Top 20 Brutal Animal Attacks In Horror Movies
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 Brutal Animal Attacks in Horror Movies. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most vicious attacks by creatures in scary movies. We won’t include attacks from genetically-modified dinosaurs or aliens because they could make up lists of their own. Since some attacks happen at crucial moments, beware of spoilers ahead. Which of these animals would you not want to tangle with in the wild? Let us know in the comments.
#20: Cornered by Gators
“Crawl” (2019)
In “Crawl”, a young Florida woman named Haley and her father are besieged by hurricanes, massive flooding, and a swarm of bloodthirsty alligators. Their first encounter with the creatures occurs in the crawl space beneath the house. Not content with just eating Haley and being done with it, this alligator begins thrashing her against the brick foundation of the house. It’s gross, claustrophobic, and looks really, really painful. Although Haley escapes, the gators don’t forget that they have beef with her for the rest of the movie. While “Crawl” got decent reviews, it might make people think twice about buying property in Florida.
#19: Bat Attack
Top 10 Brutal Animal Attacks In Horror Movies
“Graveyard Shift” (1990)
Stephen King’s short story about a group of mill workers who discover a nest of mutant rats in the basement is just as disgusting as it sounds. But the movie’s truly bizarre practical animal effects may be worth the price of admission alone. In one climactic scene, the mill’s foreman is attacked by a giant combination half-rat half-bat creature. The monstrous creature wraps its rubbery wings around his body and devours him. Although it’s hard to tell what exactly happens because the whole scene is a bit of a mess, the sound effects give you a horrifying enough idea.
#18: Mauled by a Zombie Tiger
“Army of the Dead” (2021)
When they first lay eyes on the Zombie Tiger, the ensemble of Zack Snyder’s Las Vegas-set zombie movie are in awe of the creature. The beast is missing an eye and its white fur has turned a deathly gray. However, both factors only make it look cooler. At first, it looks like the zombie tiger will just be a cool setpiece. But it eventually makes a fantastic entrance. When Garret Dillahunt’s character tries to escape, the tiger lies there in wait. The guy gets clawed and tossed around like a ragdoll before his head becomes a cat snack. Although this is a zombie movie, there’s no coming back from that.
#17: Revenge of the Rats
Top 10 Most Over the Top Acts of Revenge in Movies
“Willard” (2003)
Willard focuses on a lonely social outcast named who befriends a horde of rats. As you can imagine, things do not get more lighthearted from there. Willard learns how to command the rodents to sabotage his boss’ house. But when that fails, he decides to take things a little bit further. Willard eventually unleashes the rats on his absolutely terrible boss while the guy is in an elevator. The idea of being slowly gnawed on by a horde of terrible rodents is horrifying on its own. When the practical effects and acting are factored in, this scene gets tremendously brutal to rewatch.
#16: Razorback Attack
“Razorback” (1984)
Although the Antipodes may be known for its vibrant and hostile collection of wildlife, this massive boar is extreme even by Australian standards. That animal stars in the unfairly forgotten creature feature that is 1984’s “Razorback”. Its title monster absolutely exerts control over a herd of wild pigs in the area. But it can also handle things on its own. Eventually, the main character chased our main character to a canning factory. The Razorback’s relentless pursuit is made all the more vicious by just how far it’s willing to go to eat this poor guy. It takes finally being crushed in some machinery to stop its reign of terror.
#15: Up a Tree
Top 10 Brutal Torture Scenes in Horror Movies
“Cocaine Bear” (2023)
Bears are already pretty brutal creatures. Just ask any salmon. In “Cocaine Bear”, a group of people see how vicious the animal can be. Its real-life counterpart just wandered around the forest in a daze for a bit before dying due to illegal substance consumption. However, the bear in this movie is exceptionally savage. A wildlife activist named Peter finds this out when he becomes the stimulant-addled apex predator’s new chew toy. Although Peter climbs into a tree for safety, the animal is drawn right to him because it wants a bit more. Is his death violent? Well, that depends. Does a bear climb a tree in the woods?
