The monster doesn’t have to be realistic for a creature feature to work, but it certainly helps. The more believable the threat, the more tense the viewing experience, usually. To this end, Redditors recently got together on r/movies, the largest film subreddit, to discuss the most realistic movie monsters of all.
The Reddit users came up with some intriguing picks, a few of which may be somewhat controversial. They used a broad definition of ‘realistic’, applying not necessarily to how the creatures look but perhaps to how they sound, move, or even just the concept itself. In the context of these films, even the most outlandish monsters seem plausible.
10 ‘Pitch Black’ (2000)
Pitch Black is the first entry in the saga of Riddick (Vin Diesel), a convicted murderer who crash-lands on a remote planet with three suns. When night falls on this desolate world, it brings forth swarms of deadly, light-fearing creatures that hunt in total darkness.
The monsters are essentially space vampires, but the film pulls them off with style. “I was always partial to the alien creatures in Pitch Black. Riddick did a pretty good job of handling the situation, too. The rest of the Riddick franchise, not so much,” said user grumblyoldman.
9 ‘The Ruins’ (2008)
The Ruins follows a group of young tourists vacationing in Mexico who explore an ancient Mayan temple hidden in the jungle. When they reach the site, they encounter a mysterious, menacing presence that traps them atop the ruins: carnivorous, moving plants.
It may sound a little goofy, but The Ruins makes the plants seem genuinely freaky. The carnage they inflict is visceral and believable. It was user Calamadia’s pick for best horror with the most realistic monster, and it’s also a favorite of director Edgar Wright.
8 ‘The Thing’ (1982)
John Carpenter‘s The Thing, easily ranks among the finest creature features ever, in part because it believably portrays how the existence of its monster would warp humans’ minds. Set in an Antarctic research station, the story focuses on a shape-shifting extraterrestrial that can take on human forms, thus sowing distrust and paranoia among the researchers.
On paper, the creature seems farfetched, but due to killer effects and great performances, it seems all too real. The Thing laid a new blueprint for monstrous horror, which has been endlessly imitated but never surpassed. “Love it. Great movie,” said Redditor shymei simply.
7 ‘Exists’ (2014)
The Bigfoot legend has been around for so long, with so little evidence to support it, that it seemed unlikely that anyone could make a decent horror about the creature. But Blair Witch Project director Eduardo Sánchez succeeded with this lean, mean found footage flick. It revolves around friends camping in East Texas who are set upon by a clan of territorial Sasquatches.
The writing is decidedly shaky, but the filmmakers deserve credit for making Bigfoot seem at least somewhat scary. They emphasize the beast’s animalistic side. Plus, showing the viewer only brief glimpses here and there (for most of the movie, at least) adds to the effect. “One of my favs,” said one Redditor simply.
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6 ‘Antlers’ (2021)
Antlers is an atmospheric horror set in a small, isolated town in Oregon, where a young schoolteacher, Julia Meadows (Keri Russell), becomes increasingly concerned about one of her students, Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas). Lucas is harboring a secret that involves a malevolent creature from Native American folklore that is wreaking havoc on the town.
The beast turns out to be a kind of demon known as a wendigo, which the effects team realizes with stellar, unsettling imagery. “Not the best movie but the creature is a wendigo, which I’d put in a similar category as Bigfoot [in terms of being plausible],” said Redditor nameg0e5here.
5 ‘Signs’ (2002)
Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) is a former priest who has lost his faith following a family tragedy. Living on a remote farm in rural Pennsylvania with his two children and younger brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), Graham discovers bizarre crop circles in his fields. Strange phenomena continue to appear around the world, as an alien invasion unfolds. The aliens themselves are fairly typical in design, looking like gray humanoids, but clever staging and artful cinematography make them appear frightening once again.
“[Signs] created good suspense and kept me a little anxious,” said user shymei. “Yeah. The movie has a few dumb things but it created a very good suspense. The suspense that 2-meter-tall bipedal aliens are trying to enter your home, and could be in the rooms next to you already, is very well executed,” said Redditor tchnl.
4 ‘The Descent’ (2005)
A group of adventurers embark on a caving expedition in the Appalachian Mountains. But after they descend into the uncharted underground caves, they quickly become trapped and encounter a race of bloodthirsty subterranean creatures. The monsters are bat-like and bloodthirsty; humanoids that have evolved for the dank dark.
User drunk_and_orderly named this as the horror with the most realistic creature, which is a little controversial. After all, the creatures basically just look like people in makeup. However, the concept itself and the mythology around the creatures carry the film over the finish line.
3 ‘Nope’ (2022)
Jordan Peele‘s Nope focuses on characters living on a California ranch that is menaced by an intergalactic being. The film introduces an alien that is squid-like and agile, taking on a UFO form that hides among the clouds. Jean Jacket, as the creature is called, succeeds because it takes the alien design in new directions rather than rehashing the same ideas we’ve seen in movies a million times before.
“I really liked how they handled the aliens in Nope,” said user culinarydream7224. “Me too. It felt like something actually horrifying. Humans being hunted for food by some kind of animal-like creature isn’t too far off from reality,” agreed Redditor shymei.
2 ‘No One Will Save You’ (2023)
Boasting almost no dialogue, No One Will Save You tells the story of a mute young woman named Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever) who is attacked in her home by aliens. The film deserves props for the way it takes alien tropes – the stereotypical gray bodies and bulbous heads, flying saucers, abductions – and makes them seem fresh again.
In particular, the aliens are believable because they are so otherworldly. Their actions are cryptic and their motivations inscrutable. “I really liked the aliens in No One Will Save You. The way they kinda ‘played with their food’ was realistic to me like how cats play with bugs,” said user shymei.
1 ‘Cujo’ (1983)
This classic based on Stephen King‘s novel centers on Donna Trenton (Dee Wallace), a woman who, along with her young son Tad (Danny Pintauro), becomes the unwitting victim of Cujo, a family pet turned rabid killer. Stranded in their broken-down car during a sweltering heatwave, mother and son must fend off the relentless attacks of the St. Bernard, whose rabies infection has turned him into a formidable foe.
It’s a fantastically simple concept which is stunningly executed. Cujo is absolutely realistic because such dogs are real. In the process, the film takes man’s best friend and turns it into something utterly terrifying. Consequently, Cujo was user XeniaDweller’s pick for the best horror with a realistic threat, seconded by Redditor Song_of_Kong.
