Jeepers.
Creatures.
Where’d you get those---features?
Well--as you may have noticed in our first part of this particular Top 5 Scary series--creature
features seem to be a behemoth of horror cinema that can’t help but rear their terrifying
head in all matters of confusing calamity.
Whether it’s a giant anaconda at the bottom of an unfortunate lake--or an ancient pagan
cult that has desperately been trying to summon their overlord for the past few decades--the
capacity in which these terrifying monstrosities can burst onto the screen can vary from feature
to feature.
And--fortunately for us--there’s plenty more where that came from.
Hello horror fans--what’s going on, and once again welcome back to the scariest channel
on YouTube--Top 5 Scary Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch--as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Scariest Creature Feature Horror Movies--Part 2.
Roll the clip.
Uh.
Gross.
For the curious amongst you, of course--that scene was from 2001’s Jeepers Creepers--which
turned an otherwise curious yet jolly song, into one of the most terrifying little tunes
in horror cinema.
And we can use that to illustrate our definition of creature feature.
Whether it’s an alien xenomorph, a great white shark or a weird ass scarecrow who listens
to jazz--as long as the movie is about a terrifying monster--it can pretty much slip into the
genre.
Also, as we said last time--honorable mentions to Alien, The Thing, Jaws--whatever, all of
them--you know those movies anyway--you don’t need me to tell you about them.
On with the show.
Kicking off at Number 5--The Cave, 2005
And no, not of the Platonic variety.
Although, admittedly, that would make for a pretty damn decent horror movie--and certainly
one that is far, far away from the terrors that linger within this particular rocky enclave.
2005’s The Cave, on the surface, is a throwaway movie that was torn to shreds by critics following
its release--but in many ways they were wrong.
First though, let’s get the bad news out of the way.
This film is a walking cliche--and it’s everything you’d expect from an early two-thousands
horror thriller that was still confused by the ever changing current of the waters of
horror cinema.
And also, not only that--but yeah, the acting in this movie isn’t exactly anything to
write home about.
That doesn’t mean it’s not passable though, by no means is it bad--it’s just not exactly
good.
OK.
Now that’s out of the way, we can talk about the one thing that matters--the creatures
in this feature, are frickin’ awesome--and they earn a spot on this list, not just for
their physical effects and design--but because of their lore.
Bare with me.
Directed by Bruce Hunt and written by Michael Steinberg and Tegan West, The Cave tells the
tale of an ancient Romanian Abbey, deep in the Carpathian Mountains--that is lost to
the sands of time following a landslide in the 13th century.
Fast forward several more centuries--and following an illegal archaeological plunder--it is discovered
that the Abbey is actually the entrance to a vast, unexplored subterranean cave system.
Obviously, in typical--here’s a strange entrance, guess we better send some people
down there fashion--a crack squad of thrill seeking cavers, survival experts and scientists
are sent into the depths to figure out just exactly what is going on--and as you’d imagine,
the deeper they go, the more… *problems* they encounter.
Listen, you know how this movie is going to go--but surprisingly, there is some awesome
lore behind The Cave, and although in many ways a throw away narrative, it serves to
make you think about the forgotten places of our planet.
And not only that, but the creatures in this movie are brilliantly designed--yeah, they’re
not exactly anything new--but they’re still awesome.
Oh yeah, Lena Headey’s in it too.
Bonus points all around.
Swinging in at Number 4--The Blob, 1988
Oh no, Paul!
How quickly your fate arrived--and whilst that may be spoilers, guys, just watch the
movie--and you’ll see just exactly what you’re missing.
Also, I *will* count the 1958 horror classic of the same name--and whilst the two of them
are certainly comprised of the same alien DNA--they can also stand on their own two
feet.
I mean, if Blob’s had feet that is.
Either way, I think for the sum of its parts, although it is a close call--the 1988 version
of The Blob is a superior movie--so we’ll be focusing on that one in this respect.
Written and directed by Chuck Russell, with a writing credit from Frank Darabont himself,
The Blob--of course, does exactly what it says on the tin.
And it’s because of its iconic approach to horror that it cements itself here.
In many ways, The Blob is exactly what we mean when we say creature feature.
