Creature features (I): Killer animals
Killer animals are one of the most common creature features in horror/sci-fi films. Just because they're regular animals doesn't mean they aren't scary! Let's review 50 titles, from best to worst.
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50 titles
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRoy ScheiderRobert ShawRichard DreyfussWhen a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
- DirectorMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackStarsFay WrayRobert ArmstrongBruce CabotA film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet, and bring him back to New York City.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsRod TaylorTippi HedrenJessica TandyA wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsSam NeillLaura DernJeff GoldblumA pragmatic paleontologist touring an almost complete theme park on an island in Central America is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park's cloned dinosaurs to run loose.Yes, dinosaurs are animals.
- DirectorAnthony C. FerranteStarsIan ZieringTara ReidJohn HeardWhen a freak hurricane swamps Los Angeles, nature's deadliest killer rules sea, land, and air as thousands of sharks terrorize the waterlogged populace.
- DirectorLewis TeagueStarsDee WallaceDaniel Hugh KellyDanny PintauroCujo, a friendly St. Bernard, contracts rabies and conducts a reign of terror on a small American town.
- DirectorJoe DanteStarsBradford DillmanHeather Menzies-UrichKevin McCarthyWhen flesh-eating piranhas are accidentally released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.
- DirectorGreg McLeanStarsMichael VartanRadha MitchellSam WorthingtonAn American journalist on assignment in the Australian outback encounters a man-eating crocodile while trapped on a rapidly flooding mud island.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsJames WhitmoreEdmund GwennJoan WeldonThe earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization.
- DirectorEugène LouriéStarsPaul HubschmidPaula RaymondCecil KellawayA ferocious dinosaur awakened by an Arctic atomic test terrorizes the North Atlantic and, ultimately, New York City.The monster is described as a dinosaur. So, it is an animal!
- DirectorJeannot SzwarcStarsRoy ScheiderLorraine GaryMurray HamiltonPolice chief Brody must protect the citizens of Amity after a second monstrous shark begins terrorizing the waters.
- DirectorRupert WyattStarsJames FrancoAndy SerkisFreida PintoA substance designed to help the brain repair itself gives advanced intelligence to a chimpanzee who leads an ape uprising.
- DirectorRobert GordonStarsKenneth TobeyFaith DomergueDonald CurtisA giant, radioactive octopus rises from the Philippine Trench to terrorize the North American Pacific Coast.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsGregory PeckRichard BasehartLeo GennThe sole survivor of a lost whaling ship relates the tale of his captain's self-destructive obsession to hunt the white whale, Moby Dick.
- DirectorMike MendezStarsGreg GrunbergLin ShayeRuben PlaA giant alien spider escapes from a military lab and rampages the city of Los Angeles. When a massive military strike fails, it is up to a team of scientists and one clever exterminator to kill the creature before the city is destroyed.
- DirectorFrank MarshallStarsJeff DanielsJulian SandsJohn GoodmanA new species of South American killer spider hitches a lift to a small California town in a coffin and starts to breed, leaving a trail of deaths that puzzle and terrify the young doctor newly arrived in town with his family.
- DirectorChris KentisStarsBlanchard RyanDaniel TravisSaul SteinBased on the true story of two scuba divers accidentally stranded in shark infested waters after their tour boat has left.
- DirectorJoe CarnahanStarsLiam NeesonDermot MulroneyFrank GrilloAfter their plane crashes in Alaska, six oil workers are led by a skilled huntsman to survival, but a pack of merciless wolves haunts their every step.
- DirectorAlexandre AjaStarsElisabeth ShueJerry O'ConnellRichard DreyfussAfter a sudden underwater tremor sets free scores of the prehistoric man-eating fish, an unlikely group of strangers must band together to stop themselves from becoming fish food for the area's new razor-toothed residents.
- DirectorRenny HarlinStarsThomas JaneSaffron BurrowsSamuel L. JacksonSearching for a cure to Alzheimer's disease, a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the prey, as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back.
- DirectorAdam GreenStarsShawn AshmoreEmma BellKevin ZegersThree skiers stranded on a chairlift are forced to make life-or-death choices, which prove more perilous than staying put and freezing to death.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsJohn AgarMara CordayLeo G. CarrollA spider escapes from an isolated Arizona desert laboratory experimenting in gigantism and grows to tremendous size as it wreaks havoc on the local inhabitants.
- DirectorHa YooStarsSong Kang-hoLee Na-youngNam Bo-raVeteran detective Sang-gil and beat cop Eun-yeong are in charge of a case that seems to involve a simple act of self-immolation. Sang-gil initially thinks that it was an accident, but dog bite marks discovered on the body lead him to believe that someone had terrorized and murdered the victim. He and Eun-yeong investigate the source of the drugs found in the body and discover the victim had been pimping out young girls. At the same time, another murder involving a wolf-dog crossbreed occurs The two cases are labeled serial killings. With a connection between the victims uncovered, Sang-gil and Eun-yeong track down a potential witness. While questioning her, one of the mysterious dogs strikes out of the blue, killing the witness and stunning the cops.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsCharlton HestonEleanor ParkerAbraham SofaerThe Leiningen South American cocoa plantation is threatened by a 2-mile-wide, 20-mile-long column of army ants.
