May 20

May 20 The Monster Bracket of Monster Movies

We’re at it again, another movie bracket where you can vote on your favorite movie of a genre. We’ve done Sports Movies, Teen Movies, and Animated Movies already, and now it’s time to pick our favorite Monster Movie in The Monster Bracket of Monster Movies. You can vote daily in head-to-head match ups in our Instagram stories @thehalftimesnack.

Before we dive in, a few rules so you can better understand the method to our madness.

Rule 1: The monsters should be the antagonist of the film. We came up against this a lot in alien movies where the movies are undeniably alien movies but they aren’t “Monster Movies” think “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”. Many monsters are misunderstood, so we bent this rule a little.

Rule 2: The monsters couldn’t be living breathing humans. Obviously humans can be monsters and terrifying ones at that, but we limited our monster movie bracket to dead/undead humans, sorry “Monster-in-Law”.

Rule 3: We did not include any comic book movies. These get a little too messy.

Rule 4: For this bracket we considered monster movies to be human vs. monster, in many cases we came across movies that were alien vs. alien (Star Wars) or undead vs. undead (Underworld), those films were disqualified.

Alright, now that we’ve cleared up our selection process, let’s jump in… cautiously -there are a few spoilers.

Alien Region

1 - Alien (1979) Directed by: Ridley Scott

What it’s got:

Scares coming from every angle. An ever evolving - nearly indestructible alien, a backstabbing android, and the claustrophobic confines of a ship in space.
Breakout stardom. Alien was Sigourney Weaver’s first leading role and it paved the way for one of the most impressive careers in Hollywood.
Probably one of the greatest taglines in movie history - “In space, no one can hear you scream”
A place in the archives. In 2002, Alien was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

What it lacks:

An alien in the trailer… which we’re pretty much okay with. The reveal of the various forms of our alien should be experienced during the movie itself.

Sequels?:

Oh yeah baby, some (not us) would argue too many. After Alien came Aliens (see #6 in this region), then 1992’s Alien 3 and 1997’s Alien Resurrection.
Additionally, we have the prequels Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017).
And let us not forget the mash-ups - Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

2 - Predator (1987) Directed by: John McTiernan

What it’s got:

Some amazing action movie one-liners and quotes: “Stick around!” after impaling a man with a machete and sticking him to a wall, “knock knock” after knocking down a door, “I ain’t got time to bleed”, “You’re one… ugly motherfucker!”, and of course “Get to the choppa!”.
Arnold Schwarzenegger in his heyday.
An impressive body count. In total, there are 84 deaths in this movie.
A glimpse at the future leaders of America: Arnold - Gov of California, Jesse Ventura - Gov. of Minnesota

What it lacks:

Subtlety. Everyone in this movie is the biggest, baddest, and most intense. In fact, Jean Claude Van Damme (5’9”) was originally cast as the Predator but because he was noticeably smaller than Schwarzenegger (6’2”), Carl Weathers (6’2”), Bill Duke (6’4”), and Jesse Ventura (6’2”), Van Damme was replaced by 7’2” Kevin Peter Hall.

Sequels?:

Big time! Predator spawned direct sequels: Predator 2 (1990), Predators (2010), and The Predator (2018).
A prequel is in the making for 2022 titled Prey
And as mentioned above the two Alien vs. Predator films

3 - Signs (2002) Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

What it’s got:

Suspense. Shyamalan is a master at building suspense and Signs might be his magnum opus of giving audiences the chills.
A huge box office. Signs grossed more than 400 Million worldwide.
A pretty stellar cast. Gibson (a fine actor, a pretty poor human), Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin (of the Culkin clan), and Abigail Breslin in her big-screen debut (she also appears in another movie in this bracket).
Corn. Lots of corn - upright and bent over.

What it lacks:

Forethought. This movie begs the question, why would aliens invade a planet that is 71% water if water kills them?

Sequels?:

No, but the ending sets up for a sequel and it wouldn’t be too wild to see a Signs sequel come to fruition decades after the original (probably minus Mel Gibson).

4 - Men in Black (1997) Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld

What it’s got:

Pinnacle Will Smith. In 1997 it was impossible to escape Will Smith, he was the biggest thing in the world. He may have had more success since. But he’s never been bigger than what he was in the glow of Men in Black.
The comedy chops of the aforementioned Will Smith and surprisingly Tommy Lee Jones.
Entertainment for the whole family. Most monster movies are skewed toward adults, but Men in Black hits every generation.

What it lacks:

Sugar. There’s never enough sugar in the water.
A unified monster experience. Some of the aliens are good, some of them are bad. It’s tough to give this movie the “Monster” label when some of the monsters aren’t monstrous.

Sequels?:

Yes, good and bad. Men in Black II (Not Great), Men in Black 3 (Good!), Men in Black: International (Pretty Bad)

5 - Independence Day (1996) Directed by: Roland Emmerich

What it’s got:

The second highest grossing box office ever (at the time). Second only to Jurassic Park (see the Natural Region in The Monster Bracket of Monster Movies).
Goldblum in one of his many monster movies (see also: The Fly, Jurassic Park, The Lost World. Jurassic Park, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers), Smith in one of his many monster movies (see also Men in Black and I Am Legend), and Bill Pullman in one of his many monster movies (see also Lake Placid).
One of the greatest Presidential speeches of all time.
Some creepy looking aliens that wear even creepier looking alien bodysuits.

What it lacks:

Monsters fighting like monsters. Ideally a good monster movie has the monsters fighting with tooth and claw and other than the Area 51 examination room scene, these monsters mostly fight with weapons.

Sequels?:

Unfortunately. Independence Day: Resurgence came out in 2016 and it would’ve been better if it did not resurge.

6 - Aliens (1986) Directed by: James Cameron

What it’s got:

Aliens, plural. Like the title suggests, we got not just one, but multiple aliens to battle.
The iconic fight between the queen alien and Ripley in a mechanical exosuit cargo-loader.
Thrills more than chills. Aliens is much more of an action-thriller as opposed to Alien which is primarily horror.
An Academy Award nomination for best actress. Sigourney Weaver was nominated for best actress for her role as Ripley, which was particularly impressive given that this was the first time a sci-fi movie produced a best actress nom.

What it lacks:

Time to breathe. There is little to no down time in this movie. It’s action sequence after action sequence.

Sequels?:

Umm, duh! It is a sequel to the number 1 movie in this region Alien, and many more have followed (see Alien/Predator).

7 - The Thing (1982) Directed by: John Carpenter

What it’s got:

A killer tagline “Man is the warmest place to hide.”
Gore, made even better by practical effects.
A cult following. Despite a poor box office and very negative initial reviews. The Thing has (over time) become one of the best selling home media (VHS and DVD) films ever.
A critical reevaluation. This is rare, but when a movie is ahead of its time, it sometimes gets reassessed. Critics now consider it one of the greatest sci-fi horror films of all time.

