15 Scary Monster Movies Guaranteed To Keep You Up At Night

While the devilish creatures in John Carpenters The Thing may be more alien than traditional monster, there is no doubt that the monstrous creations that run rampant on the film are some of the most iconic, terrifying, and genius creations in the history of cinema. From grotesque, masochistic, and haunting designs to phenomenal sound design to some of the most gruesome kills in horror history, The Thing has everything a monster movie fan could ever dream of, all packaged in one of the most tense and psychological packages of all time.

Stephen King and strange sadistic monster movies that question who the real monsters are, the creatures killing the world or the humans doing the same thing go hand in hand, and there is no better example of this trope than The Mist. A truly masochistic and spine-chilling tale of human destruction and creature invasion and destruction, The Mist may hide its monsters in the shadows, but their ever looming presence makes for one of the most tense experiences of all time, and the monster in human form only emphasizes the terror on the silver screen.

Stephen King's It is undoubtedly one of the scariest tales of all time, and when director Andy Muschietti created the massive 2017 hit, he showcased on the silver screen exactly why this monster in clown form is one of the most deadly and dangerous creatures the world has ever seen. With the ability to take the shape of anyones worst nightmare, Pennywise is the walking image of terror, making him one of the scariest movie monsters of all time, and while he may take the shape of a clown for a vast majority of the film, when he does change appearances into bigger and more bombastic monstrosities, that is truly when the terror begins.

Ridley Scott's Alien and it titular monster, the Xenomorph are some of the most beloved, acclaimed, and spine-chilling movies and monsters in history. With a jaw-dropping design the Xenomorph is the thing nightmares are made of, the film does a wonderful job of hiding the monster in all the right moments, only to reveal its horrid pursuit of human flesh in the most obscene and bombastic ways imaginable. A film that stands the test of time as one of the greatest horror movies of all time, Alien is undoubtedly one of the scariest monster movies of all time.

Anything but a traditional monster movie, The Babadook may seem more like a haunting psychological and paranormal thriller, but when examined in a closer light, the monster movie elements reveal themselves in strides. A story about a woman overcome with grief and depression simply trying to survive with a nightmare of a child, the titular Babadook reveals himself as a man at first, but slowly morphs metaphorically into a horrid creature that slowly overtakes the mothers mind. Utterly haunting, psychologically scaring, and beautifully crafted, The Babadook is an underrated gem and, when viewed through the eyes of a monster movie, all the more terrifying.

A Quiet Place showcased to the world that the traditional monster movie can still be massively successful, so long as it is handled with the utmost care and created by someone who genuinely loves the genre. Director John Krasinski created one of the most tense, terrifying, and memorable movie monsters with the creatures in A Quiet Place, monstrosities who use sound to hone in and destroy their victims. Using sound as both a weapon and a means of terror, the film immediately puts audiences on edge, and doesn't release until the credits roll.