This movie is literally about a giant amorphous, acidic amoeba-like organism rolling around
town and devouring and dissolving anything in its path.
Yeah.
Guys.
Don’t lie, that’s all you wanted from this list, right?
And thankfully for us--this film delivers exactly that, in gelatinous spades.
In tells the tale of the sleepy town of Arborville, California--where unbeknownst to its residents,
what appears to be a meteorite crashes in a field, that harbors a strange and massive
slimy substance.
And obviously, it’s not long before one of the town’s miscreants goes meddling with
the crash site--unleashing upon the town all of it’s Blobby chaos.
You see, whilst this is technically the entire crux of this movie--unlike the 1958 original,
the remake of The Blob actually attempts to tie together a few loose ends, giving a much
more consistent air of plausibility to this film--that frankly, serves to compliment the
horror experience as a whole.
1988’s The Blob was a box office flop, and it was cast aside as an unnecessary remake--but
I say forget that noise, because it’s got all of the components for a fantastic creature
feature--just with more amorphous suffocation--and more dissolvement of limbs.
Everyone’s a winner.
Next up at Number 3--Attack The Block, 2011
Okay--now although this film *is* certainly in the remit of a horror comedy--it’s so
unique in its approach, and so fantastically well done that you’d be forgiven for not
sitting down purely with the intention of laughing for an hour or so.
Yeah, this movie is funny for the most part, and yes it’s dialogue is quicker than a
rat up a drainpipe--but it’s also a frighteningly effective creature feature--and it’s a demonstration
on just how versatile horror and it’s many sub-genres can be.
And also--this movie is just--fun--and you can’t really say that about many films of
the early 2010s.
Written and directed by Joe Cornish in his directorial debut role--and yeah, this guy
would go on to direct Ant-Man and Star Wars--Attack The Block tells the tale of a young nurse
named Samantha Adams--a resident of the Wyndham Tower block in central London, and yes--the
connection to John Wyndham’s Attack of the Triffids is certainly not lost on this film.
You see, Samantha, played by the remarkable Jodie Whitticker--who carries this movie effortlessly
alongside her young cast--is mugged by a gang of teenagers.
Pest, Dennis, Jerome, Biggz--and their leader, Moses--played by the fantastic John Boyega--but
she is quickly able to escape, when, fortunately for her--a meteorite falls from the sky and
crashes into a nearby car.
Of course, in the meteorite is a strange--seemingly extraterrestrial creature--and then we have
all the bones for the next 90 minutes of brilliantly orchestrated chaos.
Start to finish, this film is enthralling in its approach--as the ramshackle gang of
survivors seemingly put aside their differences in a matter of saving the planet from assured
alien destruction.
Obviously, that was a little bit of a hyperbole--because this film is so impeccably British that it’s
a feat in and of itself.
Yeah, just put together a group of people who certainly shouldn’t ever run head first
at a ravenous alien creature whilst swinging a baseball bat--but then does it anyway--and
you can pretty much understand exactly what this movie was aiming for.
Coming in at Number 2--Relic, 1997
Alright guys, we’ve covered this one in quite a few honorable mentions before--and
I saw quite a few of you calling for it’s place in this list in our last video--so yes,
certainly, I oblige.
1997’s Relic is an awesome movie--with an awesome monster--and if you haven’t yet
seen it, you certainly should.
Also, that scene that we just played--starring Audra Lindley as Dr. Zwiezic--it’s probably
one of the finest throwaway scenes in 90s horror.
Seriously, the acting clout in that scene is something to be admired--and then she’s
pretty much never seen again.
If that doesn’t sum this movie up, then I’m not sure what will.
Directed by Peter Hyams and based upon the 1995 novel of the same name by Douglas Preston
and Lincoln Child, tells the tale of Dr. Margo Green--played by Penelope Ann Miller--an evolutionary
biologist stationed at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
Here, during her application for a new research grant--she stumbles upon the new research
of an anthropologist, Dr. John Whitney--who has seemingly disappeared after studying a
tribe in South America.
Part of this research, is a strange stone statue--depicting a creature known as the
Kothoga--a mythical forest monster.
And then--suddenly--people start losing their heads over all manners of museum based capers.