What it lacks:

Women. There is a serious lack of ladies in this film. In fact, the only female presence in the film is the voice of the chess computer.

Sequels?:

Sort of - John Carpenter’s The Thing is technically a remake of 1951’s The Thing from Another World and 2011’s The Thing is technically a prequel to John Carpenter’s The Thing, not a remake. Furthermore, as recently as 2020, there have been talks to make a remake of Carpenter’s The Thing. Confused? Yeah, us too.
Dark Horse Comics published four comic book sequels and Carpenter said (before retiring from directing) that he would be interested in basing a sequel on the comic books.

8 - Super 8 (2011) Directed by: J. J. Abrams

What it’s got:

An awesome monster. Big, terrifying, smart, just wants to get home.
Kids. In a very Spielbergian way, the kids (more pure at heart) are better equipped to handle the terrors going on in their small town.
An amazing score. Michael Giacchino, best known for Pixar scores, created a sci-fi score with emotional depth, not easy.

What it lacks:

Mortality. Human characters survive explosions, the collapsing of buildings, and being hit head on by trains in this movie.

Sequels?:

Surprisingly no, although Stranger Things has a similar vibe.

9 - Starship Troopers (1997) Directed by: Paul Verhoeven

What it’s got:

Bugs. Giant bugs (or bug-looking aliens) will always be scary… see Men in Black, King Kong, Mimic.
Political Satire. At first glance, Starship Troopers is a campy, overtly corny B-movie (which is its aim), but beneath the surface it’s clear that the movie is in mock of Nazi-esque propoganda films and also the need for America to have an enemy or always be at war.
Nudity for all. Boobs and man buns!

What it lacks:

Antagonistic monsters. The “monsters” seem like monsters the whole film… until the audience realizes humans are the invaders/instigators.
An all-time awesomely bad movie title. Starship Troopers was nearly titled “Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine”, which would’ve been awesomely bad, but it might have gotten an even greater reputation as a B-movie had it gone that route.

Sequels?:

Yes. Mostly pretty bad, all straight to video. Two live-action films, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004) and Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008), and two computer-animated films, Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012) and Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017).

10 - A Quiet Place (2018) Directed by: John Krasinski

What it’s got:

Quiet. The eerie quiet in this movie adds another dimension of horror that monsters alone can’t provide.
Hope. Even when it seems the world is lost, the human spirit manufactures hope.
Creativity. The steps this family has taken to live in silence and survive is pretty remarkable.

What it lacks:

A backstory. We’re kind of just thrust into the middle of the story without knowing why or how the aliens came to invade.
Labor. The fastest childbirth potentially ever occurs in this movie… but maybe in the stressful situation of being killed by an alien, this isn’t too uncommon?

Sequels?:

Yup, A Quiet Place II and yes it’s good!

11 - Mars Attacks! (1996) Directed by: Tim Burton

What it’s got:

A who’s who of big names actors: Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Danny DeVito, Sara Jessica Parker, Martin Short, Michael J. Fox, Natalie Portman, Jack Black, etc. etc. etc.
Tim Burton at his peak. Nothing after Mars Attacks! quite reaches audiences and critics like this movie and the couple movies prior. It’s all downhill for Burton from here.
A good time at the theater or on your couch. A highly enjoyable film.

What it lacks:

Monsters that fight tooth and claw. Although these monsters are menacing (despite what they may preach), they do their fighting with ray guns. They will occasionally bite off fingers, but it’s mostly weapons for these invaders.

Sequels?:

Surprisingly no.

12 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) Directed by: Steven Spielberg

What it’s got:

Steven Spielberg. He’s all over this bracket, and it’s no surprise for one of the greatest directors of all time who has a fondness for fiction.
Mashed Potatoes. Never has mashed potatoes had a bigger role.
Some of the most beautiful and triumphant scenes in cinematic history.
Tremendous story telling.

What it lacks:

That real “Monster” energy. The scene where the little boy gets abducted and the railroad track scene have some monster vibes, but the rest of the movie (although a terrific alien movie) isn’t really much of a “Monster Movie”.

Sequels?:

Thankfully, no. This movie is just about perfect and a sequel could dilute that. It would be tough to add anything to this movie worth adding.

13 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) Directed by: Philip Kaufman

What it’s got:

Jeff Goldblum! He’s everywhere. And some other great actors - Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy
Paranoia. Much like The Thing, no one knows who has been invaded by these perfectly copied duplicates.
A documentary/voyeuristic feel. The camera is another character, in fact, it may be the invader.

What it lacks:

Survivors. There’s no hope.

Sequels?:

This is a remake of the 1956 film of the same name, there’s also a 1993 version titled “Body Snatchers”, and a 2007 version titled “The Invasion”.
A 2012 SpongeBob SquarePants parody “Planet of the Jellyfish”

14 - Annihilation (2018) Directed by: Alex Garland

What it’s got:

Uniquity. It’s becoming more and more rare to find a unique take on alien invasion, but Annihilation does it.
Questions left to be answered. This movie asks you to work out the answers on your own and not in a pretentious way. It encourages the audience to think about this movie days after watching.
Horror. Plants growing in human shape. Creepy. Mutated alien bears. Scary. Doppelgangers. Terrifying.

What it lacks:

Clarity. This movie isn’t wrapped nicely with a neat bow, but we think the ambiguity makes it better.
Success. Annihilation was a box office “flop”. It cost upwards of $55 million and only made $43.1.

Sequels?:

No. But Annihilation is based on the book of the same name and that book is the first in the Southern Reach Trilogy. So a couple more sequels may come.

15 - Cloverfield (2008) Directed by: Matt Reeves

What it’s got:

Mystery. In addition to not knowing what is going on for much of the movie. The marketing and release of this movie was very hush hush. The first teaser trailer didn’t even include a title.
A cliffhanger. Did our two main characters somehow survive?
Matt Reeves. Director Matt Reeves got his big break here working with long-time TV calibrator J.J. Abrams. He’s now one of the biggest action/sci-fi directors around, including directing 2022’s The Batman.

What it lacks:

A steady cam. This movie is not for those with motion sickness.

Sequels?:

Yes! Kind of. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) and The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) are part of the same franchise as Cloverfield but share none of the same characters. Both movies were based on screenplays not associated with Cloverfield but then adapted to make them part of the franchise. 10 Cloverfield Lane is absolutely worth checking out. It’s probably a better movie than Cloverfield, but it’s less of a monster movie… man is the monster!
Evidently, a direct sequel to Cloverfield is in development.

