectorEllory ElkayemStarsDavid ArquetteKari WuhrerScott TerraVenomous spiders get exposed to a noxious chemical that causes them to grow to monumental proportions.A comedy and one of my go-to lazy day movies. Very rewatchable.
- DirectorMichael MatthewsStarsDylan O'BrienJessica HenwickMichael RookerSeven years after he survived the monster apocalypse, lovably hapless Joel leaves his cozy underground bunker behind on a quest to reunite with his high school sweetheart.The hero's quirky awkward charm and loyal pupper make this an amazing monster/survival film.
- DirectorKimble RendallStarsXavier SamuelSharni VinsonAdrian PangA freak tsunami traps shoppers at a coastal Australian supermarket inside the building - along with 12-foot Great White Sharks.Spine-chilling. Triggers my thalassophobia but that's kind of the point.
- DirectorGreg McLeanStarsMichael VartanRadha MitchellSam WorthingtonAn American journalist on assignment in the Australian outback encounters a man-eating crocodile while trapped on a rapidly flooding mud island.Builds tension with the croc off-screen, which I feel is one of the most effective ways to set viewers on edge before the creature is revealed. Setting and characters are well-established through small but powerful moments. Bonus: main character is the love interest guy from Alias, and the actress who plays Alice (in Wonderland) is the sole teen tourist.
- DirectorS.S. WilsonStarsFred WardChris GartinHelen ShaverEarl Bassett, now a washed-up ex-celebrity, is hired by a Mexican oil company to eradicate a Graboid epidemic that's killing more people each day. However, the humans aren't the only one with a new battle plan.Graboids evolve and become a whole new kind of threat!
- DirectorAndré ØvredalStarsOtto JespersenRobert StoltenbergKnut NærumA group of students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter.I definitely need to rewatch this, but I remember it being really good.
- DirectorSteve MinerStarsBridget FondaBill PullmanOliver PlattFour people attempt to stop a gigantic crocodile, who is terrorizing residents in Black Lake, Maine.THE monster croc movie.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsJeff GoldblumJulianne MoorePete PostlethwaiteA research team is sent to the Jurassic Park Site B island to study the dinosaurs there, while an InGen team approaches with another agenda.Not perfect, but there's a modest effort to stick to scientific roots.
- DirectorJ.A. BayonaStarsChris PrattBryce Dallas HowardRafe SpallWhen the island's dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen and Claire mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event.The bond between a man and his dino can't be stopped -- even by a volcano. Still an action movie but better than Jurassic Park III.
- DirectorLuis LlosaStarsJon VoightJennifer LopezEric StoltzA "National Geographic" film crew is taken hostage by an insane hunter, who forces them along on his quest to capture the world's largest - and deadliest - snake.More horror than creature feature, though that might be because of my deep terror of things lurking in murky water.
- DirectorBrent MaddockStarsMichael GrossShawn ChristianSusan ChuangThe now famous Burt Gummer returns to his hometown of Perfection, Nevada for the first time in years, but the deadliest Graboid evolution yet forces him to save the town he swore to protect.Graboids evolve again!? Wild! A little less serious than the previous, but still decent.
- DirectorMike MendezStarsGreg GrunbergLin ShayeRuben PlaA giant alien spider escapes from a military lab and rampages the city of Los Angeles. When a massive military strike fails, it is up to a team of scientists and one clever exterminator to kill the creature before the city is destroyed.If you don't like Greg Grunberg, you are wrong.
- DirectorDon Michael PaulStarsBrandon AuretNatalie BeckerEmmanuel CastisBurt and Travis battle ass-blasters and graboids in South Africa.Pretty great new take. More lighthearted.
- DirectorAnthony C. FerranteStarsIan ZieringTara ReidJohn HeardWhen a freak hurricane swamps Los Angeles, nature's deadliest killer rules sea, land, and air as thousands of sharks terrorize the waterlogged populace.Joyfully aware of its own ridiculousness.
- DirectorMike MendezStarsSteve GuttenbergNia PeeplesPatrick RennaVolcanic eruptions in Los Angeles unleash a swarm of gigantic, lava-breathing tarantulas.Set in the world of Sharnakdo with the same "our science doesn't have to make sense" humor. A fun time with lava spiders!
- DirectorDon Michael PaulStarsMichael GrossJon HederRichard BrakeWhen a group of hunters genetically modify Graboid eggs, they face an all-out war against the larger, terrifyingly intelligent Graboids, and the swiftly multiplying Shriekers.Genuinely fun. Lighthearted like Bloodlines but with some decent action.
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsSam NeillWilliam H. MacyTéa LeoniA decidedly odd couple with ulterior motives convince Dr. Grant to go to Isla Sorna for a holiday, but their unexpected landing startles the island's new inhabitants.Less plot and more being chased by dinosaurs.
- DirectorDon Michael PaulStarsJay AnsteyAlistair Moulton BlackPaul du ToitThe new sequel finds Burt Gummer, who's dying from Graboid poison, and his son Travis at a remote research station in Canada's Nunavut Territory, where they must go up against a new batch of Graboids to save Burt's life.Ice graboids! A less-than-memorable movie, but we get to see ol' Burt again. Very actiony.
- DirectorDon Michael PaulStarsElisabeth RöhmYancy ButlerPaul NichollsBlack Lake is now a crocodile sanctuary, surrounded by an electric fence. When the fence is left open, a high-school bus unknowingly enters the park. It's up to Reba and the Sheriff to save the kids from becoming crocodile food.Whoa! They did something sensible and turned the lake into a fenced enclosure instead of continuing the by-now tired "people go on the lake and get eaten" plotline.
- DirectorMark A.Z. DippéStarsTory KittlesK.D. AubertChina ChowA genetically-altered fish wreaks havoc on a small fishing town.The acting is well above average, a real treat after rewatching some of the others on this list. The fish is less frankenstein and more genetically altered aggressive fish species, but it actually makes more sense that way.