What, in your humble opinions, are the best horror creatures from the movies & tv?
I remember seeing the first “Nightmare on Elm Street” when it came out in 1985(?) and being actually scared & disturbed at Freddie Kruger. Of course, he’s been flogged & overused to the point of being a cartoon character. Nowadays he’s as scary as Casper, but when the first flick came out - I actually stayed up late, late. late for fear of going to sleep, and then getting “eaten” by my bed (a la Johnny Depp.)
The worst IMO were “the Gentlemen”’ from the much over-rated silent “Buffy” episode. They were nothing but a rip-off of the much-creepier aliens from “Dark City” (a film that came out a few years ahead of the “Hush” episode, tanked at the box office, but since then has built up a cult following on video /DVD.) The similarities between the two are just too numerous to be a coincidence. For that, I consider “Hush” to be a blotch on the (usually) good name of Joss Whedon.
Who or what keeps (or has kept) you up late into the night?
The undertaker from Phantasm scared the hell out of me, as well as the folks he turned into little monk-like monsters. Ugh. But the all time best has to be Reagan’s transformation in the Exorcist. I hadn’t even seen it when it came out during my childhood, but the pictures of her alone on the cover of magazines made me stay awake at night, peering out my blinds waiting for her to show up (and do what, I don’t know, but you know how kid’s minds work). I finally saw it as an adult, and the full-length un-cut addition on the anniversary, and although some of the crowd screamed with laughter initially, everyone was terrified during the “spider walk” scene. That still gives me the creeps.
As for worst, I’d have to go with the clown from “It” turning into a giant spider at the end. Now see, he was oogy and evil before, then he went all cheesy and goofy. Couldn’t King come up with any better than that? Plus, the aliens in Signs were pretty lame if they were supposed to be scary. However, maybe the intent was humor? :eek:
From the book it was explained that it wasn’t actually a spider, but it was the closest thing the kids minds could comprehend what they wee seeing, and in fact they all saw it somewhat differently. There was no way to explain this in the movie, or they didn’t try.
As far as the best and worst go. The best were the spiders in arachnaphobia. The scene near the beginning where that spider jumps at that guy caused me to destroy a glass coffee table. My second choice would be the possessed people in The Prince of Darkness, man they just creeped me out.
The worst or at least cheesiest was the original blob. The thing looked like a giant piece of liver. A chef with a skillet and some onions could have made it a really short movie.
BEST:
TV CATEGORY: The little fetish doll monster from the original Trilogy of Terror. Nobody remembers the other two segments of that movie, but EVERYONE remembers that damn little horror dolly chasing Karen Black all over her apartment, even if we didn’t know what he was gonna do with her if he caught her. Eat her, maybe? MOVIE CATEGORY: Jeez, hard to say. Everyone’s got their favorites. I still have a soft spot for Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein monster, though.
WORST:
TV CATEGORY: Oh, my, there were so many. All too often, horror on television is done by people whose only experience seems to be in directing commercials. Perhaps it was the little prune monsters from Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark, with Kim Darby. There’s a telemovie which doesn’t seem to get a lot of repeat airplay these days, even on the Sci-Fi channel.
MOVIE: The monster from Beware! The Blob, aka Son Of Blob, directed by (and starring) Larry Hagman. The monster’s appearance changes periodically, ranging from “inflatable red thing” to “ketchup.” You know, Larry, when your monster’s consistency changes from scene to scene, that’s when you need to give up and hire someone to do your special effects for you…
Oh. My. God! I can’t believe someone else has mentioned this! It scared the ever lovin’ bejesus out of me as a kid. Those things running around tripping people down stairs, electrocuting others in bathtubs and jumping out of turkeys. I’d LOVE to see it again, but not so much that I’m willing to pay for it on eBay.
Best: Pinhead (but just the first two Hellraiser movies, please; after that he was shoved into the Kreuger mold of one-liners and it just made me sad).
