Monster movies are entertaining, but there are times when those old monstrosities look a little basic. While it’s essential to pay respect to such classics as Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein’s monster and Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, not all of their scary nature has stood the test of time. Some padded makeup and stuck-on appendages might’ve been enough to scare audiences of the 1930s, but times change, and you need a little more.
The cool thing about the most iconic movie monsters is that they keep coming back with effects and interpretations, as with the latest iteration of Netflix’s new Frankenstein film by Guillermo Del Toro, which lands in theaters on October 17 before making its way to Netflix on November 7. They take on a new look that makes them just as nightmarish or intimidating as they were for previous generations. These are the monster movie makeovers that made these dark creatures hog more of the spotlight.
The Thing (1982)
John Carpenter’s The Thing was a far different interpretation of the novel by John W. Campbell Jr. and the 1951 film adaptation, The Thing from Another World. Set in Antarctica, a research facility is attacked by a mysterious alien that can take the form of any creature. With the vicious monster hiding inside every man and dog in sight, there’s great distrust as the researchers try to figure out who the alien currently resides within.
While The Thing from Another World portrayed the invading alien as a towering monster, Carpenter’s reimagining made the alien a series of contorted body parts. The creature would take the form of a dog’s head splitting open, a stomach forming teeth, or a decapitated head sprouting legs like a spider. It’s gory and gooey stuff that made for one of the best sci-fi horror films of the 1980s.
The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
While George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead redefined zombies, Dan O’Bannon’s The Return of the Living Dead gave the undead monsters a unique makeover. An experimental gas is accidentally unleashed, bringing the dead back to life and making them hungry for flesh. It’s up to an unlikely crew of underdogs to drive back the dead before they turn Louisville into a mess of bloodied bodies.
The Return of the Living Dead changed zombies with the presence of Tarman, a zombie caked in dark goo with a visible jaw and lid-free eyes. His look alone is scary, but his declaration of desiring brains and his ability to rip open skulls to get them made him an absolute nightmare. It’s an impressive reimagining of zombies for a film that leans more towards comedy, boasting such ludicrous scenes as a strip show at a cemetery.
The Blob (1988)
1958’s The Blob was a fun monster movie for the creeping mess of jelly that consumed human flesh with cunning, but also comical special effects of the era. But 1988’s The Blob feels like an entirely different movie, with the mysterious blobby mass brutalizing humans in more grotesque ways. This version of the blob would dissolve skin and force the human body through drainage to consume more flesh in the grossest of gore fests.
For the era of the video nasties, the 1980s blob stepped up to the decade’s higher tolerance of disgusting horror. Although the origin shifted from the stars to a laboratory, it works well for playing into the conspiracies and paranoia of the era. If you like your blob monsters extra slimy, this is the blob movie for you. If you’re interested in other old horror favorites, I also wrote about some classic horror titles streaming on Shudder.
King Kong (2005)
King Kong received many revivals over the decades, but Peter Jackson made the towering primate more emotional and frightening for 2005’s King Kong. Set during the 1930s, an expedition sets off for Skull Island to film this unexplored territory. Amid the many towering dangers of the island is the monstrous King Kong, who is violent with dinosaurs and gentle in the presence of the beautiful actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts).
Relying on motion capture technology, Jackson’s CGI King Kong was seen as intimidating and worthy of his royal title. There are exciting shots of Kong taking on dinosaurs with roars and tearing apart jaws, but also plenty of emotional moments to make it easier to care for the ape when he inevitably falls. The film was an impressive showcase of computer graphics, especially for how the rest of the dinosaurs and oversized bugs were horrific in how they picked off the crew in gruesome ways. The worst fate was that of Andy Serkis’ character, who…well, if you know, you know.
The Fly (1986)
Scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) has invented a breakthrough teleportation device, but there’s a problem. While testing this innovation, a housefly enters the teleportation chamber and merges with Seth’s body. As the fly’s cells take over Seth’s body, he progressively mutates into a disgusting creature, terrifying his girlfriend Veronica (Geena Davis) as she helplessly watches Seth’s flesh transform into something nightmarish.
As a remake of the 1950s B-movie, The Fly didn’t so much glow up as a gross up, going from being a cheap-looking fly monster to a vile and gooey creature only director David Cronenberg could dream up. That said, the film does boast Goldblum looking rather sexy, so audiences can admire that body before it decays into a mess of brilliant yet barf-worthy special effects. Cronenberg did not disappoint in giving this 1950s monster movie the star treatment, making the old film look more like an unintentional comedy than the sci-fi body horror that followed it.
