25 best horror movie monsters

(GERMANY OUT) Silent movie ‘Nosferatu’, directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, Max Schreck starring as Nosferatu, Germany 1921 (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Horror films are full to the brim with unforgettable monsters. Read on for 25 of the scariest and most impressive of them all.

What, exactly, is a horror movie monster? Taken broadly, it could mean practically any villain in any remotely creepy movie, from Jason Voorhees to the marauding Tyrannosaurus Rex in Jurassic Park.

Of course, that’s far too broad for our purposes. While I won’t argue that a good human or animal baddie can’t instill serious fear – after all, I still get chills thinking about the raptors in Jurassic Park – this article would be practically book length if we didn’t narrow it down a bit. Hence, a few ground rules.

One, a monster mentioned here cannot be a human being. There’s plenty of horrors to be found in humanity, no doubt. However, that’s such a wide genre of villainy that we’re going to scrap it for the sake of sanity. I will allow a few exceptions for once-human monsters, however – if they’re interesting enough, that is.

Two, any monster in this list must not be an animal you might encounter in everyday life. Therefore, no sharks (Jaws), no rabid dogs (Cujo), not even an undead zombie cat (Pet Semetary). Also, as much as it pains me to say it, no dinosaurs, either. That means that Jurassic Park and its successors are right out.

Rather, we’re turning an eye towards some of the strangest, most inhuman monsters out there in the land of horror film. After all, those are the kind of monsters that leave us with some of the most indelible impressions.

While I tried to avoid spoilers as best I could, some of these monsters required a little spoiling to explain their origins. Also, quite a few of them are pretty grotesque and involve gore. Those of you with sensitive psyches and stomachs may want to tread carefully. Some clips may also contain language that is not safe for work.

Yet, if you’re a fan of the intense thrills and shocks of horror films, there’s plenty you’ll find to love about these monsters. Read on to learn more about some of the most frightening and impressive beasts to grace the screens of horror fans throughout the world.