these are the beasts that go bump in the
night
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
scariest movie monsters for this list
we’re ranking frightening monsters from
the movie worlds of horror science
fiction and other genres those creatures
that haunt our nightmares regardless of
whether they’re born monstrous or are
created through some accident or act of
nature God pretty good right yeah it’s
almost second nature we’re excluding
human killers and animals gone amok
though of course given that we might be
discussing some creature feature origin
stories and motivations here a mild
spoiler alert might also be in order
remember you chased those brats almost
got him almost don’t you want another
chance
number 10 lipstick face demon insidious
it’s not the house that’s haunted it’s
your son there are a lot of monsters in
the insidious world but this one just
might scare us the most I can still hear
that voice this red-faced entity is one
of the most memorable villains from this
first installment of the insidious
franchise as it’s a frightening example
of exactly what terrors are lurking in
the further an astral plane where lost
dead souls are forced to wander
the lipstick face demon was played by
Joseph Bashara but with it’s bright red
skin and deep set frightening eyes it’s
honestly tough to distinguish any human
features from the horrific otherworldly
nightmare
number 9 mutant baby Eraserhead
nightmarish and surreal this body horror
flick from visionary director David
Lynch has been haunting the dreams of
audiences for years thanks largely in
part to the presence of this iconic
movie creature
the baby from Eraserhead is often seen
as reflective of protagonist Harry
Spencer’s fear of sex and fatherhood
sickly screaming and misshapen it’s a
mutated being barely recognizable as
humanoid and it serves as one of the
most memorably frightening effects in
film history possible number eight
Pazuzu The Exorcist
where’s Reagan in here with us as one of
the most disturbing and iconic horror
films of all time The Exorcist has
haunted the dreams of moviegoers for
decades one of the reasons for this is
the movies equally legendary antagonist
Pazuzu you don’t know what she did
Yawk pinged off out this demon starts
out with the name captain howdy when
it’s the imaginary-friend of Linda
Blair’s Regan MacNeil but it isn’t long
before Pazuzu true colors are shown
really don’t want me to play huh
no I do captain howdy said now through
its violent and perverse possession of
Regan we are eventually led to the
climactic exorcism scene it’s the power
trust that compares to the power of
crazy-cool and although we only get a
couple of brief glimpses of Pazuzu
during the film the characters impact
would go on to influence countless
horror fans and filmmakers in the years
to come
I’m Damien Karras and I’m dead Gavin
number seven Pumpkinhead
Pumpkinhead God if you got em you he
already
as a tool of vengeance for distraught
father ed Harley after the death of his
son the titular Pumpkinhead is a clawed
and malevolent demon with a thirst for
blood
in this debut directorial feature from
legendary special effects artist Stan
Winston veteran character actor Lance
Henriksen plays Harley can’t you stop
this can’t you call it off I’m gonna
send it back to whatever hell it come
but it’s the Pumpkinhead design that is
the standout as an example of Winston’s
infamous practical and imaginative
creature design
the physically imposing Halloween beast
has also helped the film itself gang
fans some 20-plus years after its
initial release I’m the one you want
number six humanoid crawlers the descent
pairs nothing down here hope you’re not
afraid of the dark your dark caves
because that’s exactly where you’ll find
these in next movie monsters which prey
upon you when your most vulnerable
they’re totally blind and judging from
what we’ve seen I’d say that you sound
to hunt with director Neil Marshalls the
descent was a nerve-wracking exercise in
tension even before these humanoid
crawlers show up thanks to a plot that
has a group of young women spelunking in
pitch black clothes quartered caves when
the creatures do surface however all
survival bets are off
and Marshalls film enters true monster
movie territory
these hideously malformed human-like
cousins of the vampire bat are bound to
give you nightmares for weeks
number-5 brundlefly
the fly free don’t be afraid no be
afraid be very afraid David Cronenberg
has managed to gross us out and freak us
out as the master of body horror cinema
for over 40 years yet this film might