The Invisible Man (2020)
The mad scientist Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) has perfected a technology to turn himself invisible. With this new technology, he stalks, frames, and terrorizes his ex-girlfriend Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss). With nobody believing Cecilia’s story after Adrian fakes his own death, it’s up to Cecilia to wage a war against an abusive ex-boyfriend that only she can see and defeat.
Writer and director Leigh Whannell composed a version of The Invisible Man that feels fresher than the clever visual effects tricks in the film. With Elisabeth Moss once more in the role of a desperate woman pushed to the edge, this 21st-century adaptation explored abusive relationships and the anxieties that come with women who are not heard, when the men assaulting them become invisible to the rest of the world. Beyond the allegory, it’s also just terrifying watching Cecilia feeling unsafe everywhere, from her own home to a restaurant, where murder and torture could happen at any moment with Adrian concealed.
An American Werewolf in London
David (David Naughton) is an American who visits London with his buddy, and the two become victims of a werewolf attack. As the sole survivor of this encounter, David is haunted by the soul of his dead friend and starts transforming into a werewolf amid the moonlight. London isn’t safe from David’s monstrous form as the young man struggles to figure out a way out of this dismal situation, despite the dark humor evoked from this scenario.
An American Werewolf in London might have comically toyed with monster movie conventions, but it also featured one of the most intense transformation scenes ever. The faded effects of hairy skin can’t compete with the fantastic effects that launch this picture straight into body horror. The agonizing screams of David as he becomes a monster are genuinely shocking and offer a nice balance of grotesque horror on top of absurd scenes of a naked David trying to cover up his moonlight massacres.
IT (2017)
Based on Stephen King’s hefty novel, IT takes place in the small town of Derry, Maine, where children have been consistently missing. A collective of young misfits soon discovers that the missing kids are due to the lingering supernatural presence of the clown Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård), a vicious clown who attacks the local youth from his sewer sanctum.
IT was previously adapted into a TV miniseries, with Tim Curry playing the clown with a gruff accent. While Curry made the most out of the role, Bill Skarsgård made Pennywise his own with a maniacal voice and older clown attire that is more terrifying. The Pennywise of this film version had far more style, personality, and the aid of theatrical visual effects to make his violent attacks the stuff of nightmares. Additionally, check out our explainer on HBO Max’s new prequel series, IT: Welcome to Derry.
Dracula (1958)
British production company Hammer gave Dracula a dapper update for the 1950s with Terence Fisher’s Dracula, aka Horror of Dracula. As the first color vampire film, the classic Gothic horror by Bram Stoker is presented as a thrilling duel between vampire Count Dracula (Christopher Lee) and the vampire hunter Van Helsing (Peter Cushing). Violence and sexuality were further explored in this vibrant reimagining, which launched a series of horror films from Hammer.
Christopher Lee’s intimidating voice and stylish attire made him an incredible presence as Dracula. But his embrace of red made his take on the vampire unforgettable, with shots of blood dribbling down his mouth and present in his eyes. With greater terror and allure, Lee would reprise the role of Dracula in several horror films.
Dracula
- Release Date
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May 22, 1958
- Runtime
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82 minutes
- Director
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Terence Fisher
Godzilla Minus One
Godzilla has been Japan’s iconic giant monster, but his days representing the fear of atomic radiation faded as the rubber suit became more apparent. Thankfully, Japan revitalized the monster’s image and allegorical heft with Godzilla Minus One. Taking place after the Second World War, the deserter Koichi must come to grips with his regrets of turning down a suicide mission and help a team of Japanese underdogs take down the monstrous presence of Godzilla.
Portrayed through computer graphics, Godzilla has never looked better. His towering presence and vicious face make him someone who is clearly not going to be defending Earth from King Ghidorah anytime soon. While he fit nicely into a tale of the anxieties of post-war Japan, he’s also terrifying whenever he stomps around. The anticipation building up for his atomic breath also gave me the biggest goosebumps, making this one of the best Godzilla movies in the franchise.
The great horror films are the ones that can tap into what currently frightens us, and that often involves updating the genre. It’s good to know that those old movie monsters still have a place in a cinema landscape where computer effects have replaced rubber masks and prosthetics. Be they undead hordes or gargantuan kaiju, good movie monsters never die and always find a way to come back.