A character so badass he became the right-hand demon of Hell. No sympathy, no remorse, cold and calculating. For my money, the rest of the Cenobites were pretty freaky, too. (Again, only the first two movies, I am most certainly NOT counting that ridiculous CD-Cenobite from the third movie.)
The thing that really got me was the Cenobites promised unending, unimaginable agony and suffering. And they loved it. Not to mention they were willing to inflict it on anyone who just happened to screw around with their little puzzle box.
#2 was the only movie to keep me awake all night long, pretending to read a book but really just jumping at the slightest noise, until the sun finally came up.
Worst: oh, there are so many…so many. Howzabout Sammy Curr, the undead rock n’ roll Satanic minion from Trick or Treat? Your intimidation factor is probably about a -14 if Skippy from Family Ties can triumph over you.
Okay, my best and worst are the characters from Dark Shadows. Loved 'em as a kid and still find them kind of a hoot, but…
Let’s face it, what a lame show!
Mind you, I’d watch it all again, given the chance!
What really scared me was an old movie called Dr Sardonicus. The guy’s face - eek! "Course, I was only about ten. Hannibel Lecter scared the crap out of me as an adult. You want to see something funny, you shoulda seen two grown women looking under the van and literally jumping into it after we saw the movie! :rolleyes:
I’ve gotta give an honorable (dishonorable?) mention to Spike. He can creep out from under my bed anytime!
The Boogeyman scared the fuck out of me when I was a kid. I haven’t seen the episode since, and I’d probably be afraid to watch it even now.
And as far as things that scared me as a kid are concerned - the Zanti Misfits from The Outer Limits. I think they’re an awesome design, but then I love 60’s TV monsters.
All time? Probably the Xenomorph from Alien. It’s like a giant, deadly cockroach that doesn’t even care about you except as a means to reproduce.
Me too. There were actually two episodes with the Boogeyman. I remember being simultaneously horrified and fascinated, but the memory of it still turns my stomach a little. Given the chance, I don’t think I’d watch them again.
Since I rarely go to horror/monster flicks, I don’t have a best, but I have a definite worst: The Green Slime (scroll about halfway down for a picture). When a closet door crashed open and this “thing” first lurched out, red eye glaring and tentacles waving at random, the entire audience dissolved in helpless laughter.
Yes, absolutely. I saw that as I child and had nightmares for days afterwards. I hadn’t thought of it in years, but a shiver went down my spine as soon as I read your thread.
Upon remembering, I must respectfully agree, and change my vote, if allowable.
I remember seeing that movie when I was eight years old… recognizing DeForest “Dr. McCoy” Kelley in it… seeing the giant rabbits… and, even at the tender age of eight, being confused, and thinking, “Is this movie supposed to be scary, or what? I don’t get it.”
I agree Freddy was pretty scary in the first Nightmare. I think it’s because we never really had a clear shot of him. In the later films we did, but the first movie, he’s almost always in shadow.
For my scariest boogeyman in movies, I’d choose another Wes Craven film. The Hills Have Eyes. I never made it all the way through the film, though I might find it stupid today. I can’t even remember the character’s name, Russ Grieve as Big Bob Carter? Anyway, it’s the character shown on this poster. He scared me so badly, I quit watching when some of the survivors started walking down the tunnel to the underground dwelling.
For tv - probably The Fog (John Carpenter). I barely remember this film, even though I didn’t see it in the theater. Stayed up for an Mtv scare-a-thon I think. I didn’t expect it to be scary, but there was really no way to fight the fog, so I didn’t find myself disgusted with characters unlocking doors, leaving windows wide open, and proceeding to take a shower in the middle of the night. I do remember a scene where someone is trapped in a car, and I always think of this film when we hit a certain, usually treacherously foggy section of road, on the way home from Seattle.
For worst in a movie- I’d say the big meatball, evil spirit in Evil Dead II. I still like the film, but the meatball thing was a huge let down…“I was afraid of that?”
For worst in tv- Nothing really stands out right now, they all seem pretty bad.
