Well, today’s a very special day. It’s a day where children get to pig out on sweets while dressed as their favorite super hero, role model or cartoon character. Meanwhile, those older get a thrill from being frightened, whether it be in a movie theater or a walk-through Haunted House. Yes, that special day, which is also one of my favorite holidays, is Halloween.
To celebrate this day that is very dear to my heart, I will in-turn celebrate what makes horror great, it’s monsters. For a horror film to be considered legendary, it has to have an equally legendary monster. Let it be their design, story, or how lethal they are, the monsters of a movie are the real stars of their respective films. First, I want to go over two rules for this list. As a first rule, the monster cannot be entirely human and has to have some supernatural power. So, no normal human psychopaths. (Sorry Michael Myers). As for the second rule, the monster has to be a single entity, it can’t be a species or race of monsters. (No zombies or the Xenomorphs from Alien, sadly.) So without further adieu, let’s get this list started . . .
5. Samara (The Ring)
To start off this, we have what I consider to be one of, if not, THE scariest vengeful spirt in all of cinema. Samara (or Sadako as she is called in the original film) is the ghost of a little girl that haunts a VHS tape. For those unfortunate enough to view the tape, they experience the most terrifying video they have ever seen. When the video is finished, the phone rings and there is only one answer, “Seven days.” When those seven days are up, the person (or people) that viewed the tape will mysteriously die.
I love many things about Samara. Although her appearance would be considered generic in this day and age, she pretty much kickstarted the “long, black haired, drooping over face, pale skin girl wearing a white dress” look so I’ll give it a pass. But what I absolutely love about Samara is her back story and her use of the cursed VHS tape. I don’t want to spoil her back story, but just know that it’s pretty sad and it makes you feel bad for Samara. The VHS tape she haunts is absolutely freaky. The full video is available on YouTube, so if your feeling brave then give it a watch. (Don’t worry it’s not actually cursed, at least, I hope its not.) I should also add that what happens after those dreaded seven days is something truly unexpected and frightening, although you most likely already know what happens at the end. The only thing that is keeping Samara from a higher rating is she doesn’t really have a personality. I’m not saying that she needs one to be memorable, but I just like it when my supernatural killers have something more than just being scary. Nonetheless, I absolutely love how creatively freaky Samara is and she takes my number five spot.
4. Pennywise (IT 2017)
So I’ll be honest, when I first saw the new remake of IT last year I went in without seeing the original. All I knew was that there’s this creepy killer clown named Pennywise who kills kids. At first this didn’t sound so scary because I’m not really afraid of clowns. But that may of changed, since this thing scared the daylights out of me. Pennywise may look like a ordinary clown, but he, or IT I should say, is much more than what he seems. It is actually this nightmarish being from another dimension that is taking is taking the appearance of a friendly clown to lure and kill children. What REALLY makes this thing scary are it’s supernatural abilities. Pennywise can suddenly appear ANYWHERE, none of the characters are safe no matter where they are. Without spoiling anything, one such scene that showcased this ability in a frightening, yet creative, way is in a certain projector room. For those who have seen the movie and know what I’m talking about, you know how much this scene startles you. Unlike Samara, Pennywise does have a personality. There is this sickening air of humor around him at all time, as if he takes joy in everything, even when traumatizing the main cast. It’s absolutely disturbing and I love it.
3. Freddy Kruger (Nightmare on Elm Street)
When making this list, I wanted to put both Freddy Kruger and Jason Voorhees in separate spots on this list. They’re both legendary horror icons and I felt they both deserved to be on this list. But, as I started to think of more horror monsters that I could add to the list, I decided to pick one out of the two to be on this list: Freddy or Jason? Ultimately, I had to pick good old Freddy. What I love about Freddy, that also separates him from Jason, is how he goes about terrorizing teenagers. While Jason is an immortal brute that can take blow after blow, Freddy prefers to be a supernatural entity that manipulates people’s dreams. The concept of a sadistic killer that can only kill his victims in their nightmares is such a crazy, yet wildly imaginative, concept that I can’t help but to adore. One of my most favorite scenes is the famous blood geyser from the first Nightmare on Elm Street. It’s such a crazy and out there scene, but it fits right at home with the 80’s horror style of the first film. Much like with Pennywise’s personality as well, Freddy has fun in every scene he’s in (except his death scene) which makes him all the more frightening. Lastly, Freddy’s appearance is such an iconic figure that I have to mention it. With his red and green striped sweater, his fedora hat, his gruesome badly burned face, and famous claw glove, Freddy Kruger has all the makings of a legendary horror villain.
2. The Thing (The Thing)
Oh my goodness this Thing is straight up nightmare fuel. The Thing from the movie of the same name is an extraterrestrial shape-shifter that can perfectly mimic any living creature. It can fit in with any group with ease, but that’s not the only thing that makes this abomination scary. I consider this creature to be the best example of “body horror.” Not all kinds horror can get under my skin, but films that deal with body horror can not only get under my skin, but also make it crawl. If you haven’t seen a movie that has the theme of body horror, here’s a scene from The Thing, but only watch it if you don’t get sick easily. Although it may seem like cheating for putting a monster this high on the list, despite not having one thing that I look for in a monster, such as some kind of personality, I included The Thing because I liked the concept and execution of this creature in the film so much. (It mimics other people’s personality so I guess it technically counts. But other than that, The Thing mostly just lets out an utterly terrifying roar, like in the scene I linked.) The Thing is still a nightmare of cinema, and it earns 2nd place.
1.Dracula
Out of all the classic movie monsters, such as Frankenstein, the Werewolf, and the Mummy, Dracula is my most favorite out of the bunch. You may noticed that for this entry, there is no movie title next to Dracula’s name. That is because there are so many films that have their own vision of Dracula. Let it be the 1931 film, the Dracula in Hotel Transylvania or from Dracula Untold, there are so many versions of Dracula that I decided to dedicate this entire entry to just Dracula as a whole.
When he first appeared in the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, which later got adapted into the classic movie you know today, he was the first to bring the concept of vampires to the world. Since then, there have been many films on vampires that I love dearly, such as 30 Days of Night. But not only is this monster on this list just because he is influential, but also because I just love the concept of this character. The Dracula that I know is this otherworldly creature that drinks the blood of humans and has magical powers, such as the ability to turn into a bat and immortality. His appearance is also just iconic, with his black cape with red on the inside and his famous fangs, anyone can tell by these features alone that this man is Dracula. I know that the other characters on this list probably sounds more interesting to you, and I don’t blame you. But, simple based on how influential and important Dracula is to horror, I believe Dracula deserves this #1 spot.
Ramblings and Reviews 