Discover the top ten underrated creature features for you to enjoy.
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00:00Since the very earliest days of cinema, horror has featured prominently, and the genre has
00:05brought us some of the most unforgettable sights in motion picture history.
00:09The following list contains some of the most memorable movie monsters ever committed to
00:14celluloid.
00:15From beautifully strange reworkings of classic fairy tales to demon cats, rabbits and dinosaurs,
00:21there's something for everyone here, even fans of Elvis Presley.
00:25I'm Jess from World Culture and here are 10 great monster movies you may have missed.
00:2910.
00:30Koroneko
00:31Koroneko, or to give the film its full title, and I will do my best with this pronunciation,
00:36Yabu no Naka no Koroneko, A Black Cat in a Bamboo Grove, ranks among the best movies
00:43you may not have seen, in any genre.
00:45The film was directed by Kaneto Shindo, the multi-talented creative responsible for many
00:50classics of Japanese cinema, including Onibaba and Naked Island.
00:55Shot in black and white, Koroneko's setting is feudal Japan, and the monsters in this
01:00case are the deadly spirits of Yone and her daughter-in-law, Shige.
01:04Murdered by a troop of samurai, the two women return as vicious killers, seducing and then
01:09murdering unsuspecting samurai by tearing their throats out with their cat-like teeth.
01:15A splendid twist arises when a samurai named Gintoki is tasked with tracking down and destroying
01:20the vengeful spirits.
01:22The problem, as Gintoki soon discovers, is that Yone and Shige are none other than his
01:27deceased mother and wife.
01:309.
01:31Company of Wolves
01:32One of the greatest and certainly most stylish of werewolf films, Company of Wolves serves
01:37as both an allegory and a fine horror in its own right.
01:41In part a retelling or reimagining of the classic Little Red Riding Hood, the film stars
01:46a number of familiar faces, including Angela Lansbury, Stephen Reyer, and David Warner.
01:52There are several scenes here which will remain with you forever, not least of which is a
01:56wedding ceremony, the participants of which are transformed by a vengeful witch, the reappearance
02:02of a presumed dead husband, and an almost familiar trip to Grandma's house.
02:08Whatever the movie's underlying message, it remains a startlingly and highly enjoyable
02:12watch.
02:138.
02:14House
02:161977
02:17A cult classic for fans of Japanese horror, 1977's House features one of the most memorable
02:23and bizarre human-creature battles in cinematic history.
02:27It was directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, a filmmaker who started out in TV advertising and swerved
02:34into experimental territory before making his mark in the mainstream movie world, enjoying
02:39an incredible 60-year career.
02:41House displays Obayashi's taste for bold weirdness.
02:45The protagonists, seven schoolgirls, of course, and indeed most of the cast, were amateur
02:50actors with little to no previous experience.
02:53The film's plot concerns an ill-advised trip by the girls to a country house belonging
02:58to an aunt.
02:59Said house, of course, turns out to be haunted.
03:03The monster in this fantastic entry is none other than the house itself, which proceeds
03:08to murder the girls in various outlandish ways.
03:12The British Film Institute aptly describes House as,
03:14a head-on collision between the evil dead and yellow submarine.
03:187.
03:19Baba Hotep
03:20Baba Hotep stars horror legend Bruce Campbell as Elvis Presley.
03:25Now confined to a nursing home, Elvis befriends fellow inmate Jack.
03:29Presley confides in Jack that back in the 70s, he swapped places with a double in order
03:34to free himself from the confines of the showbiz life.
03:38Jack in turn confesses to being John F. Kennedy, explaining that he was not killed in 63.
03:44He survived, was patched up, died black and abandoned.
03:48With that sort of setup, the fact that a mummy is stalking the nursing home seems like the
03:52most believable aspect of this fantastic film.
03:566.
03:57Werewolves Within
03:58A fantastic modern entry on this list, 2021's Werewolves Within largely slid under the radar,
04:04which is a crying shame as this is a gem well deserving of a much larger audience.
04:09Taking inspiration from the Ubisoft game of the same name, Werewolves Within stars the
04:14likable Sam Richardson as Finn Wheeler, a forest ranger newly assigned to cover the
04:19small town of Beaverfield.
04:21Finn soon befriends male courier Cecily Moore and discovers that the town is bitterly divided
04:26over plans for a proposed oil pipeline.
04:29To make matters worse, a mysterious creature has begun terrorizing the inhabitants and
04:34when a vicious snowstorm traps many of the residents inside a local inn, Finn and Cecily
04:39have to balance egos and tempers in order to survive and discover the truth.