16 - Attack the Block (2011) Directed by: John Cornish

What it’s got:

A few iconic British actors including: young John Boyega before Star Wars, Jodie Whittaker before Broadchurch and Doctor Who, and Nick Frost (see Shaun of the Dead).
A great plot - Aliens vs. a teenage street gang. It’s sort of like Leprechaun in the Hood… but good.
Surprise gore. There isn’t a ton of gore in this monster movie, but when it pops up, it is pretty, pretty gruesome.

What it lacks:

Viewership. Attack the Block was first released in the UK in May of 2011 and did very well on its opening week, but it wasn’t released in North America until two months later and in just 66 cinemas despite rave reviews by critics.

Sequels?:

None, but evidently a sequel is in development with John Boyega reprising his role.

Dead/Undead Region

1 - The Mummy (1999) Directed by: Stephen Sommers

What it’s got:

A fun, humorous, interesting take on a story we’ve heard multiple times before.
A lot of heat on the screen - maybe too many good looking people?
Some fiery chemistry between Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz.
Good slap-stick comedy that isn’t too over the top like many 90’s movies.

What it lacks:

Timelessness. A few of the CGI visual effects have dated this movie, but they definitely aren’t so bad that they take you out of all the fun and horror going on.
Brevity. It’s a thick 125-minutes, maybe could have done with fewer flashback scenes.

Sequels?:

Two theatrical sequels The Mummy Returns and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (both fun) and a theatrical released spin-off The Scorpion King (not fun).
Also, the 2017 reboot with Tom Cruise which lacks all the campy-fun of our #1 in the Dead/Undead region.

2 - 28 Days Later (2002) Directed by: Danny Boyle

What it’s got:

Fast moving zombies, 28 Days Later revolutionized the game with the simple tweak of eliminating the zombies greatest weakness - lethargic, lumbering movements.
America’s introduction to Cillian Murphy - it all started here.
One of the greatest theatrical release posters.
An 8X academy award winning director (19 nominations).

What it lacks:

A good trailer. As great as the poster is, the official trailer does not do this movie any justice.

Sequels?:

28 Weeks Later… and it’s pretty solid

3 - Zombieland (2009) directed by: Ruben Fleischer

What it’s got:

Great chemistry between our four main characters - Woody Harrelson was made for this role.
A killer cameo. There may not be a better cameo ever in cinematic history.
Laughs and a few scares but mostly laughs.
Smart plot device of text and narration on how to survive a zombie apocalypse.

What it lacks:

Twinkies… well, until the end.

Sequels?:

Zombieland: Double Tap - It’s a pretty good time. Great to have the gang back together and Zoey Deutch is an impeccable addition, but if you’re looking for something fresh, you won’t find it returning to zombieland.

4 - Shaun of the Dead (2004) Directed by: Edgar Wright

What it’s got:

One of the greatest track drops in cinematic history. Is there anything better than choreographed zombie bashing to the sound of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now”? Probably not.
The American birth of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright.
Satire. After becoming undead, the zombies go about with their normal mundane routines… along with an appetite for brain.
A sitcom feel in a horror world. It’s like an episode of The Office, but with zombies.

What it lacks:

Big scares, there are a couple jumpy moments, but it’s mostly laughs in this one.

Sequels?:

Not really. There are no direct sequels to Shaun of the Dead, but Pegg, Frost, Wright, and producer Nira Park did collaborate two more times together in what’s referred to as the Cornetto Trilogy in which each movie represents a different Cornetto ice cream flavor: Shaun of the Dead - Strawberry, Hot Fuzz - Classico, The World’s End - Mint. All three movies are great.

5 - An American Werewolf in London (1981) Directed by: John Landis

What it’s got:

A terrific and ironically ubeat soundtrack: “Moondance” - Van Morrison, “Bad Moon Rising” Creedence Clearwater Revival, and three versions of “Blue Moon” - Sam Cooke, Bobby Vinton, and The Marcels.
Some of the best practical effects (no CGI) and makeup ever on screen. In fact, it won the first ever Oscar for Best Makeup.
An all-time great comedy director (Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, Three Amigos, Coming to America) bringing some levity to the horror genre.

What it lacks:

A clear Monster Movie subgenre. It contains “undead” characters, but the main monster, werewolf, isn’t technically dead/undead. And yet, in most crossovers with other monster movies, the werewolf is paired with vampires and Frankenstein’s monster - both in this category. So Dead/Undead feels like the best fit.

Sequels?:

Yes, 16-years after the release of An American Werewolf in London we got An American Werewolf in Paris. It is not well loved.

6 - Dawn of the Dead (1978) Directed by: George A. Romero

What it’s got:

Satire. It’s not just a movie on the zombie apocalypse, it’s also a reaction to consumerism and the burgeoning shopping mall.
Blood and guts galore!
A cult following. Unlike most “cult” movies, Dawn of the Dead did very well at the box office (despite an X-rating and being banned in the UK labeled a “video nasty”). What’s more impressive is that it continues to have a very vocal support group that has kept it relevant for 44 years.

What it lacks:

Availability. This movie is currently impossible to find. It’s not available on any streaming networks and who has DVDs any more?

Sequels?:

It is a sequel to Night of the Living Dead (1968) and is part of George A. Romero’s “Dead Series” which also includes: Day of the Dead (1985), Land of the Dead (2005), Diary of the Dead (2007), and Survival of the Dead (2009).
There’s also a Zach Snyder remake of Dawn of the Dead released in 2004.

7 - Let the Right One In (2008) Directed by: Tomas Alfredson

What it’s got:

The power of friendship, love, and loneliness.
Subtitles. The American remake Let Me In is fine, but Sweden’s Let the Right One In is so much better. Leave it to the Scandanavians to create the best vampire movie in decades.
Rules. These vampires are refreshingly governed by the rules we’ve known to inhibit vampires: they can’t be out in the light, they have to feed on blood, and they need to be invited in to cross a threshold.
An anti-bullying message ahead of its time. If you’re a bully, you might be torn to pieces and drained of your bodily fluids.

What it lacks:

Light. 80% of this movie takes place at night or in the dark for obvious reasons. Just have to be willing to welcome darkness, our old friend.

Sequels?:

No, but as mentioned above. An American remake titled “Let Me In” directed by Matt Reeves was released in 2010.

8 - The Evil Dead Trilogy - The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn, Army of Darkness - (1981-92) Directed by: Sam Raimi

Is this cheating? Kind of. But all three movies bleed/pus/ooze into each other in a way that’s nearly impossible to separate them… and also, when we tried to separate them they split the votes leaving all Evil Dead movies outside of the top16 for the region. Can’t have that!