- DirectorJonathan KingStarsOliver DriverNathan MeisterTammy DavisAn experiment in genetic engineering turns harmless sheep into bloodthirsty killers that terrorize a sprawling New Zealand farm.
- DirectorLewis TeagueStarsRobert ForsterRobin RikerMichael V. GazzoA pet baby alligator is flushed down a toilet and survives in the city sewers. Twelve years later, it grows to an enormous size thanks to a diet of discarded laboratory dogs injected with growth hormones. Now, humans have entered the menu.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsJason BegheJohn PankowKate McNeilA quadriplegic man has a trained monkey help him with his paralysis, until the little monkey begins to develop feelings, and rage, against its new master.
- DirectorRussell MulcahyStarsGregory HarrisonArkie WhiteleyBill KerrAs a vicious wild boar terrorizes the Australian outback, the husband of one of the victims is joined by a hunter and a farmer in a search for the beast.
- DirectorStephen HopkinsStarsMichael DouglasVal KilmerTom WilkinsonA bridge engineer and an experienced old hunter begin a hunt for two lions after they start attacking local construction workers.
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsRichard HarrisCharlotte RamplingWill SampsonA hunter squares off against a killer whale seeking vengeance for the death of its mate.
- DirectorMatt ReevesStarsGary OldmanKeri RussellAndy SerkisThe fragile peace between apes and humans is threatened as mistrust and betrayal threaten to plunge both tribes into a war for dominance over the Earth.
- DirectorWilliam GirdlerStarsChristopher GeorgeAndrew PrineRichard JaeckelAn eighteen-foot-tall grizzly bear terrorizes a state park, leaving it up to a Park Ranger to save the day.
- DirectorSteve MinerStarsBridget FondaBill PullmanOliver PlattFour people attempt to stop a gigantic crocodile, who is terrorizing residents in Black Lake, Maine.
- DirectorWilliam GirdlerStarsChristopher GeorgeLeslie NielsenLynda Day GeorgeA battle for survival ensues after a group of hikers encounters a chemically imbalanced forest.
- DirectorPiers HaggardTobe HooperStarsKlaus KinskiOliver ReedNicol WilliamsonTerrorists in the process of kidnapping a child get trapped in a house with an extremely deadly snake.
- DirectorGeorge McCowanStarsRay MillandSam ElliottJoan Van ArkA group of helpless victims celebrate a birthday on an island estate crawling with killer amphibians, birds, insects, and reptiles.
- DirectorJuan Piquer SimónStarsMichael GarfieldKim TerryPhilip MacHaleKiller slugs on the rampage in a rural community.
- DirectorLouis MorneauStarsLou Diamond PhillipsDina MeyerBob GuntonGenetically mutated bats escape and it's up to a bat expert and the local sheriff to stop them.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsRichard GarlandPamela DuncanRussell JohnsonScientists become trapped on a shrinking island with intelligent, murderous giant crabs.
- DirectorFrank MarshallStarsLaura LinneyTim CurryDylan WalshWhen an expedition to the African Congo ends in disaster, a new team is assembled to find out what went wrong.
- DirectorRay KelloggStarsJames BestIngrid GoudeKen CurtisOn an isolated island, a small group of people are terrorized by giant voracious shrews in the midst of a hurricane.
- DirectorLuis LlosaStarsJon VoightJennifer LopezEric StoltzA "National Geographic" film crew is taken hostage by an insane hunter, who forces them along on his quest to capture the world's largest - and deadliest - snake.
- DirectorBill RebaneStarsSteve BrodieBarbara HaleRobert EastonGiant spiders from another dimension invade Wisconsin.
- DirectorAlfredo ZacaríasStarsJohn SaxonAngel TompkinsJohn CarradineWhen South America killer bees corporately smuggled into the United States mutate into intelligent insects and attacks helpless people, young scientists work desperately to end the threat as the menace swarms in on the city areas.
- DirectorBert I. GordonStarsPeter GravesPeggie CastleMorris AnkrumEnterprising journalist Audrey Ames (Peggie Castle) is determined to get the scoop on enormous grasshoppers that were accidentally created at the Illinois State experimental farm, and she endeavors to save Chicago despite a military cover-up.
- DirectorJohn McPhersonStarsKathleen QuinlanTimothy BusfieldClaudia ChristianA troubled family move to an isolated house, and find and adopt a couple of cats already in residence. These are not the only occupants however...
- DirectorWilliam F. ClaxtonStarsStuart WhitmanJanet LeighRory CalhounGiant mutant rabbits terrorize the south-west.
- DirectorMarc LawrenceStarsToni LawrenceJesse VintCatherine RossThe owner of a roadside diner, and his new helper, kill people and feed them to pigs.
- DirectorOvidio G. AssonitisStarsJohn HustonShelley WintersBo HopkinsA mutated giant octopus wreaks havoc on a California seaside community.
- DirectorHarry KerwinWayne CrawfordStarsWayne CrawfordJason EversRoberta LeightonLittle coastal town is being terrorized by deadly Barracudas.