#14: Bug Food
10 Most Vicious Acts of Revenge in Horror Movies
“Mimic” (1997)
When Manny ventures into the New York subway system to find his grandson Chuy, he instead joins up with a group being attacked by a colony of genetically-mutated, overgrown cockroaches. The man eventually finds the lost boy he’s looking for. But before Chuy can exit the tunnels with his grandfather, tragedy strikes. Manny is violently impaled by one of the oversized cockroaches and dragged offscreen. While we only hear most of the death, it’s still incredibly effective. Audiences are forced to imagine how vicious the murder truly is. And the fact that it happens right before the boy’s eyes, made this slaying all the more upsetting.
#13: Daniel’s Dog Turns
How Daniel Radcliffe Prepared to Play Weird Al
“Suspiria” (1977)
Dario Argento’s nightmarish and colorful “Suspiria” is about a coven of witches who nest in a ballet academy in Germany. Things go wrong for their blind piano player, Daniel, when his dog bites the creepy nephew of one of the teachers. In a public square at night, the unseen forces of their witchcraft turn his seeing eye dog against him. Argento plays with what we can and can’t see in the dark. But he also shows us enough to make us a little sick too. The idea that this man’s loyal dog could go bad and so savagely turn against him makes this death hit especially hard.
#12: Don’t Look Down
Top 10 Most Brutal Deaths In Horror Movies
“Frozen” (2010)
No, we’re not talking about the wolf attack from the Disney movie. We can assure you this 2010 horror film of the same name is far more gut-churning. The movie forces its protagonists to make a horrifying choice: remain atop a ski lift and freeze to death, or risk jumping all the way down. When Dan takes a leap of faith and fractures his legs, wolves emerge from the forest. While much of the carnage takes place off-screen, the painful screams and savage sound effects are enough to tell us this is one dreadful sight. Suddenly, severe frostbite almost sounds like a pleasant alternative.
#11: Graveyard Attack
“The Omen” (2006)
“The Omen” follows a diplomat who has unknowingly adopted the Antichrist. As you do. Plenty of terrifying occurrences surround the main characters. But the worst event centers mainly on animals. While at a graveyard in rural Italy searching for clues, he and the photographer helping him to investigate are attacked by a pack of vicious dogs. The caniness in the original are pretty terrifying. But the quickness with which these dogs attack in the remake is alarming. It’s an unrelenting and bleak scene. Fortunately, both of them get away. But the narrow escape and brutal nature of the attack makes it stand out.
#10: Beware the Bear
“Backcountry” (2014)
Whatever you do, don’t watch this movie right before you go camping. Drawing inspiration from a true story, this survival film centers on a couple who are hounded by a black bear. Not content with just pilfering the couple’s food, the bear draws closer to their tent, growling outside and eventually tearing its way in. The shaky cam creates a claustrophobic sensation as the bear slices Jen’s arm and digs into Alex’s leg. Although Jen tries to fend it off with bear spray, the beast ultimately claws Alex into an unrecognizable, bloody pulp. And you thought “The Revenant” was rough.
#9: Bad to the Bone
Top 20 Most BRUTAL Deaths in the Saw Movies
“Piranha 3D” (2010)
Thanks to it being both a tribute to and parody of the kinds of creature features on this list, “Piranha 3D”s most brutal moments are extremely over-the-top. In one scene, a mature filmmaker named Derrick is forced to watch one of his actress’s get completely devoured. Oh, but that’s not all. Derrick barely gets away from the swarming CGI piranhas. Unfortunately, there’s a heavy cost. Derrick loses a part of himself in the process that he’ll dearly miss. Even with the campy effects, it’s not a pretty sight at all. And eventually, Derrick succumbs to his wounds.
#8: Black Phillip’s Rampage
Top 10 Terrifying Pitch Black Scenes in Horror Movies
“The Witch” (2015)
Witchcraft, possession, the outdoors, colonialism. These are just some of the horrors contained within Robert Eggers’ legendary film debut, “The Witch.” But its most iconic character might just be a satanic billy goat named Black Phillip. In the goat’s most overtly villainous moment, he graphically gores the patriarch of the frontier family in front of his last surviving offspring. Black Phillip also pushes the man into a tower of logs. Up until this moment, the goat’s evil has been mostly unseen or just alluded to. But this scene makes it pretty explicit that he’s serious issues with this family.