just be the man’s greatest legacy the
brundlefly exists as the result of a
tragic accident which befalls scientists
Seth Brundle as his experiments and
teleportation go horribly awry his DNA
is combined with that of a common
housefly
although the mutation initially gives
Brundle super strength agility and
endurance it is long before the
scientists body begins to become more
fly than human devolve ngey / and deeper
into a horrific hybrid that has Brundle
literally begging for extinction will be
the ultimate family a family of three
joined together in one body more human
and I am alone number 4 penny wise it
kiss me those suffering from
coulrophobia which is an
uncharacteristic fear of clowns she’ll
probably avoid contact with this next
creature as it’s an evil fear-mongering
entity that decides to take residents
upon earth as penny wise the dancing
clowns excuse me do you have an Albert
and I can you do way up by the level
poor Gaea in this film adaptation of
author Stephen King’s classic story
penny wise is portrayed with vicious
glee by actor Tim Curry hi Georgie
aren’t you gonna say hello brandishing
sharpened teeth and a piercing scare
guaranteed to chill the bones of just
about anyone
not just those suffering from
coulrophobia the sadistic serial killer
not only knows all of your deepest fears
but he can shape-shift as well so no
matter what form it takes it is sure to
be terrifying see with your dreams come
back any time bring your friends number
three pale man Pan’s Labyrinth those
bolts over the rivet is so director
Guillermo del Toro has a wild and
fertile imagination when it comes to his
animated creatures yet very few have
disturbed or frightened us more than the
pale man from the Spanish Mexican
fantasy Pan’s Labyrinth as part of the
second task assigned to young Ophelia by
the mysterious faun character the pale
man is a child consuming monster that
noiselessly presides over a feast eating
some water
muy peligroso tener cuidado
Meeta oh mama
Oh philia is warned by her fairy
companions not to touch or eat anything
in the pail manslayer lest she risk
disrupting the menacing creature
unfortunately the curious young girl
can’t help herself and steals two grapes
this releases the blind pale man from
his position after which it shockingly
grabs two eyeballs from the table and
raises them to its horrifying face so
that it may chase after the disobedient
little girl
it’s a legendary scene at Stan as a
cornerstone of del Toro’s film number
two the alien also known as the
xenomorph the Alien franchise is there
anything more frightening than an
intelligent relentless hateful killing
machine from outer space get away from
her you bitch
we didn’t think so bullshit you still
don’t understand watch a TA listing the
Xenomorphs are an alien species that’s
been hunting for human hosts since their
big screen debut in director Ridley
Scott’s 1979 sci-fi horror classic alien
perfect organism its structural
perfection is matched only by us
collecting and who continue to fascinate
us with appearances in film video games
and comics to this day
the Xenomorphs have acid for blood sharp
claws and a tendency to impregnate their
human victims with smaller larvae which
then burst through the hosts stomach
hours later with an existence dedicated
only to hunting killing and serving
their queen did any wonder that these
not-so-friendly aliens are so scary
we’re picking Santa before we reveal our
number one pick here are some honorable
mentions
what run
okay run flee right hey my running good
one good one let’s go running right now
number one the thing the thing here
director John Carpenter would cement his
reputation as one of cinema’s true
masters with this legendary reimagining
of 1951 s the thing from another world
but there
at the compasses at a spin Geiger’s up
to the top in this sci-fi horror a group
of researchers located in a remote
Antarctic outpost are terrorized by a
smart and malevolent alien life-form
that’s able to take on the appearance of
anyone or anything I don’t know what the
hell’s in there it’s weird and pissed
off whatever it is paranoia and tension
take over from this point as mistrust
and murder lead up to some stellar
iconic special-effects work from Rob
butene and Stan Winston the less said
about this one the better
if you haven’t seen the thing then
buckle yourself in for one terrifyingly
scary ride go benning’s I gotta get some
sleep
do you agree with our list what other
movie monsters terrify you for more
scary good top 10s published every day
be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com
night