What it’s got:

Bruce Campbell! King of Comic-con. Immensely fun.
Sam Raimi, now best known for directing the Tobey Maguire Spider-Mans and the recent Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, got his start in horror and his best work still has that horror glow like the Doctor Octopus hospital scene in Spider-Man 2 and of course his return to horror in Drag Me To Hell (also in the bracket).
Practical effects. There’s something refreshing about great practical effects (not CGI). The horror feels real.
Flying cameras. There isn’t a steady-cam in sight.

What it lacks:

Star power. Bruce Campbell is great, but some of the acting is a little rough around the edges. Could use a little more star power.
They dropped the ball on titling the 3rd movie in the trilogy which takes place in medieval times - Medieval Dead!

Sequels?:

Umm obviously, but along with the trilogy here, it spawned a reboot “legacy/sequel” called “Evil Dead” in 2013 and a three season television series called “Ash vs. Evil Dead”.

9 - Train to Busan (2016) Directed by: Yeon Sang-ho

What it’s got:

Confinement. The worst case scenario during the emergence of a zombie apocalypse is to be trapped in a confined space. A train definitely qualifies.
A lead character with a dubious moral compass that grows more and more sympathetic throughout the film.
Commentary on a corrupt class/caste system.
Great zombie makeup and special effects

What it lacks:

A happy ending. The ending is a bit of a bummer, but it’s probably the best ending this movie could have.

Sequels?:

Kind of. Peninsula, a standalone sequel set four years after Train to Busan and also directed by Yeon, was released in South Korea in 2020. Yeon has stated that, "Peninsula is not a sequel to Train to Busan because it's not a continuation of the story, but it happens in the same universe.”
An American remake is scheduled to be released in 2023 titled “The Last Train to New York”.

10 - From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) Directed by: Robert Rodriguez

What it’s got:

George Clooney - and yeah, he looks great.
Salma Hayek - and yeah, she looks great.
A surprising twist… ruined by being included in this bracket.
A killer soundtrack including Stevie Ray Vaughan and ZZ Top.

What it lacks:

A second great lead actor. Tarantino isn’t a bad actor, but he’s much better behind the camera.

Sequels?:

Yes, and with some of the best titles around: From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money and From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (prequel).

11 - World War Z (2013) Directed by: Marc Foster

What it’s got:

An action hero badass. Most zombie movies show the everyday man/woman surviving the apocalypse, but World War Z took it up a notch and went with an action hero (Pitt) taking on the undead.
A natural disaster feel. Instead of individual zombie attacks, we get something much reminiscent of a tsunami or volcanic eruption. There’s no fighting back, you can only run.
An interesting twist. The zombies ignore the sick and dying, so the cure makes everyone sick. Pretty smart.

What it lacks:

Much thought. This movie is a lot of fun, but it lacks the socioeconomic subtext we’ve grown to expect out of a good monster movie. The book by Max Brooks addresses these themes much more thoroughly.

Sequels?:

Very likely. World War Z is the highest grossing zombie film of all time and although plans for a sequel were canceled in 2019, it seems very likely someone else will pick up the baton.

12 - Night of the Living Dead (1968) Directed by George A. Romero

What it’s got:

Ingenuity. Romero built this movie from the ground up with a budget of around $100,000… it grossed about $18 million worldwide.
Groundbreaking violence and gore that had never been seen before on screen.
Originality. Many consider it the first modern zombie film.
Cultural significance. Night of the Living Dead is a reflection of the changing times in America in the 1960’s with the cast of a black actor in the lead role - Duane Jones.

What it lacks:

Color. The movie was shot on 35 mm black-and-white film not because color film wasn’t around at the time, but because black-an-white was significantly cheaper and it gave the movie a guerrilla warfare style look.

Sequels?:

Big time. Night of the Living Dead is the first in the six-film 40-year spanning “Dead Series” which includes: Dawn of the Dead (1978), Day of the Dead (1985), Land of the Dead (2005), Diary of the Dead (2007), and Survival of the Dead (2009).
An official remake of the same name was released in 1990.

13 - Young Frankenstein (1974) Directed by: Mel Brooks

What it’s got:

High praise and popularity. Young Frankenstein appears on many Greatest Comedies lists including No. 13 on the American Film Institute’s top 100 comedies.
An all-star cast: Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Terri Garr, and more.
One of the greatest song-and-dance numbers performed by a monster.

What it lacks:

Color. To help evoke the atmosphere of the earlier films Brooks shot in black-and-white.

Sequels?:

No, but a musical adaptation was created and ran on Broadway from 2007 to 2009.

14 - I Am Legend (2007) Directed by: Francis Lawrence

What it’s got:

The resurgence of Will Smith in the Sci-fi/fantasy genre.Since Men in Black II in 2002, Smith only starred in one sci-fi fantasy movie (I, Robot) in a 5-year span. After I Am Legend, 3 of his next 4 roles were sci-fi or fantasy (Hancock, Men in Black 3, and After Earth).
Some of the scariest looking undead.
The introduction of organized and intelligent zombies.
Some pretty stellar post-apocalyptic cityscapes.

What it lacks:

Dogs surviving. If you’re a dog lover, this is a tough watch.

Sequels?:

In 2022, a sequel was revealed to be in development starring Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan and hopefully no dog deaths.

15 - Frankenstein (1931) Directed by: James Whale

What it’s got:

Some of the first censored movie material. When Frankenstein’s monster drowns a little girl in a lake, many state censorship boards cut that scene out of the film. They also cut out the line "In the name of God? Now I know what it feels like to BE God!" considering it blasphemous.
A long lasting legacy. In addition to the numerous sequels, remakes, parodies, and references; Frankenstein is considered one of the first great horror films of all time.
The use of lighting to create more terror - large shadows, night effects, ghostly atmospheres. This movie was way ahead of its time.

What it lacks:

Viewability. Frankenstein has been banned in numerous countries and regions around the world including: China, Northern Ireland, Quebec, the former Czechoslovakia, Sweden, and Italy.

Sequels?:

A boat load. The direct sequels are: Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Son of Frankenstein (1939), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), and House of Dracula (1945).
Numerous remakes and parodies (see Young Frankenstein) have been made in the last 80 years.

16 - Pet Sematary (1989) Directed by: Mary Lambert

What it’s got:

Stephen King. Based on one of the many Stephen King monster novels including two others on this bracket (It and Cujo)
A creepy kid. There’s something extra unsettling when the monster takes child form.
A female director. Female directors are extremely underrepresented in movies and even more so in monster movies. Mary Lambert has gone on to direct a number of horror films including Pet Sematary Two.

