Welcome to the last 50 years in creature features!



Why creature features, you say?

All kinds of reasons, but here you go: they’re largely free of magic/faith-based resolutions in that characters must do or die based on choices/luck, the casts are often a variety of people from all walks of life, they can be the expensive highest grossing movie of all time or an extremely low-budget group effort labor of love, the endless creature options available enable creative effects work, and that’s probably enough.

I suppose they also tap into a base “What would I do? Could I survive that?” set of emotions in addition to just being a good fun time at the movies. What qualifies as “creature feature”? In pursuing this I’ve learned everyone has all kinds of definitions, to the surprise of nobody.

I decided on including films revolving around people having to survive/defend/endure/whathaveyou against creatures or die trying with “creatures” being considered as animals, aliens, mutations, science experiments gone haywire, perhaps a being from another dimension--as long as it doesn’t speak and has no qualms with eating you should the opportunity arise.

A loose definition, yes, but sometimes going with the gut is simplest.



Films like Night of the Creeps and Shivers feel more zombie-esque than creature-based even though slugs are monsters, too (maybe I’m slug racist) while Bird Box et al are far more psychological and human oriented--often with no creatures at all or bare-bones versions--so those things won’t be included.

I’ll stick with US theatrical releases, for the most part, until we get to ~2000 when straight to DVD & streaming releases become players in their own right so I will include as many notables as possible. Turns out there are more than a few of these movies, so I’ve broken things up by decade to perhaps become a bit more manageable.

Anyway, in addition to the title watch out for the Rotten Tomato score & box office (domestic ie North America as well as worldwide using *only* Box Office Mojo as reference--no Mojo no box office). These inclusions are to act as a barometer of the film’s critical & financial results for trivial purposes--don’t take a beloved film’s low receipts or harsh reviews personally. Also my personal favorites have their titles bolded as such because why not!

I’m sure there are movies I’ve left off others will find essential, but I’m only human and that’s what comment sections are for (besides calling people names and links to home business lies).

Example entry:

Day of the Animals - Humans damage the ozone layer to the extent that nature fights back in the form of animals attacking at random instead of plants releasing a chemical like The Happening.



Get ready to loathe the words “hot shot” as well as wish a deeply annoying mother to a young man some ill-will while Leslie Nielson takes his shirt off and descends into rapey madness. Also be prepared to watch lots of animals sit or stand around, menacingly of course. Again, have a buddy around for maximum mock-based humor.

Box office: /
RottenTomatoes: /, 30% aud

This is all simply the pre-amble to the meat of things which can be found here:

https://glasshalfcracked.com/

I had every intention of simply having this be here on the forum or maybe an article on the main site (apologies if this is against the rules), but it turns out a journey through 50 years of movies takes a bit of space and a few photos so I believe this is easier overall for both a reader and myself Personally, I don't mind a long article to peruse at my leisure and I'm quite certain this falls into that category so enjoy!

EDIT: A website picked this up, so here's part one:

https://horrorbuzz.com/2020/05/03/creature-feature/

Nice. I love creature features. Creatures that live in the water are my favorite, and most terrifying, but I'm here for it all.

Looking forward to it Malcolm

Look no further! - https://glasshalfcracked.com/

That's all of it, right there. It's a long read but 50 years of movies can be a lot I would've been okay making it a regular series of main site articles, but between the length of it & all the visuals we encountered some difficulty (title of your sex tape). Let me know what you think--I might have some free time right now and love talking movies (or Better Call Saul!).



Well, it's all ready and waiting for you at your leisure whenever you feel like it

https://glasshalfcracked.com/

I enjoy the water-based creatures as well, they have an added value horror element in that humans are *immediately* handicapped in multiple ways simply by the hostile environment where something as basic as breathing can't even be taken for granted. Deep Rising, while not exactly underwater, is one of my favorites. I think it captures the whole spirit of a 90's creature feature B-movie kind of perfectly--what did you think of Underwater with Kristen Stewart from earlier this year?

Oh crap I thought you'll do a series of posts here so that we can discuss one after another

I'll go through the list. Thanks.

A website picked this up, so here's part one:

https://horrorbuzz.com/2020/05/03/creature-feature/

Grats! And I haven't seen Underwater yet. Is it a true creature feature though? The previews made it seem more like a Sphere type story.

Yes Underwater is a under sea creature feature.

I can see Jack Sparrow beat me to it, but yeah--Underwater is no Sphere, I promise it counts as a creature feature

I thought it was pretty okay and off the top of my head two changes would have done wonders, but it was still better than I thought it'd be. Go in with low expectations, a safe bet!

https://horrorbuzz.com/2020/05/10/welco ... 1980-1984/

Part Two, we begin the 80's!

https://horrorbuzz.com/2020/05/17/welco ... nial-pt-3/

Part Three, the 80's wraps up with some classics!

https://horrorbuzz.com/2020/05/25/welco ... nial-pt-4/

Part 4, the 90's and its army of CG monsters descend on the unsuspecting populace!

https://horrorbuzz.com/2020/05/25/welco ... nial-pt-4/

Part 4, the 90's and its army of CG monsters descend on the unsuspecting populace!

I love creature features. Really great read, thanks!

https://horrorbuzz.com/2020/06/01/welco ... 5-the-00s/

Take a break from the dumpster fire that is 2020 with a walk down creature feature memory lane of 20 years ago!



Thanks! One more decade incoming

I just wish I haven't seen most of those...so much fun.
No Reign of Fire? It's been a great theatrical experience for me back then.

I went back and forth re: Reign of Fire a little bit, as yes it has dragons but it feels more sci-fantasy/action than creature feature to me. An arbitrary distinction for sure, but oh well

And I agree, I wish I hadn't seen far and away most of these before this little project but the fun ones were still a good time and some others were bizarrely amusing (Cat People jumps to mind).

https://horrorbuzz.com/2020/06/08/welco ... nial-pt-6/

The end is here!

You’ve added many movies to my watchlist. I think I’ll start with Ginger Snaps.

You should do fantasy next for sure. Great work, man, I really appreciate it. I've done a fair share of "research" (let's call it that) into creature feature genre, and you've done the most comprehensive study guide (no less) I've seen anywhere.

I'd keep that last part for later.

Thanks! I'm currently working on a *much* shorter article for them, but who knows what the future holds

So, after your research into the genre what would you say your favorites are?

I grew up during the dinosaur craze in the 90s, so Jurassic Park is a huge influence.
Alien, The Thing, The Fly, Coppola's Dracula, Starship Troopers, Pitch Black stuck with me for years, I rewatch them often, and it never gets boring. The Descent is one of the greatest horrors ever made. Of the more recent fare, The Ritual and The Hallow are surprisingly good. I'd call Deep Rising, Virus and Reign of Fire my guilty pleasures.

And from the early period I really enjoy the things Ray Harryhausen did (Mighty Joe Young and One Million Years B.C. still look amazing).

I finally went through the list. Awesome work Malcolm. I haven't seen a lot of these but I can see how much research went into this. Great job

Sea Fever is $1 rental. Does that count as a creature feature?

Technically yes. But don't have high hopes on creature feature action. It's more about building the fear.