10 Movies Creatures That Are Deeply Unsettling To Look At

Movie monsters and strange creatures have helped enrich genres like horror and science fiction since the days of Alien, Forbidden Planet, and The War of the Worlds. As special effects, CGI, and make-up have progressed, filmmakers have been able to bring audiences more disturbing and grotesque creatures. From malevolent aliens to demons from Hell, horror, science fiction, and dark fantasy have no shortage of unsettling monsters.

Movie monsters have always appealed to audiences of all stripes, with some being fun and lovable and others truly being the stuff of nightmares. In the case of the latter, artists have pushed themselves to bring people creatures that, while disturbing beyond belief, are almost impossible to look away from. These creatures have elevated already good stories into truly great movies.

10

The Pale Man

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

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Guillermo del Toro has established himself as one of modern cinema’s masters of horror, and nowhere was his unique style as present as in Pan’s Labyrinth. Documenting the story of a young Spanish girl, Ofelia, as she descends into a realm of nightmares, the story reaches its peak when she encounters the Pale Man. A gruesome creature whose eyes are in the palms of its hands, it soon chases the girl through the labyrinth, becoming the film’s biggest threat.

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Pan’s Labyrinth

R

War

Drama

Fantasy

ScreenRant logo

10/10

10/10

Release Date

January 19, 2007

Runtime

118 minutes

Director

Guillermo del Toro

Writers

Guillermo del Toro

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Sergi López

    Sergi López

  • Headshot Of Doug Jones In The 51st Annual Saturn Awards

    Doug Jones

Directed by Guillermo del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth follows Ofelia, a ten-year-old girl living in 1940s Spain who learns she is actually a long-lost fairy princess. With the help of a faun, she is set a series of tasks to complete in order to return to her true home in the fairy underworld. Ivana Baquero stars as Ofelia, with Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, and Doug Jones making up the rest of the main cast. 

Studio(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

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Pan’s Labyrinth is a great film in its own right, but it’s hard to imagine it being nearly as memorable as it is without the eerie, grotesque inclusion of the Pale Man. Perfectly channeling a sense of otherworldly terror, the creature rightly became the face of the movie. The dread of what the monster would do if it catches Ofelia gives the movie its most terrifying sequence, and it’s hard to look away from the stalking, emaciated being.

9

The Bear

Annihilation (2018)

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When it released, Annihilation quickly caught the attention of cosmic horror and sci-fi fans alike for its otherworldly tone and tension. The breakout feature of the movie was a gruesome bear, one whose body is in a state of mange-like decay, while its face is the stuff of nightmares. On one side, the bear’s head resembles the creature’s skull, while the other side has a terrifying, humanoid skull, replete with an eye, staring at the viewer.

Imagery-from-Midsommar,-Bones-and-All,-&-I-Saw-The-TV-Glow

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While people’s opinions of Annihilation’s story are mixed, virtually everyone agrees the bear is by far the most memorable and terrifying part of the film. In-keeping with the appeal of cosmic horror, the monster almost looks impossible, like an amalgamation of beings forced into the form of a dead animal. Every minute the creature is on the screen, it’s impossible to ignore, and its ability to copy the screams of its victims plays into the existential dread that defines the movie.

8

The Beverly-Creature

The Void (2016)

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Cosmic horror has always been a genre film-makers can struggle with, but 2017’s The Void nailed the terror and impending doom that makes it great. Revolving around a group of people trapped in a small town hospital by a cult, things take a turn to the horrific when a woman becomes host to an Eldritch monster. As it uses her body to attack the group, every injury it sustains leads to a new, gruesome mutation.

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The Void

Not Rated

Horror

Sci-Fi

Mystery

Thriller

8/10

Release Date

September 22, 2016

Runtime

90 minutes

Director

Jeremy Gillespie, Steven Kostanski

Writers

Steven Kostanski, Jeremy Gillespie

Cast

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  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Aaron Poole

    Daniel Carter

  • Headshot Of Kathleen Munroe

    Kathleen Munroe

    Allison

The Void follows officer Daniel Carter as he discovers a bloodied man on a desolate road, leading to a rural hospital. Inside, patients and staff undergo horrific transformations, prompting Carter and others to plunge into the hospital’s dark depths in a bid to escape the escalating nightmare.

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By the end of The Void, the Beverly-Creature has almost fully transformed into an otherworldly monster, using the woman’s skull to conceal the full horror of its form. From the impossible inhuman movements of the creature to its twisted, deformed limbs and blank stare, the monster’s evolving form leaves you terrified of its final appearance. The more you look at it, the more you feel it simply shouldn’t exist.

7

Loki’s Offspring

The Ritual (2017)

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Mythology has been a great source of inspiration for some of Hollywood’s best horror movies, and 2017’s The Ritual’s use of Norse creatures is a great example of this. Following a group of friends on a trip to Sweden, it uses the isolation of the woods to instill a sense of dread and paranoia in its characters and the audience as they’re stalked by an unseen monster. When it finally appears, the friends are confronted by Norse creature Moder, a deity worshiped by a cult in the woods.