What it lacks:

Confidence. Everything in this movie is explained to the audience, not allowing us to piece it together ourselves. There’s too much hand holding.

Sequels?:

Pet Sematary Two was released in 1992.
A second film adaptation was released in 2019.

Natural(ish) Monsters Region

1 - Jurassic Park (1993) Directed by: Steven Speilberg

What it’s got:

Ummm, undeniably one of the greatest directors of all time.
Dinosaurs! Need we say more?
Revolutionary special effects that hold up.
Goldblum! - in one of the 5 movies he stars in on this bracket.
Samuel L. Jackson - in one of the 3 movies he stars in in this region.
Laura Dern elbow deep in dino droppings.
Some of the most memorable and exciting action sequences of all time.

What it lacks:

Sexual tension. The relationship between Sam Neill’s and Laura Dern’s characters doesn’t really sizzle.

Sequels?:

Yep, and good ones too. Unlike most monster movies, Jurassic Park has produced some pretty excellent sequels including two in this bracket: The Lost World. Jurassic Park (1997) and Jurassic World (2015).
Other sequels include: Jurassic Park III (real solid), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (pretty disappointing), and the soon to come out Jurassic World Dominion (looks fun!).

2 - Jaws (1975) Directed by: Steven Spielberg

What it’s got:

Ummm, undeniably one of the greatest directors of all time.
An iconic score by John Williams that won him his first Academy Award for Best Original Score. Williams had won one other Academy Award before this for Best Adapted Score on Fiddler on the Roof.
Legitimate terror inducing scenes that changed the world’s view on sharks.
Patience. We don’t see the shark (Bruce) until the final third of the movie, and the build up only intensifies the anxiety. It’s perfect.
The birth of the summer blockbuster.

What it lacks:

A big enough boat.
Some consider it a little slow in parts.

Sequels?:

You betchya! And if you think they’re just cash grabs, you’d be absolutely right. Jaws 2 isn’t terrible, but Jaws 3-D and Jaws: The Revenge - ho boy!

3 - Arachnophobia (1990) Directed by: Frank Marshall

What it’s got:

Star Power. Jeff Daniels (3 Tony Noms, 2 Emmy wins, 5 Golden Globe Noms), John Goodman (1 Emmy win - 10 noms, 1 Golden Globe win, 1 SAG).
Horror and comedy expertly intertwined. It’s mostly subtle in both genres, which never takes you out of the movie.
That hair rising on the back of your neck kind of feeling. Spiders, man.

What it lacks:

Avoiding stereotypes. The bumbling, bad at their job local cops are a little too stereotypical and a little too goofy.

Sequels?:

None. But there have been rumors as recently as 2018 that a 2nd may come.

4 - Lake Placid (1999) Directed by: Steve Miner

What it’s got:

A great cast - Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda, Brendan Gleeson, Oliver Platt, Betty White.
The promise for sequels - Betty White feeding the baby crocs at the end - not quite the Back to the Future ending, but Bold nonetheless.
An plethora of ridiculous good/bad quotes: “I will NOT calm down! This is the second time I've been hit with a severed head and I DON'T LIKE IT!”

What it lacks:

An abundance of Good critical reviews. Ebert put it on his 10 Worst films of the year list.

Sequels?:

Too Many. There are 5, FIVE!, straight to video sequels: Lake Placid 2, Lake Placid 3, Lake Placid: The Final Chapter (turns out it wasn’t), Lake Placid vs. Anaconda, and Lake Placid: Legacy.

5 - Deep Blue Sea (1999) Directed by: Renny Harlin

What it’s got:

The least subtle theatrical release poster. Attractive woman, wet and scared, giant shark with rows of teeth behind her, and a big bold tagline - “Bigger. Smarter. Faster. Meaner.”
Some of the best death scenes out there. Sam Jackson's heroic speech about unity book ended by being devoured by one of the sharks.
LL Cool J. He acts, he monologues, he cooks, he raps, he survives.

What it lacks:

Longevity. Some of the special effects do not hold up. Occasionally the sharks look more cartoonish than real.
Sympathetic characters. Aside from LL Cool J, there isn’t any one to really root for. Kind of want the monsters to win in this one.

Sequels?:

Of course! We got the direct-to-video sequel Deep Blue Sea 2 (2018) and Deep Blue Sea 3 (2020).

6 - Anaconda (1997) Directed by: Luis LLosa

What it’s got:

A tremendous 90’s cast - J Lo, Ice Cube, Eric Stoltz, Owen Wilson, Jon Voight, and Danny Trejo
Questions on who’s the real monster, man or snake?
Hunters becoming the hunted.
A great tagline: “When you can’t breathe, You can’t scream”

What it lacks:

Great accent work. The Paraguayan/Spanish/Cajun or whatever accent Jon Voight goes with is absolutely mind boggling.

Sequels?:

Yes, with some terribly great titles: Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004), Anaconda 3: Offspring (2008), Anacondas: Trail of Blood (2009), and Lake Placid vs. Anaconda (2015).

7 - The Birds (1963) Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

What it’s got:

Alfred Hitchcock the “Master of Suspense” at the helm.
A basis in reality. The Birds film was partly inspired by the true events of a mass bird attack in Capitola, California on August 18, 1961, when hordes of seabirds were dive-bombing homes, crashing into cars and spewing half-digested anchovies onto lawns. The seabirds behavior was due to toxic algae.
Great acting by Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, and Jessica Tandy.
Beautiful scenery and shots. The cinematographer, Robert Burks, went above and beyond to make this film look both tranquil and terrifying.

What it lacks:

A PETA stamp of approval. They used a lot of live birds in this movie (sometimes to the surprise and detriment of the actors), and we think it’s pretty safe to say that they could not claim “no animals were harmed in the making of this film”.

Sequels?:

Surprisingly, yes. The Birds II: Land's End, was released in 1994 as a TV movie.

8 - Congo (1995) Directed by: Frank Marshall

What it’s got:

A martini loving talking gorilla
An all-star monster movie cast: Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters), Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead trilogy), Tim Curry (the original Pennywise), John Hawkes (From Dusk Till Dawn), and Peter Jason (Arachnophobia, Prince of Darkness, They Live, In the Mouth of Madness).
Good source material. Congo is based on a Michael Crichton novel of the same name.
Lasers! Some of the best lasers-as-weapons work in any movie.

What it lacks:

A reputation as a “good movie”. Congo has a 22% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes; however, it’s one of the best good-bad movies. The campy comedy and ridiculous story make for a highly enjoyable film.

Sequels?:

Surprisingly, no. But various video games and a pinball machine were created.