04:455.
04:46Cat People, 1942 Rightfully regarded as a classic of the black
04:51and white era, RKO's Cat People is a stylish and inventive take on the monster movie.
04:56The plot centers on Irina Debrovna, whose recent marriage to Oliver Reed, not the actor,
05:01is beset by a peculiar trouble.
05:04Irina believes she is descended from an ancient tribe of cat people and that, if stirred to
05:10passion, she will transform into a half-woman, half-cat beast.
05:15Much has been made of Cat People's subtext concerning the dangerous lusts of women, ingrained
05:21patterns of misogyny and hypocrisy, but if you wish, you can easily put all that aside
05:26and simply enjoy this well-made and surprisingly original Sunday afternoon movie.
05:314.
05:32Night of the Lepus Fitting comfortably into the so-bad-it's-good
05:37category, 1972's Night of the Lepus features an unlikely adversary in the form of a rampaging
05:44horde of monstrous mutant killer rabbits.
05:48The film is based on a book, The Year of the Angry Rabbit, by Australian author Russell
05:53Braden.
05:54Braden claims that the novel was envisioned as a joke and took about four weeks to complete.
05:59Night of the Lepus, however, misses all this by a country mile thanks to a woeful script,
06:04poor acting and most damningly, laughably bad special effects.
06:09Director William F. Claxton, a native Australian and former Japanese prisoner of war, also
06:14helmed episodes of The Twilight Zone, Bonanza, The High Chapel, as well as 80s phenomenon
06:21fame.
06:22You can assume he had an off day, or days here, as Night of the Lepus soundly misses
06:27the mark on every single front.
06:293.
06:30Valley of Gwangi
06:31Ahead of its time in the genre-mashing stakes, 1969's Valley of Gwangi uniquely pits Wild
06:38West cowboys against living dinosaurs in a New Mexico canyon.
06:43Intriguingly, the film was based on an abandoned project by Wills O'Brien, the creator of
06:48the original King Kong, who sadly passed away before he could bring this idea to life.
06:53Though it never quite lives up to its A-list potential, the film has plenty to offer, not
06:58least the novel plot, which concerns the supposed existence of a herd of tiny prehistoric horses.
07:04The owner of a struggling Wild West show teams up with her former lover and a British paleontologist,
07:10hoping to track down and capture these beasts in order to boost flagging ticket sales.
07:15An all-star cast take the roles of the protagonist, but the real stars, of course, are the dinosaurs,
07:22which are wonderfully brought to life by legendary animator Ray Harryhausen.
07:272.
07:28The Mummy – 1932
07:30Boris Karloff is the main star, a legendary horror actor whose resume includes such classics
07:36as Frankenstein, The Mask of Fu Manchu, and The Ghoul, all of which are well worth seeking
07:42out.
07:43Based on the real-life discovery and opening of Tutankhamen's tomb ten years earlier,
07:48the plot concerns an archaeological expedition led by Joseph Wemple and Dr. Muller.
07:53The team pays the price for its inquisitiveness, of course, and unwittingly unleashes ancient
07:59Egyptian high priest Imhotep onto the world.
08:02Lost loves, hidden tombs, curses, and magic spells all play a part in this delightful
08:07movie directed by Karl Freund, who also worked on both the science fiction classic Metropolis
08:13and the much-loved sitcom I Love Lucy.
08:161.
08:17Invasion of the Body Snatchers
08:19A magnificent two-for-one entry here, as we're recommending both the original 1956 version
08:25and its equally excellent 1978 remake.
08:29Both adaptations of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers are closely based on the classic
08:33book of the same name, by American author Jack Finney.
08:37The chilling premise behind Body Snatchers is that folks are slowly becoming convinced
08:42that their nearest and dearest have been replaced by doppelgangers, almost perfect replicas
08:47whose behavior is somehow off.
08:49Doctors initially assumed that this is some kind of mass mania caused by stress.
08:54In reality, sinister aliens are slowly taking over the Earth, killing us off one by one
09:00and taking the place of their victims.
09:03That's the end of our list, but let me know down in the comment section if you can think
09:07of any other great monster movies you reckon most people probably missed.
09:12As always, I've been Jess from WhatCulture, thank you so much for hanging out with me.
09:16If you like it, you can come say hi to me on my Twitter account, where I'm at jessmcdonald,
09:20but make sure you stay tuned to us here for plenty more great horror lists.