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The Ritual

r

Horror

Thriller

ScreenRant logo

4/10

Release Date

October 13, 2017

Runtime

94minutes

Director

David Bruckner

Writers

David Bruckner

Cast

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  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Sam Troughton

  • Headshot Of Rafe Spall

    Rafe Spall

After traveling to Sweden, Luke reunites with his old college friends for a fun trip. But things quickly turn south when they realize something in the forest is stalking them. The Ritual was a Netflix original movie released in 2017 and was directed by David Bruckner, who would go on to direct Hulu’s Hellraiser film. 

Studio(s)

Netflix

Distributor(s)

Entertainment One, Netflix

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From a distance, Moder resembles a large, oddly-shaped moose. However, upon closer inspection, its humanoid features, giant form and small, piercing eyes make it seem like something ripped from Hell itself. The film does a great job of hiding enough of Moder to force the audience to fill in the gaps themselves, but what they do see is a composite of Norse monsters, Satanic iconography and otherworldly terror.

6

The Offspring

Alien Romulus (2024)

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The Alien franchise has made a point of bringing cinema some of its best monster designs, going all the way back to the original Xenomorph in the 1979 movie. Since the third film, directors have brought their own unique designs for creatures, and Alien Romulus followed through on that spectacularly. After the heroes survive the Xenomorph colony aboard the space station, they’re left to contend with the mutated child of Kay.

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Alien: Romulus

R

Sci-Fi

Horror

Thriller

ScreenRant logo

7/10

194

8.2/10

Release Date

August 16, 2024

Runtime

119 Minutes

Director

Fede Alvarez

Writers

Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues, Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett

Franchise(s)

Alien

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Cailee Spaeny In The Los Angeles Special Screening Of A24's 'Civil War'

    Cailee Spaeny

    Rain

  • Headshot Of David Jonsson

    David Jonsson

    Andy

Alien: Romulus is the seventh film in the Alien franchise. The movie is directed by Fede Álvarez and will focus on a new young group of characters who come face to face with the terrifying Xenomorphs. Alien: Romulus is a stand-alone film and takes place in a time not yet explored in the Alien franchise.

Studio(s)

Scott Free Productions, 20th Century

Distributor(s)

20th Century

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The Offspring resembles a pale, stretched and emaciated human, with impossible proportions to its arms and legs. The true eeriness of the creature comes from its face, with an appearance that’s almost on the uncanny valley level of disturbing and unsettling. Too alien to look human yet disturbingly familiar, the creature serves as a great reminder that some of the eeriest creatures are those that come closest to seeming “human.”

5

Grant Grant

Slither (2006)

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James Gunn’s Slither follows a small town that becomes the focal point of an alien infestation — beginning with the possession of local man Grant Grant. Consumed by appetite, the man’s transformation into a monstrous alien is shown throughout the film, with each new appearance seeing him more inhuman. Developing gruesome, infected-looking skin, new appendages and even absorbing locals, his growing mass begins to literally consume the town.

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Slither

R

Sci-Fi

Comedy

Horror

ScreenRant logo

7/10

1/10

Release Date

March 31, 2006

Runtime

95 minutes

Director

James Gunn

Writers

James Gunn

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Nathan Fillion IN The The Walking Dead Live: The Finale Event

    Nathan Fillion

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Elizabeth Banks

Written and directed by James Gunn, Slither tells the story of a small town that gets invaded by an alien mind-controlling parasite. Starring Nathan Fillion as Police Chief Bill Pardy, Elizabeth Banks as Starla Grant, and Michael Rooker as Grant Grant, the 2006 horror comedy marks James Gunn’s directorial debut.

Main Genre

Horror

Studio(s)

Universal Pictures

Distributor(s)

Universal Pictures

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Grant Grant’s transformation throughout the movie plays on both body horror and dark comedy, with the small semblance of his humanity giving the film some unsettling moments, particularly a kiss. The film is one big exercise is grotesque body transformations, but Grant’s gradual change resembles all the worst human ailments. By the end, the monster looks like a cancerous, infected mass of flesh, and it sells Slither as one of the best modern body horror stories.

4

Chatterer

Hellraiser (1987)

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Clive Barker’s Hellraiser franchise focuses on the struggles of various characters against a group of demonic torturers, the Cenobites. Led by Pinhead, these beings are the tortured forms of humans who interfered with the Lament Configuration, damning them to centuries of pain. While all the characters are horrific, Chatterer often captures the attention of the audience better than most as the eeriest, most inhuman of the group.

Hellraiser (1987) Movie Poster

Hellraiser

The Hellraiser franchise is a British-American horror series, based on Clive Barker’s novella The Hellbound Heart. It centers around the Cenobites, beings from a Hell-like dimension summoned by the Lament Configuration puzzle box, with the iconic Pinhead as the primary antagonist. The franchise includes eleven films, comics, prose works, and more, exploring dark, sadistic themes of pleasure and pain. The latest film was released in 2022, with a TV series in development at HBO.