9 - The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) Directed by: Steven Spielberg

What it’s got:

The return of Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) along with a fun new crew including Julianne Moore as a paleontologist, Vince Vaugn as a documentarian, Pete Postlethwaite as a big-game hunter, and Vanessa Lee Chester as Malcolm’s stowaway daughter.
A new island where the dinosaurs have “found a way” and begun to thrive.
Venturing into long grass and being picked off by Velociraptors
San Diego + an angry adult Tyrannosaurus rex.

What it lacks:

Some of our favorite actors from the first movie like Sam Neill and Laura Dern.
Learning from someone else’s mistakes!

Sequels?:

Yep, including this!... see Jurassic Park for more detail.

10 - The Grey (2011) Directed by: Joe Carnahan

What it’s got:

Liam Neeson in the midst of his action hero heyday.
Nature coming out victorious. The ending is a bit open ended, but I think in our heart of hearts we know, Nature wins again.
Shades of grey. Literally, the movie is absent of a lot of popping colors.

What it lacks:

Positive portrayals of grey wolves. Grey wolves, who are already being targeted by poachers and ranchers, can’t really afford much negative publicity especially since they are an essential part of their native ecosystems.
Ladies. It’s basically all dudes.

Sequels?:

None.

11 - Snakes on a Plane (2006) Directed by: David R. Ellis

What it’s got:

Samuel L. Jackson being the absolute most Samuel L. Jacksoniest!
A Warped Tour wet dream of a soundtrack including: Panic! At the Disco, The All-American Rejects, Fall Out Boy, Coheed and Cambria, Jack’s Mannequin, and Cobra Starship’s made for the movie single “Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)”.
Big name actors: Jackson, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Julianna Marguiles, Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale, Kenan Thompson, and David Koechner.
B-Movie energy. It’s unabashedly a B-movie and it leans into it hard!
Snakes on a plane… just as the title would suggest.

What it lacks:

Pieces. There are plot holes aplenty in this movie.

Sequels?:

Surprisingly no. But if we all believe in something hard enough, we can make it happen.

12 - Cujo (1983) Directed by: Lewis Teague

What it’s got:

Stephen King at his most powerful. Cujo was released in 1983 just a few months before The Dead Zone and Christine, two other movies adapted from Stephen King novels that were released theatrically all in 1983.
Heat. Being attacked by a rabid dog is pretty brutal, but being trapped in a hot car might be worse.
A false sense of security. Who would’ve suspected the sweet Saint Bernard could have ever hurt a soul.

What it lacks:

The same ending as the book. “Cujo” the book is much darker, but arguably has a better ending. However, this happens to be one of Stephen King’s favorite adaptations of one of his books.

Sequels?:

Nada

13 - The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) Directed by: Stephen Hopkins

What it’s got:

Plenty of darkness but no ghosts… However, much cooler, we get lions named “The Ghost” and “The Darkness”
A kernel of truth. This movie is based off the true events of the Tsavo man-eaters, two male lions that terrorized railroad construction workers outside of Tsavo, Kenya in 1898.
An Academy Award. Despite mixed reviews, The Ghost and the Darkness is an Academy Award winning film for Best Sound Editing.

What it lacks:

Mane-less lions. The real Tsavo man-eaters were like the majority of Tsavo area lions and didn’t have manes, but the film thought lions with manes would be more attractive.

Sequels?:

Nope, but check out the 1906 book “The Man-Eaters of Tsavo” written by Colonel John Henry Patterson (portrayed by Val Kilmer in this movie) who was the man to actually kill both lions.

14 - Crawl (2019) Directed by: Alexandre Aja

What it’s got:

Box office success. Crawl grossed $91.5 million on a $13-15 million budget.
Swarming alligators. If you thought being stuck in a flooding house during a class 5 hurricane was bad, try doing it with some angry alligators.
A small cast of relatively unknowns. Kaya Scodelario, our heroine, has been in a few major films and Barry Pepper has had a long successful career, but aside from those two, most everyone else (the 5 or so other characters) are new-comers.
A very good boy.

What it lacks:

A cult following. Crawl seems like the perfect film to be considered a cult classic in a decade or so, but it’s just too young to have developed any sort of cult following yet.

Sequels?:

A sequel is in development.

15 - Mimic (1997) Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

What it’s got:

A pretty cool monster. A bug that is rapidly evolving and has adapted to mimic its predators… humans.
Guillermo del Toro getting his feet wet in his first (of many) English speaking monster movies.
A creepy little kid. Like any good horror movie, there needs to be a creepy kid. In this case, we get a creepy kid who learns to mimic the mimicking monsters. Fun little twist.
Mira Sorvino at the top of her game. In 1997, Sorvino also starred in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion and two years prior she won a Best Supporting Oscar for her role in Mighty Aphrodite.

What it lacks:

A backstory. Kids are dying because of cockroaches so they genetically alter something to kill the cockroaches and that’s about all we know. It feels like a few more details were left out.

Sequels?:

Two direct-to-video sequels! Mimic 2 and Mimic: Sentinel.
Del Toro also released a director’s cut in 2011 that provides more backstory.

16 - Jurassic World (2015) Directed by: Colin Trevorrow

What it’s got:

A velociraptor motorcycle gang. Sounds dumb. Is a little dumb. But it’s a lot of fun!
New and more terrible dinos. Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptors weren’t scary enough. They had to create something even more deadly: the Indominus rex. And guess what, it outsmarts them, escapes its container, and goes on a rampage.
Box office success. That’s an understatement. Jurassic World is the 7th highest grossing movie of all time at $1.67 Billion.
Watchability. It’s visually dazzling and it’s entertaining through and through. When someone says they don’t like this movie, what they’re saying is they don’t like fun.

What it lacks:

Learning from someone else’s mistakes. Why does this keep happening!
A fair shot. Jurassic World will forever be cast in the shadow of Jurassic Park and no sequel could ever live up to those standards.

Sequels?:

We’ve gone over this already, but yes, multiple. See Jurassic Park for the full list of sequels.

Supersized and Supernatural Monsters Region

1 - Tremors (1990) Directed by: Ron Underwood

What it’s got:

Mystery. Tremors unravels its secrets in real time. We don’t know of these creatures' existence until our characters learn about them, at first they’re snake like monsters, then they’re giant worms with tentacles, and finally they hunt by detecting seismic vibrations. Once the mystery unfolds, our characters have a chance to survive.
First rate special effects that hold up.
A great cast that expertly blended comedy and horror: Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter, Reba McEntire, Michael Gross, and Victor Wong.
Novelty. Even 30 years ago it was tough to create something entirely new, but Tremors’ monster is unlike anything else.

What it lacks:

A backstory. Where did these wormlike creatures come from, where have they been all these years, why emerge now?