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
scariest movie monsters for this list
we’re ranking frightening monsters from
the movie worlds of horror science
fiction and other genres those creatures
that haunt our nightmares regardless of
whether they’re born monstrous or are
created through some accident or act of
nature God pretty good right yeah it’s
almost second nature we’re excluding
human killers and animals gone amok
though of course given that we might be
discussing some creature feature origin
stories and motivations here a mild
spoiler alert might also be in order
remember you chased those brats almost
got him almost don’t you want another
chance
number 10 lipstick face demon insidious
it’s not the house that’s haunted it’s
your son there are a lot of monsters in
the insidious world but this one just
might scare us the most I can still hear
that voice this red-faced entity is one
of the most memorable villains from this
first installment of the insidious
franchise as it’s a frightening example
of exactly what terrors are lurking in
the further an astral plane where lost
dead souls are forced to wander
the lipstick face demon was played by
Joseph Bashara but with it’s bright red
skin and deep set frightening eyes it’s
honestly tough to distinguish any human
features from the horrific otherworldly
nightmare
number 9 mutant baby Eraserhead
nightmarish and surreal this body horror
flick from visionary director David
Lynch has been haunting the dreams of
audiences for years thanks largely in
part to the presence of this iconic
movie creature
the baby from Eraserhead is often seen
as reflective of protagonist Harry
Spencer’s fear of sex and fatherhood
sickly screaming and misshapen it’s a
mutated being barely recognizable as
humanoid and it serves as one of the
most memorably frightening effects in
film history possible number eight
Pazuzu The Exorcist
where’s Reagan in here with us as one of
the most disturbing and iconic horror
films of all time The Exorcist has
haunted the dreams of moviegoers for
decades one of the reasons for this is
the movies equally legendary antagonist
Pazuzu you don’t know what she did
Yawk pinged off out this demon starts
out with the name captain howdy when
it’s the imaginary-friend of Linda
Blair’s Regan MacNeil but it isn’t long
before Pazuzu true colors are shown
really don’t want me to play huh
no I do captain howdy said now through
its violent and perverse possession of
Regan we are eventually led to the
climactic exorcism scene it’s the power
trust that compares to the power of
crazy-cool and although we only get a
couple of brief glimpses of Pazuzu
during the film the characters impact
would go on to influence countless
horror fans and filmmakers in the years
to come
I’m Damien Karras and I’m dead Gavin
number seven Pumpkinhead
Pumpkinhead God if you got em you he
already
as a tool of vengeance for distraught
father ed Harley after the death of his
son the titular Pumpkinhead is a clawed
and malevolent demon with a thirst for
blood
in this debut directorial feature from
legendary special effects artist Stan
Winston veteran character actor Lance
Henriksen plays Harley can’t you stop
this can’t you call it off I’m gonna
send it back to whatever hell it come
but it’s the Pumpkinhead design that is
the standout as an example of Winston’s
infamous practical and imaginative
creature design
the physically imposing Halloween beast
has also helped the film itself gang
fans some 20-plus years after its
initial release I’m the one you want
number six humanoid crawlers the descent
pairs nothing down here hope you’re not
afraid of the dark your dark caves
because that’s exactly where you’ll find
these in next movie monsters which prey
upon you when your most vulnerable
they’re totally blind and judging from
what we’ve seen I’d say that you sound
to hunt with director Neil Marshalls the
descent was a nerve-wracking exercise in
tension even before these humanoid
crawlers show up thanks to a plot that
has a group of young women spelunking in
pitch black clothes quartered caves when
the creatures do surface however all
survival bets are off
and Marshalls film enters true monster
movie territory
these hideously malformed human-like
cousins of the vampire bat are bound to
give you nightmares for weeks
number-5 brundlefly
the fly free don’t be afraid no be
afraid be very afraid David Cronenberg
has managed to gross us out and freak us
out as the master of body horror cinema
for over 40 years yet this film might
just be the man’s greatest legacy the
brundlefly exists as the result of a