Obviously--there’s a lot more too it, but also obviously--I don’t want to spoil too
much, because surprisingly--The Relic has a lot to offer in terms of narrative--and
for an often overlooked creature feature, at the very least--it’s an incredibly well
made horror mystery.
At the start, it plays out as a whodunnit--wait, what’s this weird fungus thing--why are
people losing their brains--and then, *BAM* creature feature--and obviously, the most
important reason--the reason you clicked on this list--the aforementioned creature of
the feature, is brilliant.
And for those of you that have already seen The Relic, you’ll know how frighteningly
effective the Kathoga is.
Yeah, this film is surprisingly intelligent in all the right places--and if you’re in
the mood for a ravenous frenzy of popcorn with more than a few eyebrow raises--The Relic
is not one to be missed.
And finally, coming in at our Number 1 spot--Rogue, 2007
WOW.
This film.
Holy shit.
I was a little late to the party when this movie first came out, but following the success
of Wolf Creek--and hearing good things, I had to poke my head once again into the beautiful
yet horrifying swampy billabong’s of Australia.
If you know this channel well, you’ll know that I have a quiet reverence for the fantastic
horror entries that have emerged from Australia over the past few decades--and truly, Rogue
is one of them.
The first and most important point of this entry--is that Rogue is an underappreciated
classic in it’s own right, particularly when it comes to creature features.
On this list, we’ve had ancient subterranean demons, giant amorphous acid blobs--phosphorescent
space glow-stick monsters, ancient South American chimeras--and then this.
A saltwater crocodile.
And believe me, that saltwater crocodile is more terrifying than all of them combined.
And the second most important point--it encompasses the one motif that Australian Horror cinema
has nailed to near perfection--the fear of the natural world.
Also--you’ll be forgiven for piping up about the *other* 2007 Australian crocodile horror--Black
Water--which is a damn fine movie--but yeah, this one is better.
Written and directed by Greg McLean--the man responsible for 2005’s Wolf Creek--Rogue
tells the tale of a group of tourists on a crocodile watching river cruise in Kakadu
National Park--part of Australia’s Northern Territory, led by charming wildlife researcher--Kate,
played by Radha Mitchell.
After winding up for the day, and taking her cruise back before darkness falls--the tour
spot a flare from up the river.
Obliged to go and see if someone needs rescuing--something hits the boat from beneath the water--and
then we’re off.
Rogue.
Listen.
Jaws is uncomparable as a horror movie.
It’s brilliant.
But Jaws is to sharks as Rogue is to crocodiles--really, it’s that good.
And part of the success behind this creature feature is that the crocodile looks so damn
real--and the physical effects behind Rogue are nearly flawless.
Also, talking of real--this movie is based on a real life crocodile, named Sweetheart,
a giant male saltwater crocodile who attacked boats in Australia, in the 1970s.
Nightmare fuel.
Well, there we have it horror fans--our list for the Top 5 Scariest Creature Feature Horror
Movies--Part 2.
Phew.
That was a good one.
Well, what do you guys think?
Do you agree?
Disagree?
Have any more to add to this list?
Then let us know your thoughts down in the comment section below.
Before we depart from today's video, let's first take a quick look at some of your more
creative comments from over the past few days.
Joseph WIlson says--
Oi!
Bring Agatha back.
-- Hey, I know man.
I know.
I hear you.
I miss her too.
Agatha is a force of nature dude--if she comes back, we’re blessed.
If not, we were blessed to have known her.
Either way--you know what I always say.
Never piss off a witch.
Clay Talman says--
Jack, why don’t you just do a Top 5 Comedy Horror Films?
-- We have!
Go and check it out, it’s one of my favourites.
And finally, David Rosales says--
Zydrate comes in a little glass vial!
--A little glass vial.
A little glass vial.
Well, unfortunately on that note--that’s all we’ve got time for in todays video--cheers
for sticking around all the way until the end.
If you were a fan of this video, or just Top 5 Scary Videos in general--then please, be
a dear and hit that thumbs up button, as well as that subscribe bell, and I’ll be seeing
you in the next one.
As per usual, I’ve been your horror host Jack Finch--you’ve been watching Top 5 Scary
Videos--and until next time, you take it easy.