Sequels?:

More than you’d think. There a five direct-to-video sequels with some stellar titles: Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996), Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001), Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015), Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell (2018), and Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020). And one prequel: Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004).
A television series Tremors: The Series was also created in 2003.

2 - Ghostbusters (1984) Directed by: Ivan Reitman

What it’s got:

Forty years of darkness. Earthquakes, volcanoes, The dead rising from the grave. Human sacrifice, Dogs and cats living together, Mass hysteria!
Legends of comedy - Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis.
Sigourney Weaver in 1 of the 3 movies she stars in on this bracket.
Success. Ghostbusters was the second-highest grossing film of 1984 and at the time the highest grossing comedy ever.

What it lacks:

A real “monster” vibe. Are ghosts monsters? Debatable. But we think Ghostbusters fits with the inclusion of the demon dogs and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.

Sequels?:

Yes. Sequels and requels and a pretty wonderful late-80’s early-90’s kids animated show. The sequels are less beloved. Ghostbusters 2 couldn’t live up to the success of Ghostbusters and audiences have issues with Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (AKA Lady Ghostbusters) and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (AKA Kid Ghostbusters). In all honesty, all the sequels/requels are very entertaining.

3 - The Fly (1986) Directed by: David Cronenberg

What it’s got:

Goldblum! For like the 10th time in this bracket and Geena Davis (you can also find her in Beetlejuice).
Maybe the grossest and goriest special effects in the Monster Bracket of Monster Movies. It won an Academy Award for Best Makeup.
David Cronenberg near the end of his sci-fi/horror days which was his bread and butter for two decades before going straight and mainstream.
The now culturally ingrained quote, “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”

What it lacks:

Monkey-cats. An infamous "monkey-cat" sequence was cut from the film to make it easier for audiences to maintain sympathy for Brundle (Goldblum’s character).

Sequels?:

1986’s The Fly is a remake of the 1958 film of the same name.
The Fly II came out in 1989 with the tagline “Like Father, Like Son”.

4 - Little Shop of Horrors (1986) Directed by: Frank Oz

What it’s got:

Songs. It’s not often you come across a monster movie musical, but alas, the universe has gifted us Little Shop of Horrors.
Just some of the biggest names in comedy of all time: Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, John Candy, Bill Murray, and Christopher Guest
And some of the biggest names in music: Howard Ashman and Alan Menken best known for collaborating to create the music and lyrics for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. The movie also has Levi Stubbs (R&B singer and member of the Four Tops) as the voice of Audrey II (the man-eating plant).

What it lacks:

Awards. Little Shop of Horrors was nominated for 2 Academy Awards - Best Visual Effects and Best Original Song as well as 2 Golden Globe Awards - Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy and Best Original Score… it fell short in all nominations.

Sequels?:

No, but it is an adaptation of the off-Broadway musical of the same name.

5 - Gremlins (1984) Directed by: Joe Dante

What it’s got:

Christmas! Yep, Gremlins is a Christmas movie and once you accept that you’ll live a much happier life knowing you can throw this flick into the Xmas movie rotation.
Joe Dante’s emergence. Dante got his first big taste of success with Gremlins after having moderate success with low budget B-films like Piranha and The Howling. Gremlins became the 4th highest grossing film in 1984 making more than $200 million.
Surprise violence. The cute, innocent, furball Gizmo and the snow globe picturesque town reel you in… and then Stripe and his gremlin gang chew off hands, launch old ladies out of windows, and maul Santa.

What it lacks:

Logical rules. No eating after midnight! Can’t be out in the sunlight! You can't let the magwai get wet!.... How could anyone care for these creatures? Can they /have they ever survived on their own?

Sequels?:

If you haven’t yet, you need to watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch, it’s ridiculous in the best ways possible.

6 - It Chapter One (2017) Directed by: Andy Muschiette

What it’s got:

Scares. This might be the scariest (jumpiest) movie on the Monster Bracket of Monster Movies. The trailer is even hard to watch.
Outcast kids. There’s something especially attractive about a gang of unpopular “reject youths” in a monster movie. The stars of this story went so far as to call themselves The Losers’ Club.
A huge box office. It grossed over $700 million making it the 5th highest grossing R-rated movie ever.
Fear itself. Pennywise the clown manifests itself into various forms that will most terrify its victims: a headless undead boy, a sink that spews blood, a rotting leper, the phantom of a murdered little brother, etc.

What it lacks:

A moment to relax. There isn’t a scene without a jump scare. Some might argue there are too many.

Sequels?:

The sequel, It Chapter Two, was released in 2019 and covered the remaining story from Stephen King’s book.
It is a remake of the 1990 TV miniseries of the same name.

7 - The Host (2006) Directed by: Bong Joon-ho

What it’s got:

America’s introduction to Bong Joon-ho. Bong Joon-ho had directed two very well received and respected movies in his home country of South Korea before The Host, but The Host was the first to really cross the Pacific and shake hands with American audiences. Bong Joon-ho has since become a fan and American critic favorite with Snowpiercer, Okja, and Best Picture winning Parasite.
Thinly veiled political messages. The American military in this movie are portrayed as egotistical, insensitive, and wreckless.The South Korean government is portrayed as inept and also uncaring.
Imagination. We get a new monster with new abilities.

What it lacks:

A unique title. The Host (2006) is often mistaken for The Host (2013) - a pretty terrible adaptation to a pretty bad YA book. The Host (2006) is also confused with The Host (2020) - a mystery crime thriller and Host (2020) - a computer screen supernatural horror film.

Sequels?:

The Host 2 has been in-and-out of production for the last 12-years. .

8 - Pan's Labyrinth (2006) Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

What it’s got:

Fearsomely beautiful monsters. The potent imagination and beauty in the construction of this fairy tale world is breathtaking.
Awards. Pan’s Labyrinth won three Academy Awards - Best Art Direction, Best makeup, and Best Cinematography.
Monsters behaving like men. The monsters may or may not be imaginary (that’s up for the viewer to decide) but the monsters imitate very human corruption.
Doug Jones. A contortionist actor who appears in most Guillermo del Toro films as some sort of monster-man. He plays the faun and the pale man in Pan’s Labyrinth.

What it lacks:

Bad subtitles. Del Toro took on the task himself to write the subtitles for this film after he felt the subtitles used for some of his other Spanish speaking films were dumbed down.

Sequels?:

No, but del Toro has stated that Pan’s Labyrinth is a spiritual successor to one of his earlier films The Devil’s Backbone.
A novelization by del Toro and Cornelia Funke (author of the Inkheart series, the Dragon Rider series, the MirrorWorld series, and The Thief Lord) was published in 2019.

