00:00Who doesn't love themselves a good monster movie right? Whether it's the classic vampires and werewolves, giant lizards, hulking apes, murderous cave dwelling beasties, or even threats from outer space, the humble monster movie has been around since the very dawn of cinema.
00:16And while we're all familiar with the Godzillas, the King Kongs, and those pesky xenomorphs, here it's all about celebrating the little guys of the monster movie world.
00:26So with that in mind, I'm Andrew from WhatCultureHorror, and here are 8 great monster movies you've never seen.
00:32Number 8, Beneath.
00:34In Beneath, what was supposed to be a fun outing on a lake turns into a nightmare when a group of friends find themselves at the mercy of a vicious, mystical, giant catfish.
00:44Beneath desperately wants to be scary, but it ends up becoming a laugh out loud comedy.
00:49But that doesn't mean there's not plenty to enjoy here, especially if you leave your brain at the door.
00:54With this very much a case of being, so bad, it's actually pretty good.
00:58While the monstrous catfish is a bloodthirsty beast, it only ever really comes across as a threat because the characters are absurdly selfish and pretty darn stupid.
01:08Their collective fear towards what might be one of the silliest movie monsters of all time leads to such ridiculous character conflict and straight-up pettiness that it feels like an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
01:21Shout out to my beloved Wrexham co-owner, Ron McElhenney, of course.
01:24For Beneath, there are performances here that make Tommy Wiseau look like an Academy Award winner, and every aspect of the story is so dumb that this is well worth hunting down, purely so you can try and understand the insanity of this film.
01:37Number 7. Dark Was the Night
01:40Dark Was the Night is a moody, melancholic monster movie offering up much more than just blood and gore.
01:46Here, a small-town sheriff must solve a series of bizarre murders, and the deeper this sheriff digs, the more it becomes possible that he's not dealing with something entirely human.
01:55The full reveal of Dark Was the Night's monster may be a smidge disappointing, but the build to this reveal is absolutely terrifying, particularly in those quiet moments of tension where the creature stalks its prey, where you'll find yourself feeling proper uneasy as the next meal is hunted for.
02:12Adding to the anxiety, the characters here are brilliantly written, and even the ones you hate have moments where their humanity comes to the fore.
02:18Another part of what makes Dark Was the Night work so well is the overall tone and aesthetic of the film, with their almost death-like grey filter over everything that may at first seem unnecessary, but then nicely gets under your skin as the film progresses.
02:31This, along with the pacing and character writing, more than make up for the admittedly underwhelming reveal of the film's big bad.
02:38Number 6.
02:39Digging Up The Marrow
02:40The Hatchet series, Frozen, no, not that Frozen, and even Chillerama are all works that writer-director Adam Green is fairly well-known for.
02:49But one of Green's projects that often goes under the radar a little is Digging Up The Marrow.
02:54Featuring Green as a fictionalized version of himself, Digging Up The Marrow is a faux documentary that has Green contacted by a retired detective who claims to have evidence of the existence of monsters.
03:04And making this even better, this detective is played by the ever-great, ever-awesome Ray Wise.
03:09As Green and his crew investigate this mystery, have they been sent out on a wild goose chase?
03:14Or maybe, just maybe, could these bold claims prove to be true?
03:19Digging Up The Marrow is just a whole bunch of fun, obviously with some nice moments of utter dread dropped in throughout, as Adam Green displays his clear love for the classic monster movie concept.
03:28And the smart approach here of mixing reality with fiction creates a chilling experience that's part found-footage horror and part investigative documentary.
03:36Making Digging Up The Marrow even more appealing to horror hounds, there's also cameo appearances from the likes of Cain Hodder, Tony Todd, Tom Holland, Don Cascarelli, and the always entertaining Lloyd Kaufman, who all play themselves.
03:49Yep, definitely add this one to your to-the-watch list.
03:53Number 5.
03:54Howl
03:54In Howl, the passengers of a stalled train must come together when they come under siege by a pack of werewolves.
04:01While the human drama and conflict can be a little too much at times in Howl, the movie hardly suffers from that due to its incredible monster design and claustrophobic setting.
04:10Think of it like Train to Busan, just with werewolves instead of zombies, and not quite as much of a masterpiece as that modern-day classic.
04:17As alluded to, the werewolf design work here is just ridiculous, in the best possible way, whether that's for the feral werewolves or the alphas, with the feral beasts being genuine nightmare fuel with their almost evil dead-esque qualities.
04:31As for the alphas, they're a little more refined, almost as if they've just come from a CrossFit gym.
