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In horror, sometimes what you don't see is far more terrifying than what you do. This video explores the 'less is more' approach, counting down ten of the most frightening movie monsters that get shockingly little screen time, proving that our imagination is the ultimate special effect.
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00:00Human beings have a natural fear of monsters, which is why zombies, vampires and demons are prevalent in the horror
00:07genre.
00:07But the most unforgettable creatures often prey on another primal fear, the unknown.
00:13The less we see of a beast, the more unsettling it is.
00:16The audience's imagination is more terrifying than any special effect, which is why movie monsters usually appear sparingly.
00:23Sometimes the fiend is never shown completely or for no more than a second at a time.
00:28Other times they aren't revealed at all.
00:31In theory, taking this approach can be disappointing, but this strategy can pay off since it compels you to second
00:38guess what kind of monster the characters are up against.
00:41So with that in mind, I'm Ellie for WhatCulture and let's take a look at these terrifying movie monsters that
00:47barely appear.
00:48Starting with the boar, Razorback.
00:51The unprecedented success of Jaws led to a splurge of copycats, involving piranhas, spiders, frogs and rabbits.
00:59Unsurprisingly, many imitators didn't come close to matching Jaws, since they didn't emulate Steven Spielberg's less is more approach.
01:07One of the few Jaws clones that understood this concept is Razorback.
01:11Based on Peter Brennan's novel of the same name, the cult classic is set in the Australian outback, where visitors
01:18and locals alike find themselves being tormented by a gigantic man-eating boar.
01:23Effects artist Bob McCarron pulled out all the stops for this tusked tyrant, designing six animatronics, including one fully-sized
01:31model.
01:32Instead of showing off McCarron's impressive handiwork, the titular beast is kept off-screen or only partially seen.
01:39In fact, there isn't a full shot of the kaiju piggy at any point.
01:44Luckily, this decision makes the brutish boar come across more like a mythical monster rather than an animal, accentuating the
01:51terror every time it shows up.
01:54The Old Ones.
01:55In the Mouth of Madness.
01:57Despite not being an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft, John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness captures the cosmic horror
02:04of the revered author flawlessly.
02:06The otherworldly tale opens with investigator John Trent being hired to find missing horror novelist Sutter Kane.
02:12Trent initially believes Kane's disappearance is a publicity stunt, but later learns an ancient race called the Old Ones has
02:19manifested the author's writings into reality, driving people insane.
02:24When Trent physically enters Kane's warped world, he finds himself in a long corridor being chased by the Old Ones.
02:31Serving at the story's epicentre, you'd expect these Lovecraftian beasts to have a glorious reveal.
02:37Instead, the scene focuses on Trent's face, with the Old Ones barely visible in the background.
02:43The camera cuts to Trent's pursuers a few times, but little can be seen, save for an out-of-focus
02:49claw or fang.
02:50The Old Ones' appearance is so vague, it's hard to tell what they look like or how many there are.
02:56Although decisions like these are sometimes done to hide poor special effects, behind-the-scenes shots illustrate how superbly these
03:03puppets and animatronics turned out.
03:05However, it's established the Old Ones are beyond our reality and warp our world while remaining in the shadows, so
03:12this minimalism benefits the story.
03:17Joel Anderson's found footage horror explores the death of a 16-year-old, Alice Palmer, who drowned in Lake Mungo.
03:24Believing her spirit is attempting to make contact, her brother Matthew set up cameras around the house, seemingly capturing Alice's
03:31ghost in her bedroom.
03:33When Matthew confesses he faked the footage, it looks like the whole haunting was a sham, but after spooky activities
03:39continue to happen to the Palmers, it becomes hard to tell what's real and what isn't.
03:44Travelling to Lake Mungo, the Palmers discover Alice's phone and watch the last video she recorded.
03:50In this clip, Alice is walking along the shore when a mysterious figure marches towards her.
03:55As this person comes into frame, it's revealed to be a doppelganger of Alice.
04:01Stranger still, this duplicate resembles Alice when her body was later found, including the bloated skin and malformed face.
04:08This moment is absolutely skin-crawling, not just because of the morbid image, but also for proving beyond any shadow
04:14of a doubt that the supernatural occurrences the Palmers have experienced were real.
04:19Most bewildering of all, it's never explained what this doppelganger is or why it appeared.
04:25The Monsters, Arcadian.
04:27Long Legs was such a hit in 2024, it overshadowed Nicolas Cage's other venture in horror that year, Arcadian.
04:35In this post-apocalyptic thriller, the face-off actor plays Paul, a father who tries to protect his sons, Joseph
04:41and Thomas, from nocturnal monsters.
04:44Virtually nothing is explained about the creatures, including their origins or their names.
04:49Although Paul takes reasonable precautions, it's never enough, since he's oblivious to the adversary's skills and abilities.
04:56After Joseph locks himself in the house, one of the brutes sticks its arm through the latch, trying to grab
05:01him.
05:02Of course, Joseph seems safe, since he's too far away.
05:05That's why it's freaky to see the monster elongate its fingernail until it's mere inches from Joseph's face.
05:11The monsters are built up so well, a poor reveal could have diluted the tension in an instant.
05:17Fortunately, the creature's design is a masterclass in triggering primal fear.
05:22Simply put, the monsters resemble a chimera of predators, due to their shaggy hair, crocodile snout, hippo teeth and spider
05:30movements.
05:31They also have a camouflaged forehead that resembles a human face, giving off uncanny valley vibes.
