Monsters in the Movies

For almost as long as movies have been around, on-screen monsters have been there too.

Over the years we have seen monsters develop and then be reimagined with advances in technology. Some have stood the test of time whether they were created by make-up artists or visual effects artists, they still terrify audiences around the world.

We took a look at this infographic on the scariest monsters in classic movies and decided to pick out three of our favourites.

The Vampire

One of cinema’s earliest monsters was the Vampire. Famously depicted in 1922’s Nosferatu the Vamp has become synonymous with horror movies.

The Vampire’s ability to live for hundreds of years and take multiple forms has allowed directors plenty of creative licence in recent depictions. From comedies such as What We Do In The Shadows to love stories such as The Twilight Saga.

One of our favourite depictions of vampires on screen however, has to be Interview with the Vampire which starred Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.

The Werewolf

While the Werewolf is another monster to feature in the aforementioned Twilight Saga, the Werewolf itself has also been around in the movies for a long, long time.

Interestingly, the mythology around Werewolves goes back to the times of Zeus, who after being angered by King Lycaon, turned him into a wolf. This brought about the name Lycanthropy, which describes the transformation of a person into a wolf!

The Werewolf has featured in a number of classic films over the years, the aptly named The Wolf Man in 1941 and more recently 2010. Whereas the monster also had an outing in An American Werewolf in London and it’s often-ignored sequel An American Werewolf in Paris.

Our preferred choice for a Werewolf-themed film though, is Joe Dante’s 1981 The Howling.

The Mummy

The origins of The Mummy go back to Ancient Egypt and they’ve been a regular sight in movies over the years. While a Mummy itself may not initially appear to be the scariest of the monsters in this list, the associated curses are enough to scare anyone. It’s said that of those who opened King Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus almost 100 years ago, five died in mysterious circumstances.

When it comes to The Mummy making it’s big-screen monster appearance there are a few obvious instances. The original outing came in The Mummy way back in 1932, with the famous Boris Karloff playing the lead role. Following on from that there was a run of Mummy-themed films such as The Mummy’s Hand (1940) and The Mummy’s Tomb (1942).

As you can predict though, our favourite, in no small part thanks to Brendan Fraser is the originally named The Mummy. This time it’s the 1999 one. Fraser and Rachel Weisz are wonderful in the film that spurned several sequels and a re-imagining in 2017 that starred Tom Cruise also called, you guessed it, The Mummy