Top 20 Monster Movie Reveals
#20: King Ghidorah
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“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” (2019) This bombastic sequel to 2014’s “Godzilla” received middling reviews from critics, most of whom criticized the standard story. But they unanimously praised one aspect of the film, and that was its gorgeous and imaginative visual effects. The movie’s VFX might is on full display during King Ghidorah’s dramatic introduction. Ice cracks and crumbles as an explosion rips the ground apart. Following the destruction, survivors gaze into a cloudy abyss as menacing growls emanate from the depths. And then a bunch of dragon-like heads begin to rise from the clouds. In a movie full of great reveals, King Ghidorah’s was easily the coolest.
#19: Clover
“Cloverfield” (2008) Due to the found footage style of the first “Cloverfield,” we only get brief glimpses of the monster throughout the movie. Our only point of entry is through what the characters see and experience, so we never get a clear, defined portrait of what the massive creature attacking the city looks like - that is, until the very end. And what a reveal it is!. Right after their helicopter crashes, Hud gets trapped directly underneath Clover. It’s an incredibly tense sequence, and it culminates with Clover spotting and looking directly into the camera. It’s enough to make you hold your breath in anticipation. Everyone wanted to see what was terrorizing them, but this might’ve been a little too close for comfort.
#18: The Babadook
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“The Babadook” (2014) This movie is more of a tragic exploration into grief and depression than it is a straightforward horror story. But when the scares do come, they come hard. We get one brief, unclear glimpse of the Babadook when Amelia is washing the dishes, but our first real sighting comes during the bedroom sequence. The entire scene is a brilliant example of how to utilize lighting and sound, as we hear the Babadook’s clicking before we really see him. And then we see… something… crawling on the ceiling. And just when we can’t take the tension any longer, the Babadook’s pale, humanoid face comes falling into frame. It’s an image that will be burned in our memories forever.
#17: The Crawlers
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“The Descent” (2005) “The Descent” is a masterclass in horror, as it beautifully combines two disparate subgenres into one terrifying whole. The movie begins as a claustrophobic and personal story in which grieving friends get lost in an unknown cave system. That in and of itself is terrifying. But then it becomes a slasher movie involving bloodthirsty creatures called Crawlers. Our first glimpse of a Crawler comes when Sarah observes one drinking at a pool. But that’s quick and relatively difficult to make out. Later, we receive the jolt of a lifetime when a Crawler suddenly appears on the night vision camera. It comes completely without warning, and the audience gets a good luck at its goblin-like appearance. Now, this is a jump scare done right.
#16: The Predator
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“Predator” (1987) Dutch said it best: the Predator is one ugly mofo. After his entire squadron is taken out by the literally invisible Predator, Dutch finally comes face to face with his jungle nemesis. And it is not a pretty face. The buildup to the face reveal is wonderfully shot and edited, as the music quiets while the Predator slowly unbuckles its mask. The tension and anticipation slowly rise as the sequence is increasingly drawn out, and then we see it - the face only a mother could love. And even that is debatable. That pointy jaw still haunts our dreams…
#15: The Creeper
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“Jeepers Creepers” (2001) Much like “The Descent,” “Jeepers Creepers” begins as one movie before shifting into something else entirely. This one starts much like Steven Spielberg’s “Duel,” as Trish and Darry are harassed by a psychotic truck driver. That is until we learn the truth. The Creeper kills an old lady attempting to help Trish and Darry and reveals his true face to the siblings, smiling with smug satisfaction. And with that, the driver turned from a psychotic and mysterious person to an otherworldly, demonic force. Monsters are creepy - proud and playful demonic creatures are terrifying. This is when the movie shifted from tense thriller to outright supernatural horror. Your mileage may vary regarding its effectiveness.
#14: The Elevator
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“The Cabin in the Woods” (2012) This flick is very meta and self-referential, so of course it contains basically every monster known to man. During the climax of the film, Marty and Dana descend down a mysterious elevator and discover a wide array of different “horror movie” monsters. These include werewolves, ghosts, a creepy ballerina girl (with a face made ONLY of teeth), and a scary guy with buzzsaws sticking out of his head. Dana assumes that the lab has a swath of different monsters to kill the sacrifices in different ways. And after this terrifying little scene, the movie proves Dana’s assumption correct when the camera pans out and reveals a whole colony of traditional horror creatures. Things get even better when said monsters are unleashed and go ham on the security personnel.