05:37Even though over-designing these fiends could have backfired, the special effects crew nailed it.
05:43The Entity, The Endless
05:45In The Endless, brothers Justin and Aaron return to the cult they escaped from years earlier, hoping to find closure.
05:52When they discover the community is thriving, Justin and Aaron consider staying, since they're unable to function in the real
05:58world.
05:58However, the siblings change their tune when they see the awesome power of its leader, a cosmic being simply called
06:05the Entity.
06:07During their stay, one cult member, Hal, talks to Justin about impossible colours, which exist beyond people's visual spectrum, so
06:14they cannot be seen or imagined.
06:16This is a great analogy for the Entity itself, since it cannot be understood by the human mind.
06:22Even when the Entity performs non-malicious acts, like manipulating weather, space and gravity, there's a great sense of uneasiness,
06:30since it's impossible to wrap your head around what's happening.
06:33Although the Entity is wicked and godlike, the fact that its form, intentions and limits are beyond comprehension is what
06:40really gets under your skin.
06:42The Ghosts, The Haunting
06:44In Robert Weiser's adaptation of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, a team of paranormal investigators spends the night
06:51in an eerie mansion to verify whether it's occupied by ghosts.
06:55But by the end, that question is left unanswered.
06:58Spirits are never directly seen, so it's hard to tell whether the ominous occurrences in the house are supernatural in
07:04origin.
07:04The lead character, Eleanor, bears witness to peculiar sounds, cold spots and pounding on the doors, all indicating the building
07:12is definitely haunted.
07:13On the other hand, much of the story is seen through Eleanor's perspective, who comes across as an unreliable narrator
07:19due to her fragile emotional state.
07:22As a result, what Eleanor claims to see, hear and experience may only exist in her mind.
07:27This ambiguity keeps everyone on their toes every single time something creepy happens.
07:32Sure, it would be frightening if the ghosts' presence was undeniable, but at least there would be some sense of
07:38closure, knowing they were real all along.
07:40But since the Spectre's existence is left uncertain, that fear of the unknown is likely to stay with viewers long
07:46after the credits roll.
07:48The Marauder
07:49Evil Deadrise
07:50Rather than taking place in an isolated cabin, Evil Deadrise sets the stage inside an apartment building in LA.
07:57Though our heroines, Beth and Cassie, do their best against the Deadites, they fail to stop family members Ellie, Bridget
08:04and Danny from being possessed by the demonic spirits.
08:07After hacking the three Deadites' bodies to pieces, Beth and Cassie flee to the parking lot, hoping to escape.
08:13To their surprise, they're confronted by Ellie, Bridget and Danny, who've merged into a triple threat Deadite called the Marauder.
08:20Now, such a creature has never appeared in Evil Dead before, so you'd expect there to be at least one
08:25money shot of the multi-limbed ghoul, especially since this particular Deadite is teased in the Book of the Dead
08:31in the previous scene.
08:33Instead, the Marauder is deliberately obscured throughout the entire climax.
08:38Although the camera focuses on the Marauder's faces, there isn't a clear shot of its entire body for more than
08:43a second.
08:44This monster's reveal could have been ruined by poor special effects or distracting CGI, so it was a smart move
08:51to show the Marauder up close or in fragments, since the scene feels more claustrophobic and personal.
08:57The virus, Pontypool.
08:59In Pontypool, radio DJ Grant Mazzey is working in his studio when he discovers civilians in the area have inexplicably
09:06turned into zombies.
09:08Though Grant and his colleagues are rattled, they believe they should be safe from the infection since they're locked inside
09:14their facility.
09:15But over time, Grant discovers the virus isn't spread by a pathogen or a bite, but by the English language.
09:21It's uncertain what words infect the listeners, so Grant's team hasn't a clue what they can and cannot say.
09:27The virus extends to writing too, so anybody can be infected simply by reading a specific word, sentence or phrase.
09:35What's worse is that any attempt to formulate a plan to get out of danger runs the risk of accidentally
09:40spreading the disease.
09:41Although Pontypool's concept sounds bizarre, this type of virus is more petrifying than any airborne agent, since there's virtually no
09:49way to avoid it in the long run.
09:51Hastar, Toombad.
09:53In this Indian folk horror, Vinayak becomes obsessed with locating a hidden treasure belonging to the forgotten god of greed,
09:59Hastar.
10:00In the prologue, it's mentioned how Hastar's insatiable cravings compelled his brethren to seal him away and cover up all
10:07record of his existence.
10:09The fact that his own pantheon fears Hastar immediately establishes how utterly terrifying he is.
10:14Though Hastar doesn't feature outright, Vinayak has constant run-ins with his victims, all of whom have suffered an unbearable
10:21fate after encountering the avaricious adversary.
10:24These confrontations don't just serve as a warning to Vinayak, but further tease Hastar's inevitable introduction.
10:30When Vinayak discovers Hastar's lair, he's horrified to learn it's a throbbing, pulsating flesh pit, indicating the dark entity's home
10:38exists within a living organism.
10:39And when Vinayak sees people encased in the fleshy walls pleading for their lives, it amplifies the threat Hastar poses
10:47even further.
10:48After reaching the centre of the lair, he comes face to face with Hastar, who resembles an emaciated, skinless being,
10:55garnered in nothing but a loincloth and a crown.
10:58Although Hastar looks like the stuff of nightmares, this moment hits harder since he was built up so masterfully.
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