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Sleep is overrated anyway... Join us as we count down our picks for the creepiest creatures that have haunted our nightmares in recent years! Our countdown includes monsters from "Brightburn," "The Ritual," "Annihilation," and more! With terrifying designs and unforgettable performances, these modern movie monsters prove that horror cinema is alive and well.
Transcript
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the scariest creatures in
00:11movies since 2016. Number 8, Brandon Briar, Brightburn
00:30Consider this one to be a what-if scenario for all time. What if Superman was evil?
00:36The 2019 film Brightburn attempts to answer this question, doing so with the character of Brandon Briar.
00:42The origin story is similar to Clark Kent as Superman, only with a completely different outcome and execution.
00:48Did you hurt Noah? What did you do to him? He was my friend, and you just...
00:56Brier's intentions actually wind up being nefarious, growing up to become a villain, despite the best intentions of his adoptive
01:03parents.
01:04There's a tragedy at play here, one that questions the limits of parental love, when it's countered with pure evil.
01:10Sure, this is a moral conundrum that's been asked in cinema before, but Brightburn reframes it with an interesting superhero
01:17lens.
01:32Number 7, The Crooked Man, The Conjuring 2
01:35Valak is the primary antagonist of The Conjuring series, and it takes its scariest form in The Conjuring 2, as
01:42The Crooked Man.
01:47There was The Crooked Man!
01:52This is a bizarre creature with a very lanky frame, greyish skin, and a wide smile filled with sharp teeth.
01:59But perhaps the scariest thing about it is the way it moves.
02:02When appearing to Billy, The Crooked Man walks in a very erratic and supernatural manner.
02:07The creature is played by a Spanish actor named Javier Botet.
02:11Botet has been cast as numerous movie creatures, owing to his height and hypermobility, which is a symptom of his
02:17Marfan syndrome.
02:19Botet does an exceptional job as The Crooked Man, creating what could be the scariest monster in a franchise full
02:25of them.
02:26Here I come.
02:31Am I talking to the spirit that's oppressing this family?
02:34Number 6, Wendigo Antlers
02:36The Wendigo is a mythological creature originating in First Nations folklore.
02:41It's appeared in numerous pieces of pop culture throughout the years, typically as some type of large beast-like creature
02:47that preys on humans.
02:49An absolutely terrifying iteration of the Wendigo appears in Antlers.
02:53Is that the kind of thing you taught in California?
02:59I don't think that's going to fly here.
03:01The physical design of this monster is both imaginative and wonderfully realised.
03:05Towards the end of the film, Carrie Russell's character comes across the Wendigo in the dark and sees a human
03:11face is draped over its head.
03:13That image alone is worth the price of admission, but the rest of the creature is equally terrifying.
03:19Suffice to say, this is the last thing we'd want to see inside a flashlight beam.
03:32Number 5, Da Clown, Krampus
03:34We don't know how people think of these things.
03:37Da Clown doesn't get much screen time in Krampus, but its design is unforgettable.
03:43Oh, come on.
03:45It consists of a very large, worm-like horizontal body, but the most imaginative element of the monster is easily
03:52its face.
03:53The clown has a face much like a vintage porcelain doll, and a massive, fleshy mouth that opens wide enough
04:00to devour humans.
04:07The contrast between the fleshy muscle and porcelain face is marvellously grotesque.
04:13It looks revolting, and provides a tantalising glimpse into the creature's biology.
04:18The practical effects and sound design are also fantastic, making a scary monster even scarier.
04:24Hey! Give me back my kids, you fudger!
04:30Number 4, Moda, The Ritual
04:32Who knew that this little British film would produce one of the most effective monsters of the decade?
04:37Moda is another Wendigo-like creature, appearing in full at the very end of The Ritual.
04:43It doesn't get much screen time, but the time it does get is both haunting and impressive.
04:55We don't even know how to describe this thing.
04:58It's like if a human, a bear, and an elk fused together in a grotesque mass of limbs that towered
05:0420 feet into the air.
05:11The physical design of this monster is simply incredible, with its dangling human arms, torso-like antlers, and beady yellow
05:19eyes being particular highlights.
05:21We don't know what it is, but then again, we don't really want to find out.
05:26Number 3, Mutant Bear Annihilation
05:28With a story centred around intermixing DNA, we expected some imaginative creature design.
05:34Do you think it's a crossbreed?
05:37We can't crossbreed between different species.
05:41Well, we certainly got that, and then some.
05:43In what's arguably the movie's most memorable scene, a mutant bear arrives to sniff out the vulnerable protagonists.
05:49The creature is a horrific mixture between black bear and human.
05:53Its body is bear-like, but the skin on its face has rotted away, leaving behind an exposed skull.
05:59But the scariest part by far is its fusion with Cass.
06:04The bear's roaring is intermingled with Cass' human screams, and it looks like Cass' skull has been merged with the
06:10bear's.
06:16Both the sound and physical design of this creature are masterful,
06:20combining to create one of the most unforgettable movie monsters in recent memory.
06:26Number 2, Death Angels
06:27A Quiet Place franchise
06:29The first Quiet Place was one of the most popular horror movies of the late 2010s,
06:34and that's thanks in large part to its monsters.
06:36Not so much their design, although it's certainly effective,
06:40but what they do and represent.
06:48With the help of hypersensitive hearing,
06:51the monsters pounce on anything and anyone that makes noise.
06:54This causes everyone to live in constant fear and paranoia,
06:58forced to monitor each and every activity for even a modicum of sound.
07:03Their danger is horrifically established in the first five minutes of the movie,
07:07when a long-legged creature swipes young Bo before his family's eyes.
07:23It's an incredibly successful formula,
07:26and it's led to numerous and inferior copycats.
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07:46Number 1, Pennywise
07:48It
07:49The great thing about Pennywise is that it takes all sorts of different forms,
07:53ensuring that everyone gets at least a little creeped out.
08:00It's the entire point of its character.
08:02Scared of creepy clowns with sharp teeth and weird eyes?
08:05Well, that's its primary form.
08:07Scared of lepers whose limbs are slowly rotting off?
08:10Got that.
08:11What about headless corpses that chase you down dark hallways?
08:14Got that too.
08:15Surely this movie doesn't contain the greatest fear of all?
08:18A small cluster of intergalactic orbs that cause instant insanity
08:22and appear out of split clown heads?
08:24Well, guess what?
08:30Pennywise's taunting personality is also gleefully unnerving,
08:35and Bill Skarsgård does a wonderful job with the character's more malicious tendencies.
08:41What's your favourite modern monster movie?
08:44Let us know in the comments.
08:45Let us know in the comments.
08:46Let us know in the comments.
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