tragic accident which befalls scientists
Seth Brundle as his experiments and
teleportation go horribly awry his DNA
is combined with that of a common
housefly
although the mutation initially gives
Brundle super strength agility and
endurance it is long before the
scientists body begins to become more
fly than human devolve ngey / and deeper
into a horrific hybrid that has Brundle
literally begging for extinction will be
the ultimate family a family of three
joined together in one body more human
and I am alone number 4 penny wise it
kiss me those suffering from
coulrophobia which is an
uncharacteristic fear of clowns she’ll
probably avoid contact with this next
creature as it’s an evil fear-mongering
entity that decides to take residents
upon earth as penny wise the dancing
clowns excuse me do you have an Albert
and I can you do way up by the level
poor Gaea in this film adaptation of
author Stephen King’s classic story
penny wise is portrayed with vicious
glee by actor Tim Curry hi Georgie
aren’t you gonna say hello brandishing
sharpened teeth and a piercing scare
guaranteed to chill the bones of just
about anyone
not just those suffering from
coulrophobia the sadistic serial killer
not only knows all of your deepest fears
but he can shape-shift as well so no
matter what form it takes it is sure to
be terrifying see with your dreams come
back any time bring your friends number
three pale man Pan’s Labyrinth those
bolts over the rivet is so director
Guillermo del Toro has a wild and
fertile imagination when it comes to his
animated creatures yet very few have
disturbed or frightened us more than the
pale man from the Spanish Mexican
fantasy Pan’s Labyrinth as part of the
second task assigned to young Ophelia by
the mysterious faun character the pale
man is a child consuming monster that
noiselessly presides over a feast eating
some water
muy peligroso tener cuidado
Meeta oh mama
Oh philia is warned by her fairy
companions not to touch or eat anything
in the pail manslayer lest she risk
disrupting the menacing creature
unfortunately the curious young girl
can’t help herself and steals two grapes
this releases the blind pale man from
his position after which it shockingly
grabs two eyeballs from the table and
raises them to its horrifying face so
that it may chase after the disobedient
little girl
it’s a legendary scene at Stan as a
cornerstone of del Toro’s film number
two the alien also known as the
xenomorph the Alien franchise is there
anything more frightening than an
intelligent relentless hateful killing
machine from outer space get away from
her you bitch
we didn’t think so bullshit you still
don’t understand watch a TA listing the
Xenomorphs are an alien species that’s
been hunting for human hosts since their
big screen debut in director Ridley
Scott’s 1979 sci-fi horror classic alien
perfect organism its structural
perfection is matched only by us
collecting and who continue to fascinate
us with appearances in film video games
and comics to this day
the Xenomorphs have acid for blood sharp
claws and a tendency to impregnate their
human victims with smaller larvae which
then burst through the hosts stomach
hours later with an existence dedicated
only to hunting killing and serving
their queen did any wonder that these
not-so-friendly aliens are so scary
we’re picking Santa before we reveal our
number one pick here are some honorable
mentions
what run
okay run flee right hey my running good
one good one let’s go running right now
number one the thing the thing here
director John Carpenter would cement his
reputation as one of cinema’s true
masters with this legendary reimagining
of 1951 s the thing from another world
but there
at the compasses at a spin Geiger’s up
to the top in this sci-fi horror a group
of researchers located in a remote
Antarctic outpost are terrorized by a
smart and malevolent alien life-form
that’s able to take on the appearance of
anyone or anything I don’t know what the
hell’s in there it’s weird and pissed
off whatever it is paranoia and tension
take over from this point as mistrust
and murder lead up to some stellar
iconic special-effects work from Rob
butene and Stan Winston the less said
about this one the better
if you haven’t seen the thing then
buckle yourself in for one terrifyingly
scary ride go benning’s I gotta get some
sleep
do you agree with our list what other
movie monsters terrify you for more
scary good top 10s published every day
be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com
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