9 - King Kong (2005) Directed by: Peter Jackson

What it’s got:

A huge budget. King Kong cost $207 million to make, which at the time was the highest cost for a film ever. However, it made $562 million world-wide. So, looks like it was worth it.
Monsters stacked on monsters. It wasn’t enough to have just Kong himself in this movie, Skull Island is also inhabited by dinosaurs and giant insects.
Peter Jackson at his most untouchable. Just two years after the Lord of the Rings Trilogy wrapped up and a year after winning just about every imaginable award at the 2004 Oscars (including Best Director), Jackson went about as big and epic as he possibly could… and it shows.

What it lacks:

Brevity. Surprise surprise a Peter Jackson film that runs a bit too long. King Kong comes in at a whopping 188 minutes!

Sequels?:

King Kong is the eighth entry in the King Kong franchise and the second remake of the 1933 film of the same title and following the 1976 remake.
Other movies in the King Kong franchise include: Song of Kong (1933), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), King Kong Escapes (1967), King Kong Lives (1986), The Mighty Kong (1998), Kong: Skull Island (2017) (Lots of Fun!), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).

10 - A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Directed by: Wes Craven

What it’s got:

Sexually promiscuous teens. And guess what, they’re the first to go.
Feminism and the power of youths.
Johnny Depp. Sure he’s in the public’s ire right now, but he was once just a young actor eager to make his mark in Hollywood (which he very much did). This was his first role.
A theme song. It’s not often that a monster has his own theme song but Freddy does.

What it lacks:

An escape. There’s a muddying of the line between reality and dream that will linger with audiences long after they turn off the movie. A pretty terrifying concept that this is a horror you can’t escape.

Sequels?:

Yep, one about every other year: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989), Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)
There is also the crossover: Freddy vs. Jason (2003) and a remake: A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

11 - Beetlejuice (1988) Directed by: Tim Burton

What it’s got:

A fun/funny new take on the afterlife. It’s structured according to a complex bureaucracy involving vouchers, caseworkers, and waiting rooms.
A perfect title. It’s misspelled, but that’s part of the beauty. Beetlejuice instead of Betelgeuse is memorable especially since its pronunciation is the crux of the film. The studio considered renaming the movie House Ghosts and Scared Sheetless, in which case this gem of a film may have been lost in obscurity.
A perfect cast of young (at the time) talent: Winona Ryder (only two credits before this movie), Alec Baldwin (only two credits before this movie), Geena Davis (just 4 credits before this), Catherine O’Hara (with 5 acting credits before this), and Michael Keaton who’d been around for only about 10-years.

What it lacks:

A concrete antagonist. Betelgeuse is sort of our monster, but he’s kind of just doing his job a little too extravagantly. The ghostly Maitlands are monsters in their own way trying to scare the Deetze family out of their house. You also have the Deetze parents and their interior design friend Otho who are just as bad if not worse than the supernatural monsters.

Sequels?:

After 34 years a sequel is reportedly in the works with Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder reprising their roles.
The movie also spawned an animated television series and a 2018 stage musical.

12 - It Follows (2014) Directed by: David Robert Mitchell

What it’s got:

A new take on the teenage promiscuity horror trope. We all know that in a horror film the teens who have sex usually get murdered. In It Follows, sex paints a target on your back until you pass the target to someone else. A pretty terrifying concept.
A huge profit. It Follows had a budget of about $1.3 million, it had a box-office of $23.3 million. Pretty solid return.
Striking visuals. This movie is creepy, chilling, and suspenseful throughout, but it would be a shame to cover your eyes from the attractive cinematography and sweeping choreography.

What it lacks:

A monster in monster form. The true form of the entity is never revealed. It may not even have a true form. It usually takes the shape of a creepy human and because it’s not human we’re counting it as a monster.

Sequels?:

Not yet, but the ending definitely sets up the potential.

13 - The Witch (2015) Directed by: Robert Eggers

What it’s got:

An authentic look. The Witch was shot using only natural light and when indoors, the only lighting was candles.
Some deeply frightening scenes that make it a hard film to ever forget about.
Young Anya Taylor-Joy and a pretty excellent cast.
Robert Eggers. He may be the hottest young, up-and-coming director at the moment. The Witch is his first film and he followed it up with critic favorites The Lighthouse (2019) and The Northman (2022). He plans to do a remake of Nosferatu for his fourth film.

What it lacks:

New England. Although set in New England, the film was actually shot in Ontario, Canada.

Sequels?:

No sequels, and it doesn’t seem like there will be in the future.

14 - Godzilla (2014) Directed by: Gareth Edwards

What it’s got:

Elizabeth Olsen in her breakout role. Olsen had been in a few indie films (Kill Your Darlings, Oldboy, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Silent House) but with Godzila shortly followed by Avengers: Age of Ultron she became a household name.
Stunning visuals. Even if we don’t get a ton of Godzilla screen time, every hint of the monster is thrilling.
Gigantism. Everything is bigger and more extravagant in this Godzilla than anything we’d seen before.
Monster vs. Monster action.

What it lacks:

Bryan Cranston. The early hype and trailers for this film would’ve had us believe that Cranston was the star. He does play a significant character, but (spoiler) he dies within the first 30-minutes.

Sequels?:

Big time. There are dozens of Godzilla films (this is the 30th film in the Godzilla franchise) that date back to 1954, but there are two direct sequels to the 2014 Godzilla - Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

15 - Hereditary (2018) Directed by: Ari Aster

What it’s got:

A creepy kid. As stated multiple times before in the Monster Bracket of Monster Movies, kids are the creepiest.
Some of the most gruesome death scenes. So many decapitations!
One of the most unnerving endings.
Alex Wolff. This kid is in everything right now and for good reason. He’s a superstar in the making. You can see him in the new Jumaji franchise, Patriots Day, My Friend Dahmer, Bad Education, Pig, and Old.

What it lacks:

Good parenting. I guess parenting has to take a back seat when you’re the leader of a coven or possessed by a demon-king.

Sequels?:

None. But we don’t believe it’s out of the realm of possibilities.

16 - Drag Me To Hell (2009) Directed by: Sam Raimi

What it’s got:

Corporate evil. We all know there is little worse than the greed and power of corporate America.
Evil evil. Evil spirits and demons are a couple of the things that might be worse than corporate America.
Sam Raimi’s triumphant return to horror after a couple decades of adult dramas and superhero movies.
Justin Long in one of the eleven (ELEVEN!) movies he appeared in or had voice acting roles in 2009. Some of his other 2009 movies include: He’s Just Not That Into You ($179 million), Funny People ($72 million), Old Dogs ($99 million), Planet 51 ($106 million), and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel ($443 million)... Drag Me To Hell made $91 million. Pretty good year for Long.

What it lacks: