Woah!
Watch out guys, the beasties in this particular cage of hypothetical horror are getting a
little too crowded for my liking.
And to be honest, I think it’s probably high time that we put the graft in and reinforced
some of those steel bars because---uh.
It kind of looks like they’re not so load bearing anymore.
And, well--if we’re in the business for unleashing the mother of all Creature Feature
Horror movies--that’d probably be the plot that we’d be looking for.
But thankfully--this intro is merely fictional, and serves only as a framing device for this
continued mindbender of a series.
Honestly.
I promise.
We’re safe.
For now, anyway.
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 4.
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you--that clip, of course, was from 1997’s Anaconda.
A movie which, despite the sum of it’s parts--is actually a damn entertaining serpentine slither
fest--although, seemingly the movie failed to notice that Giant Anacondas--like all snakes--are
deaf as a doornail.
But hey--that’s just Anaconda, guys--and Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube and John Voight have
got my vote regardless.
It leads me to an interesting point--because throughout our three parts so far of this
list--you may be thinking, where are all the terrifying wildlife movies?
And--well, let's take a look at our Number 5 point first--because when it comes to taking
a chomp out of snakes, I think there’s only one winner.
Kicking off at Number 5--Lake Placid, 1999
Yeah.
Giant crocodile eats a grizzly bear.
Go figure.
You see, when it comes to late nineties wildlife based creature features--in my opinion, there
are only two contenders.
Anaconda, and Lake Placid--and I think it goes without saying, but Lake Placid--as a
horror movie--is the clear winner in this head to head.
But--yeah--case in point, that still doesn’t mean that we can’t give them both a mention.
Forget about that though, and forget about the wider Lake Placid franchise--because this
movie is a damned classic, and whilst not a scratch on some of the Australian Crocodile
Rocks--it’s been a long time coming for this North American prehistoric monstrosity.
The thing is, this isn’t that much of a movie, other than *being* a creature feature--start
to finish, Lake Placid isn’t about building character relationships or strangely forced
side stories--it’s about a bunch of professionals trying to figure out why things keep dying
at Lake Placid.
And because of that--the characters in this movie actually make some pretty competent
decisions--unlike, again, it’s 1997 counterpart--Anaconda.
Written by David E. Kelley and directed by Steve Miner, Lake Placid tells the tale of
Sheriff Hank Keough--played by the awesome Brendan Gleeson--who is investigating a string
of strange disappearances in Aroostook County, Maine.
You see, the Sheriff’s Fish & Game Officer has recently gone missing after scuba diving
in the nearby Black Lake--and so, in typical heroes tale fashion--he assembles a crack
team to see just what the hell is going on.
Bill Pullman, of course--takes the lead as Jack Wells, another Fish & Game Officer out
for revenge for his fallen comrade--and to be honest, Pullman is remarkably endearing
in this movie.
But I mean, there’s also Bridget Fonda, Oliver Platt--the aforementioned Brendan Gleeson
who is also awesome in this movie--and guess who else?!
Betty Frickin White.
What’s she doing here?
Well, that’d be spoilers--but it’s freakier than you’d expect.
Lake Placid is awesome--yeah, it’s been superceded a few times by films that outclass
it--but hey, it certainly deserves its place here.
Swinging in at Number 4--The Day Of The Triffids, 1962
Alright guys, I’m gonna cheat a little bit with this one--because while, yes, the 1962
version of John Wyndham’s sci-fi classic is worth it’s place in the hallowed halls
of creature feature horror--I would probably commend you to watch the 1981 BBC miniseries
over the 1962 version.
But, that’s not to say that they’re both not worth their salt--the miniseries is just
superior--and the point is, when it comes to creature feature, The Day Of The Triffids
certainly deserves it’s fair nod.
And it’s weird, because in some ways, the horror classics of the 1960s--in many ways--were
solely comprised of creature feature movies.
To call them *scary* in any sense is quite the leap--and in certain senses, also not
the reason why we watch creature feature horror--but the point is, The Day Of The Triffids--as
a concept as a whole, is certainly some of the best.
Also as a side note--if you haven’t read Wyndham’s science fiction classic too, you
certainly should, because it’s a great read.
It really is.
Written by Bernard Gordon and directed by Steven Sekely, both the 1962 version as well
as the 1981 miniseries, tell the tale of the strange and bizarre Triffids.
A species of carnivores, mobile plant life that are highly aggressive--and seemingly
capable of intelligent behaviour--which arrived on Earth as strange spores from a meteor shower--which
also, inadvertently, happened to blind the vast majority of the world's population.
You see, whilst the 1962 version is a relatively faithful adaptation of the novel minus the
seawater, it also features some surprisingly brilliant physical effects, that whilst dated--certainly
serve to add to the level of fear of sentient plant life.
On the other hand--the 1981 TV series, is just a brilliant adaptation of the sci-fi
classic that is certainly forthright in slowly picking apart the societal undertones that
Wyndham intended.
Hey--look at that--a two-for-one!
Well, a three for one if you include the book… now that’s value.
Next up at Number 3--Q, 1982
And a *LOT* of you guys have been calling for this particular entry--and fine, you’ve
twisted my arm--Quetzalcoatl rears his ugly head.
He’s here.
We better watch out.
The Winged Serpent rises once again.
You see, the thing is--I’m gonna level with you guys.
This movie shouldn’t work.
Well, it should work--but only ever as some cheap, off the shelf--easy money kind of creature
without the feature.
It’s a movie about an ancient Aztec god, Quetzacoatl--who instead of divining her way
across the pantheon of an ancient mythology, instead gets served up as a half-baked hybrid
of Godzilla meets Jaws with a tiny sprinkle of The Body Snatchers for good measure--but
you know what?
It works.
This movie shouldn’t work, and yet it really does--and I’m not entirely sure why that
is.
You see, on the surface, Q is very much a drive-in monster-cheapie with all the clay
animation that you could dream of--but beneath that, Q is a strange tale, strange tale.
In a sub-genre that is usually reliant on a hero triumphing over adversity--just like
Beowulf and Grendl--in Q--there are no heroes.
Written and directed by Larry Cohen, the B-Movie Auteur of all things Sci-Fi and Horror--Q
tells the tale of the Aztec God Quetzalcoatl--a winged, dragon-esque--female lizard--who at
the time of this movie--takes up residence in the iconic, art-deco spire of the Chrysler
Building.
As you can imagine, that’s prime location for haphazardly swooping down and snacking
on the poor, unassuming residents of New York City--but soon enough, the string of decapitated
and desiccated bodies stack up--and the NYC authorities are left scratching their heads
as to just exactly who or what is treating the city like an all you can eat buffet.
Oh, yeah--and also, not only that--but the police are also massively busy with another
string of bizarre ritualistic murders--linked to a secret Aztec Cult.
So, who’s our hero to face down this colossal series of adversaries?
Ehhh.
Yeah, no one--just Jimmy Quinn--a paranoid, cheap-ass crook, who sees this terrifying
winged serpent as a chance to make some money for himself.
But the thing is, Jimmy Quinn is played by Michael Moriarty--who is honestly astounding
in this movie.
I still don’t even know what the point of this film is--but I like it.
Coming in at Number 2--Grabbers, 2012
Alright.
Let’s do things a little differently, right?
Because the creature feature sub-genre is unique in the sense that it’s one of the
few genres that can adequately blend comedy into it’s form--without necessarily standing
solely as a horror comedy.
In Part One of this list we had 2011’s Attack The Block--which is a deserved creature feature
in it’s own right--but a few months later, this incredibly similar and equally brilliant
shocker was released--and for the most part it flew completely under the radar.
The thing is--in a different vein than Attack The Block--this film is downright hilarious--so
much so, that at times it’s difficult to tell what genre it is entirely.
Also, in hindsight, that’s probably the reason why it put a few people off--because
the creature design of this horror feature is absolutely awesome--and as far as stereotypes
go, it’s one that hasn’t necessarily been touched on as much as it should have.
Slight Spoilers--tentacles are terrifying, man.
Always have been, always will be.
Written by Kevin Lehane and directed by Jon Wright--Grabbers is a British-Irish B-Movie
that wholeheartedly flew under the radar compared to some of its contemporaries of a similar
ilk, Attack The Block included--and yet stands unashamed in all of it’s horror glory.
It tells the tale of Richard Coyle, who whilst being an Andy Serkis lookalike--is also brilliant
in this movie--and plays Garda Ciaran O’Shea--an alcoholic and slightly workshy officer who
is appointed a new partner--Garda Lisa Nolan--who is pretty much his exact opposite.
Hmmm.
If it sounds like the plot to Hot Fuzz--that’s because this part is--but don’t let that
distract you, because soon enough--a series of mutilated whale corpses start washing up
on the shore of the quiet, coastal Irish Community that they oversee--and things quickly go from
bad to worse.
But don’t worry--because one particular British and Irish social pastime is the key
to salvation when facing down a host of horrors from the sea.
But again--that’d be spoilers.
The thing is, whilst this movie seems ridiculous--it’s also executed in such a charming manner that
it’s difficult not to enjoy it--and yet what sets it apart from some of it’s clearer
horror comedy creature features, such as Tremors or Arachnophobia--is that it’s intentionally
unnerving moments deliver when it matters.
And finally, coming in at our Number 1 spot--Brotherhood of the Wolf, 2001
And you know what?
To hell with it--considering that we’ve already thrown in a hilarious movie like Grabbers--let’s
continue on with the pure entertainment factor behind these creatures of feature--because
pound for pound, this movie in particular is one of the most damn entertaining horror
moments that you can have without taking your socks off.
And also, it’s probably important to note that this movie was the visual inspiration
for Bloodborne--so, yeah there’s another pretty glaring reason why this movie has to
take our Number 1 spot--and also, I’m feeling generous.
The thing is though, whilst on the surface this movie is very much a horror-action tour
de force--at its core, it’s also quintessentially the definition of a creature feature.
And what better fur to wrap that in, than that of a real life infamous monster of legend--the
Beast of Gevaudan--an alleged man-eating animal that terrorized the south of France between
1764 and 1767.
However--if you are expecting history in this movie--then please, think again.
Whilst Brotherhood of the Wolf has little logic as to how or why it mixes it’s blend
of historical placement with that of espionage and secret-society intrigue--it doesn’t
matter--because what this movie loses in logic, it makes up for with pure awesomeness--and
whilst it’s an incredibly rare concoction, this film just works in all of its glory--it’s
visually astounding--it’s dripping in brooding cool--and it more than enough serves the creeps
when it needs to.
In many ways, Brother of the Wolf reminds me of 1999’s Sleepy Hollow--just if everything
instead was turned up to 11 and Tim Burton let Guy Ritchie have a go at things.
Written and directed by Christophe Gans, the man responsible for 2006’s Silent Hill--Brotherhood
of the Wolf tells the tale of Gregoire de Fronsac--a knight and royal naturalist to
King Louis the 15th of France--alongside his Iroquious companion, Mani--who are on the
trail of a series of strange and vicious murders in the French Countryside.
And that’s all I’ll say, really--because more than anything, this movie is a joy to
watch down to it’s narrative alone.
It stars Samuel Le Bihan, Monica Bellucci, Mark Dascascos--all of which are awesome in
this movie--but by far, it starts Vince Cassel as Jean Francois--and holy moly is he absolutely
brilliant in that role, as well as every other role that he’s been in--because Vince Cassel
is awesome.
Honestly guys, this movie is a joy to watch--and the fact that we can finally give it a top
spot on one of these lists makes me a happy man.
Watch Brotherhood of the Wolf--you won’t be disappointed.
Well, there we have it horror fans--our list for the Top 5 Scariest Creature Feature Horror
Movies--Part 4.
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, as well as any choice
picks of your own.
Before we depart from today’s video though--why don’t we take a quick look at some of your
more creative comments from over the past few days.
First up, Lunar Foxfyre says--
Hey Jack, some mint tea and honey will help with that cold.
-- And thank you Lunar Foxfyre, I’m still getting over that cold but hey--it’s the
season for it after all.
I’ve been chugging tea and chewing on Fisherman’s Friends like it’s going out of fashion--but
thank you either way.
Ellen McAllister says--
Because of you Jack I have found A Field in England--a movie that I can’t stop thinking
about.
Also, I take knowledge I get from this channel to make me look smart around my film teacher
brother--our little secret.
--Hahahaha.
You know what?
That’s brilliant Ellen, and this comment makes me smile.
I fully approve, on both counts.
Well, on that note--unfortunately, that’s all we’ve got time for
in today’s video, cheers for sticking around all the way until the end.