#13: The Brundlefly
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“The Fly” (1986) Now, there have been many gross movies made throughout the years. But David Cronenberg’s “The Fly” may be the grossest movie of all time. We watch in horror as Seth Brundle slowly turns into a fly throughout the entire movie, but things escalate to unimaginable terror when Seth finally transitions into the Brundlefly. The revolting process begins when Ronnie accidentally rips off Seth’s weakened jaw. That’s probably the least gross thing about the entire transformation. We can’t really go into details - just know that it’s probably the nastiest thing ever put to film. In the end, we’re left with a giant fly… thing, where once a regular man stood.
#12: Pyramid Head
“Silent Hill” (2006) The “Silent Hill” adaptation may have been a complete narrative mess, but it did contain some wonderfully creepy sequences. Chief among them being the introduction of series staple Pyramid Head. While this scene caused cheers from diehard fans, newcomers were in for quite a shock when the heavily-muscled Pyramid Head shambled into view dragging a massive bladed weapon. Who is this man? What is that enormous weapon for? What’s with the bugs? And why does he have a metal pyramid for a head!? These fever dream qualities add a great sense of unease and otherworldliness to the sequence. If “Silent Hill” did anything right, it was the visual design of Pyramid Head.
#11: The Graboids
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“Tremors” (1990) When it comes to building tension, few movies do it as well as “Tremors.” Even though it’s more of a comedy, “Tremors” features some horrifying build-up that raises the stakes and gets the audience invested in the unseen monster terrorizing this small Nevada town. We finally get our first look at the monster when Val and Earl are riding through the desert on horseback. One of the horses is attacked by a writhing tentacle, and the ground cracks and rises, promising imminent danger. And that’s when the giant worm-like Graboid erupts from the Earth and reveals its tentacle-like tongues. It’s a literal explosion of tension, and it heralds incredible danger for the citizens of Perfection.
#10: The Thing
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“The Thing” (1982) We never see The Thing’s true form. That’s part of what makes the monster so mysterious and otherworldly. But we do get a few glimpses of its alien features. The first time we see The Thing in its quote-unquote true form is when massive tentacles and spider-like legs begin to sprout from the kennel dog’s bloody corpse. When MacReady sees the end product, it is a blend of a screaming dog, a slimy mass, and lots of writhing tentacles. It’s a truly disturbing and disgusting sequence, but it’s also a brilliant glimpse at the incomprehensible madness that is to come.
#9: The Pale Man
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“Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006) If you remember anything about “Pan’s Labyrinth,” it’s The Pale Man. He’s probably still a regular feature in your nightmares. The initial reveal of The Pale Man is startling and disgusting: with little music or buildup, the camera nonchalantly reveals a horrifying humanoid creature sitting in front of a plate of eyeballs. But it’s when Ofelia eats a grape that The Pale Man slowly comes alive with some creaks, a heart-stopping gasp, and a face reveal that is truly macabre. It’s a legendary sequence that beautifully showcases the twisted imagination of Guillermo del Toro.
#8: The Alien
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“Signs” (2002) Say what you will about M. Night Shyamalan’s filmography, but he gave us one of the all-time greatest jump scares. Like all great alien stories before it, “Signs” builds a lot of tension before the explosive, climactic reveal. But rather than a blustering cinematic invasion, we are given a creepy home video that was filmed at a birthday party. The kids clearly see something that we do not - that is, until a green humanoid creature briefly shambles into view. It’s a brilliantly crafted sequence, aided in large part by the grainy, low-quality video footage and shoddy camera work. It grounds the scene in realism and makes the invasion feel like part of our world rather than the movie’s.
#7: Tyrannosaurus Rex
“Jurassic Park” (1993) The “Jurassic Park” series has a ton of great reveals, including those of the Indominus Rex and Indoraptor. But nothing beats the original’s T-Rex reveal. This scene is a part of cinema history, and it’s largely due to the extraordinary effects and heart-pounding buildup. The ominous booms and ground shakes, the shaking cups of water, the bloody goat limb falling onto the truck, and the brief glimpse of the T-Rex claw; each combine to create one of the most tension-filled movie sequences ever made. And then we see itL perhaps the most iconic dinosaur ever put to film. This was absolutely mind blowing back in 1993, and it still looks fantastic to this day. Steven Spielberg is an undeniable master of the cinematic craft.
