- 3 months ago
Who doesn't love a good monster mash?
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00:00Who doesn't love themselves a good monster movie right? Whether it's the classic vampires and werewolves, giant lizards, hulking apes,
00:08murderous cave dwelling beasties, or even threats from outer space, the humble monster movie has been around since the very
00:15dawn 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
00:23the 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.
00:328. Beneath
00:33In Beneath, what was supposed to be a fun outing on a lake turns into a nightmare when a group
00:39of friends find themselves at the mercy of a vicious, mystical, giant catfish.
00:439. Beneath desperately wants to be scary, but it ends up becoming a laugh out loud comedy, but that doesn't
00:49mean there's not plenty to enjoy here, especially if you leave your brain at the door, with this very much
00:55a 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
01:05are 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
01:15character 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
01:30the story is so dumb that this is well worth hunting down, purely so you can try and understand the
01:36insanity 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
01:52it 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
02:01is absolutely terrifying, particularly in those quiet moments of tension where the creature stalks its prey, where you'll find yourself
02:08feeling proper uneasy as the next meal is hunted for.
02:11Adding to the anxiety, the characters here are brilliantly written, and even the ones you hate have moments where their
02:17humanity comes to the fore.
02:19Another part of what makes Dark Was the Night work so well is the overall tone and aesthetic of the
02:23film.
02:24With their almost death-like grey filter over everything that may at first seem unnecessary, but then nicely gets under
02:30your 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
02:37big bad.
02:38Number six, Digging Up The Marrow.
02:40The Hatchet series, Frozen, no, not that Frozen, and even Chillerama are all works that writer-director Adam Green is
02:47fairly 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
03:00by 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.
03:10As 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
03:23in 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
03:34part investigative documentary.
03:36Making Digging Up The Marrow even more appealing to horror hounds, there's also cameo appearances from the likes of Kane
03:42Hodder, 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 five, Howl.
03:54In Howl, the passengers of a stalled train must come together when they come under siege by a pack of
04:00werewolves.
04:01While the human drama and conflict can be a little too much at times in Howl, the movie hardly suffers
04:06from 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
04:16masterpiece 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
04:24feral 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
04:42train, and you've got an end product that works so, so well.
04:45Number four, Boys from County Hell.
04:48You 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
05:00town 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
05:09heartfelt 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
05:24time 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
05:36basically 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
05:46to drink from.
05:47Is it disgusting? Oh, absolutely. But that just makes this vampire all the more impressive.
05:53Number three, 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
06:02question for the ages.
06:03In the third film in Gamera's Heisei period, Revenge of Iris, it's an orphan girl here with a psychic connection
06:09to 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
06:20propel 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
06:31that 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,
06:38not 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
06:50its exploration of trauma.
06:52Many kaiju have been shown to be defenders of their respective regions, but what this film does is show the
06:57extreme amounts of collateral damage that come with having a giant monster as your saviour.
07:02Number two, Death Kappa.
07:03Inspired by the myth of the Kappa, a military organisation attempts to create amphibious super soldiers.
07:10However, their experiments trigger an atomic explosion, causing a giant monster to attack Japan, all at the same time as
07:17a 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
07:34leader 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.
07:45The narrative is basically divided into two halves.
07:48In the first half, the story is a lighthearted romp about a young woman bonding with the Death Kappa after
07:53it 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
08:01parody and a love letter to caju films.
08:03Just 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
08:14and 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.
08:29Is this mysterious beast real, or has paranoia gotten the better of Hank?
08:33The 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
08:48put a chill down your spine, that's okay.
08:50Because 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
08:59present, 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
09:11external and internal obstacles to overcome.
09:13The genuine humanity of its characters, combined with a monster that gives the predator a run for its money, makes
09:19for a movie that's equal parts horror and equal parts heart.
09:22The genuine humanity of the world.
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