#7: Shark Attack
Top 10 Scariest Movie Shark Attacks
“The Reef” (2010)
The idea of being hunted down on land is terrifying enough; being stalked at sea is even more unnerving. There’s nowhere to hide, and no way to fight back. That’s just what the group of friends in “The Reef” find out when they decide to swim away from their capsized yacht. Soon enough, a sinister fin slices through the water. When Matt swims away to retrieve a bodyboard, the great white shark torpedoes towards him faster than you can scream “shark bait!” Matt loses his legs before bleeding out in his girlfriend’s arms. Like Luke, we can’t bring ourselves to look away as the shark returns to devour the rest.
#6: Eaten by Tarantulas
“The Beyond” (1981)
Paralysis is just the beginning of Martin Avery’s problems when he falls off a library ladder. Out of the blue, a legion of tarantulas creeps towards him. With every step these eight-legged freaks take, it sounds as if bones are crackling and fingernails running down a chalkboard. The tarantulas take their time crawling up Martin’s arms to his head. If the slow buildup isn’t enough to put you in an uncomfortable state, the up-close sight of these spiders ripping into Martin’s face certainly will. The fact that Martin is powerless to move only makes this scene more horrifying.
#5: Swallowed Whole
“Anaconda” (1997)
If you’ve been watching this video and thought to yourself: You know, this list could use more graphic shots of actors being literally swallowed up by murderous animals. Well, your time has come. 1997’s “Anaconda” has just the thing for you. Jon Voight and his ponytail are squeezed to death and eventually swallowed whole by the title monster. While the squeezing would be bad enough, we also get an up close and personal view of the entire process. That’s right. The movie has a bonafide camera right in the snake’s throat. Thanks to the internal reptile video, we really feel the brutality of the attack.
#4: Sic 'Em, Cujo
Top 10 Serious Animal Attack Scenes in Movies
“Cujo” (1983)
Whenever a scene involves a canine and a car, we’re usually concerned for the dog’s well-being. In this scene, however, Cujo is the one we fear, and the people inside the automobile are the ones in peril. Cujo isn’t merely a rabid St. Bernard. With his massive size, colossal fangs, and fur dripping blood, the filmmakers went out of their way to make him the most threatening dog ever put to screen. When Donna exits her car, the malevolent mutt attacks. With her young son screaming in the back, Donna does everything in her power to fend off the relentless creature. Her cuts and bruises make a strong case for why not all dogs go to heaven.
#3: That’s No Sheepdog
Top 10 Most BRUTAL Deaths in B Movies
“An American Werewolf in London”
We’ll gladly take a whole pack of wolves over a werewolf any day. This scene masterfully balances horror and comedy as backpackers David and Jack navigate through the moors during a full moon. Although they tell themselves the howling in the distance is just a sheepdog, something else is going bump in the night. In a refreshing change of pace, our protagonist isn’t especially brave or virtuous, but a coward who runs like hell. While David does eventually turn around, he’s too late to save Jack and nearly meets the same fate. As the townsfolk gun the werewolf down, it becomes clear that this creature was equal parts man and beast.
#2: Birdageddon
“The Birds” (1963)
Alfred Hitchcock is widely considered the Master of Horror, and “The Birds” is arguably the closest he ever came to making a straight-up monster movie. The fact that Hitchcock was able to make an animal as unimposing as a bird scary is a true testament to this talent. This set piece starts off small as a couple birds knock over a gas station attendant, but matters quickly escalate after a patron lights his cigar and turns Bodega Bay into an inferno. The winged menaces seize this opportunity to commence bird-ageddon. Watching the madness unfold from within a phone booth, Melanie Daniels becomes the true caged bird.
#1: Chrissie’s Last Swim
“Jaws” (1975)
It’s ironic that the most brutal animal attack in the history of horror would be a scene where we never actually see the animal. The true dread in this Steven Spielberg classic, though, lies in what we don’t see. The production of “Jaws” seemed doomed when Spielberg couldn’t get his mechanical shark to work. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as Spielberg mostly substituted the shark with heart-pounding music, clever editing, and a camera that told the story from the monster’s POV. Nowhere are the film’s brilliant filmmaking techniques better exemplified than in the opening scene where Chrissie Watkins’ late night skinny dip turns into a bloodbath. Neither the waters nor the cinema have felt safe ever since.