#6: The First Zombie
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“Night of the Living Dead” (1968) George A. Romero’s “Dead” series is renowned for its stellar gore effects, but most people forget just how tense and terrifying “Night of the Living Dead” truly was. The graveyard sequence in particular is a brilliantly directed bit of filmmaking. Johnny and Barbra see the zombie in the distance, believing it to be a grieving old man. We may even see the zombie before they do, as it can clearly be seen shuffling around in the background. It slowly gets closer and closer as Johnny cracks jokes - and then it grabs Barbra and all hell breaks loose. It’s one of the most effective opening scenes in horror history, and it gave rise to a monster still terrorizing audiences to this day.
#5: ‘Jaws’ [aka ‘Bruce’]
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“Jaws” (1975) Unlike most monster movies, the villainous great white man-eating shark unofficially called ‘Jaws’ largely remains off-camera. Instead of seeing the shark itself - which was nicknamed “Bruce” by the film crew, we see the attacks through its perspective as it hunts and stalks its prey. But when it comes time for the reveal, director Steven Spielberg knows exactly how to throw down. Unlike the T-Rex reveal, there is absolutely no buildup to Jaws’s first appearance. It simply pops out of the water without warning and comes within inches of Martin Brody’s face. It’s a great contrast to “Jurassic Park,” and it proves that there are equally terrifying ways to introduce a monster. You can build it up, or you can just throw it in without warning and shock the audience. Both are effective, both are horrifying, and in these two cases, both are iconic.
#4: King Kong
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“King Kong” (1933) This is still regarded as the quintessential adventure film, and for good reason. Like “Jurassic Park,” Kong’s introduction utilizes a lot of intense buildup. There’s the massive gong the natives use to signal Kong, the unmistakable roar of Kong himself, and the giant gorilla clearing his way through the dense forest. We don’t know what we’re about to see, but we know it’s something big and dangerous. And then we see it along with Ann, and her piercing scream speaks for us all. Yeah, Kong looks a little goofy today, but this scene basically changed the way that movies were made. With this scene, we knew anything was possible through the art of film. Even giant apes.
#3: Frankenstein’s Monster
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“Frankenstein” (1931) Movie history was made with the birth of Frankenstein’s monster. There’s just so much film history packed into the resurrection sequences we don’t even know where to start. There’s the great production design, which includes zapping gizmos, the levitating operating table, and thunderous booms of lightning. There’s Frankenstein’s ecstatic exclamation, which has become known as one of the greatest lines in movie history. And following a brief break in the action, there’s the reveal of Boris Karloff’s hulking figure and grotesque makeup, which is easily one of the most definitive images of cinema. These sequences showcased the magic of movies, revolutionized horror, and birthed images that have been indelibly marked in our collective pop culture consciousness.
#2: Godzilla
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“Godzilla” (1954) King Kong or Godzilla? That debate may never end, but one thing is for sure - they both have had amazing reveals throughout the years, with Godzilla’s 2014 entrance being a more recent example. But who could ever forget the kaiju’s first appearance? As residents and reporters rush to see whatever is causing incredible damage on the village, they are horrified to witness an enormous prehistoric amphibious reptile rising above the hill. It dwarfs both the hill and the people, and the sense of scale that the movie conveys is breathtaking, especially for a movie released in 1954. Some people scream and run, others can only stare in disbelief. And through it all, Godzilla unleashes deep and ominous roars that are enough to send chills down your spine. With this, one of cinema’s most enduring villains was born. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. The Infected “28 Days Later” (2002) The Behemoth “The Mist” (2007) Gill-man “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954) The Crocodile “Black Water” (2007) Vermithrax Pejorative “Dragonslayer” (1981)
#1: The Chestburster
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“Alien” (1979) The “Alien” franchise has a ton of great reveals. There’s the disgusting facehugger reveal when Kane’s helmet is cut away, and there’s the gigantic Xenomorph from “Aliens.” But what everyone remembers is the chestburster, AKA the baby Alien that quickly grows and stalks the Nostromo. From the way everything goes from 0 to 100 in the span of five seconds to the way the alien shoots out of Kane’s stomach to shock and silence the crew, this sequence is so incredibly terrifying that we can’t show it in its entirety. The filmmaking and acting on display are extraordinary, and the very concept of an alien painfully burrowing its way out of your stomach is unthinkably haunting. This remains one of the scariest movie sequences ever filmed, and it is easily the greatest monster entrance of them all.
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