04:36Both types of werewolves have a legitimate sense of intimidation to them, and throw in the tight setting of the train, and you've got an end product that works so, so well.
04:45Number 4. Boys from County Hell
04:47You can't have a list about monster movies, and not include at least one film about vampires.
04:53In Boys from County Hell, when construction destroys a sacred monument where an ancient vampire supposedly sleeps, a small Irish town has the night of its life.
05:02The writing here is great, dealing with the complex nature of father and son relationships, and skillfully balancing between comedically heartfelt and gratuitously violent.
05:11And as far as its monster goes, this vampire is guaranteed to be unlike anything you've ever seen before.
05:18You see, this creature of the night is not the sort of beautiful, misunderstood, handsome stranger we've seen time and time again.
05:25No, this vampire is an utterly bloodthirsty beast, with a totally unsettling look to it.
05:30And when it comes to how this vampire consumes blood, yeah, rather than sink its teeth into its victims, it basically operates like a blood magnet, I guess you could call it.
05:40Causing blood to leak from the orifices of those in its proximity, until one giant blood pool forms for it to drink from.
05:47Is it disgusting? Oh, absolutely.
05:49But that just makes this vampire all the more impressive.
05:53Number 3. Gamera 3 Revenge of Iris
05:56Why Gamera has yet to receive as much acclaim as its kaiju counterparts, Godzilla and King Kong, that is a question for the ages.
06:04In the third film in Gamera's Heisei period, Revenge of Iris, it's an orphan girl here with a psychic connection to a giant monster who seeks revenge against the one that destroyed all she held dear.
06:14For those unaware of the wonder that is Gamera, it's a giant tusk turtle monster that can shoot fireballs and propel itself with its shell via rocket propulsion.
06:23T-U-R-T-L-E power, indeed.
06:25The history of the character dates all the way back to the 1960s, but it wasn't until the late 90s that Gamera really came into its own.
06:33And while it is the final film in the Heisei trilogy, Revenge of Iris stands well enough on its own, not requiring any particular familiarity with the movies that came before it.
06:42Revenge of Iris also has moments of violence that feel pulled straight from Mortal Kombat, while simultaneously emotionally resonating in its exploration of trauma.
06:51Many kaiju have been shown to be defenders of their respective regions, but what this film does is show the extreme amounts of collateral damage that come with having a giant monster as your saviour.
07:02Number two, Death Kappa.
07:04Inspired by the myth of the Kappa, a military organisation attempts to create amphibious super soldiers.
07:09However, their experiments trigger an atomic explosion, causing a giant monster to attack Japan, all at the same time as a real Kappa emerges, growing into a towering beast.
07:20And the two must do battle for the very soul of Japan.
07:24Death Kappa is so weird that it feels like a bit of a fever dream, to be honest.
07:27For instance, at one point, Hideaki Anno, creator of hit anime series Evangelion, appears in a random cameo as the leader of a fictional version of what seems to be Unit 731.
07:37Does anything about the scene make sense? Nah.
07:40But it's in the movie's pathological need to be as nonsensical as possible where its genius is found.
07:46The narrative is basically divided into two halves.
07:48In the first half, the story is a light-hearted romp about a young woman bonding with the Death Kappa after it eats a few people.
07:54Then, when the military experiment goes south and creates a giant monster, the story shifts gears into becoming both a parody and a love letter to Keiju films.
08:04Just with WWE-style monster battles, Booyaka Booyaka 619.
08:08As a whole, Death Kappa is just a total blast, refusing to abide by any sense of logic or boundaries and making for a pretty darn amazing experience.
08:17Number one, After Midnight.
08:19Right, let's just put it right out there.
08:21After Midnight is a total and utter delight.
08:24When his girlfriend leaves, Hank's home is assaulted daily by a strange creature during each night.
08:30Is this mysterious beast real, or has paranoia gotten the better of Hank?
08:34The main draw of monster movies, of course, is usually the monster itself.
08:37And while the one here is used sparingly, don't let that put you off.
08:41The creature of this feature is grotesquely gorgeous.
08:43And while we only get short glimpses of it, well, up until its big appearance in a moment that will put a chill down your spine, that's okay.
08:51Because the real heart of the movie is in its characters.
08:54Between monster attacks, the film flashes between the past when Hank and his girlfriend Abby were together, and to the present, where she is gone.
09:01This structure helps us bond with not only Hank, but Abby as well.
09:05And at its core, After Midnight is about relationships and how, whether alone or with a partner, there are always external and internal obstacles to overcome.
09:14The genuine humanity of its characters, combined with a monster that gives the predator a run for its money, makes for a movie that's equal parts horror and equal parts heart.
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