Created by

Clive Barker

First Film

Hellraiser

Latest Film

Hellraiser

Cast

Doug Bradley, Jamie Clayton, Ashley Laurence, Clare Higgins, Sean Chapman, Andrew Robinson, Kenneth Cranham, Imogen Boorman, Terry Farrell, Craig Sheffer

Of all the Cenobites, Chatterer is, by far, the most hellish and disturbing, in no small part due to an almost featureless face save for his gruesome, mutilated mouth. Looking more like a monster from a Lovecraftian horror than anything remotely human, the creature serves as a reminder of just how extreme the Cenobite torture methods are. All the more unsettling about the character is the revelation that, when his torture began, he was a child.

3

BrundleFly

The Fly (1986)

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Body horror has given the genre some of its most nauseating character designs, but David Cronenberg’s adaptation of The Fly took things to extremes. Casting Jeff Goldblum as a scientist who accidentally fuses his DNA with that of an insect, it follows him in various states of change as he slowly becomes a human-fly hybrid. As the instincts and appetite of the creature set in, he loses touch with his humanity — something accelerated by his hideous form.

Imagery from Train to Busan and When Evil Lurks

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The Fly’s last half hour of runtime sees its main character reduced to a slimy, coarse mutation, eventually seeing his human side almost entirely gone. When the Fly takes its final form, all the audience sees is a threatening monster, reflecting the tragedy of Seth’s story. A marvel of practical effects and make-up, the creature’s form is almost impossible to look away from, and remains one of the most grotesque designs in movie history.

2

Count Orlok

Nosferatu (2024)

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In 1922, Max Schreck stepped into the role of Nosferatu, a Dracula-inspired vampire count whose story mirrors that of Bram Stoker’s novel. In 2024, Bill Skarsgård took on the role for Robert Eggers’ remake, delivering an instant classic of a vampire. Unlike other modern vampires, this version looks like death in every sense of the word, from his rotting corpse and ill-formed body to his dead eyes and deep voice.

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Nosferatu

R

Horror

Fantasy

Mystery

ScreenRant logo

8/10

163

8/10

Release Date

December 25, 2024

Runtime

132 Minutes

Director

Robert Eggers

Writers

Robert Eggers

Cast

See All

  • Headshot Of Bill Skarsgård In The New York Premiere Of 'Boy Kills World'

    Bill Skarsgard

    Count Orlok

  • Headshot aOf Lily-Rose Depp

    Lily-Rose Depp

    Ellen Hutter

Nosferatu is a remake of the 1922 silent film of the same name from director F. W. Murnau. Robert Eggers is crafting his own version of the story for the reboot as writer and director, with Bill Skarsgård stepping into the shoes of Count Orlok. Nosferatu tells the tale of a young woman who falls victim to a vampire utterly infatuated with her.

Main Genre

Horror

Studio(s)

Regency Enterprises, 1492 Pictures

Distributor(s)

Focus Features, Universal Pictures

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The 2024 version of Nosferatu sheds the romanticized view of vampires that has defined three decades of horror, instead trying to explore a “realistic” look at what vampirism would be like. The tortured, decaying form of Count Orlok plays into the film’s depiction of him as the manifestation of disease and death, and makes everyone who sees him terrified. Things are made all the more unsettling when the creature feeds, with the sound of its drinking only making its hunched form creepier.

1

The Dog-Thing

The Thing (1982)

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Widely regarded as the greatest cosmic horror movie of all time, John Carpenter’s The Thing details the fight for survival of a group of US Antarctic researchers against a shape-shifting alien. When the creature is first seen, it springs from the form of a dog, shooting wiry, tentacle-like appendages out into the base’s huskies, absorbing them into its form. From the jump, this transformation, accentuated by the howls of terrified dogs, established the grim tone of the movie.

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The Thing

R

Horror

Sci-Fi

Mystery

ScreenRant logo

10/10

15

9.5/10

Release Date

June 25, 1982

Runtime

109 minutes

Director

John Carpenter

Writers

Bill Lancaster

Prequel(s)

The Thing

Cast

See All

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    T.K. Carter

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    David Clennon

A team of researchers set out to study an alien spacecraft found in Antarctica, where they also discover an alien body on the site. The alien buried in ice is actually alive and has the ability to imitate human form. The group must find a way to distinguish who the real person is from The Thing and stay alive. John Carpenter’s 1982 film is a remake of 1951’s The Thing from Another World and stars Kurt Russel as the hero RJ MacReady.

Studio(s)

Universal Pictures

Distributor(s)

Universal Pictures

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The Thing is full of eerie versions of the alien, but the Dog-Thing is by far the most tortured, disturbing and gut-wrenching form it takes. A testament to the special effects that made the film so great, the creature slowly changes from a healthy husky to a mangled and twisted monster. The contrast between lovable animal and snarling creature makes the monster the film’s most unsettling, combining body horror with animalistic creature feature terror.

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