Halloween Beasts of Horror: The Animals That Scare Us
Oct 22, 2009 by Paul YoungAnother article in our series of Halloween/horror movies – be afraid of animals… be very afraid.
STRAYS – 1991
OK, so dogs aren’t your type of pet and most people would already consider you to be the crazy lady in the neighborhood that can been seen at Wal-mart buying up dozens of bags of Tidy Cat. I get it: Cats are independent, faithful, therapeutic and if we believe John McPherson and Shaun Cassidy, cats are also feral, intelligent, clawing, killing machines. When a new family moves into a home of much-needed repair, they get more than they bargain for when a feisty pack of felines – led by an “Alpha Cat” – take offense and start eyeball scratching everyone in sight. Strays is laughable at most moments during the film, mostly because it was a made-for-TV movie – but still, the movie does make you question what is going through a cat’s mind as he sits there staring at you during dinner. The best way to protect yourself is with a bag of catnip and a laser pointer for distraction.
THE BIRDS – 1963
Correctly considered one of the best classic horror films, horror/thriller auteur Alfred Hitchcock spins a fantastic tale of birds going crazy (or is it calculated?) and attacking humans in Northern California. Even now, modern day directors try to duplicate Hitchcock’s unique approach to horror. Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette and others are bombarded by all forms of fowls, the most notable being crows and seagulls. The best part of this film is the explanation as to why the birds attack – there isn’t one given. The film ends just as creepily as it begins, with all the birds stopping their attack for no apparent reason. It really makes you think “What if?” Would there be any way to outrun or outlast a full-on bird attack?
DAY OF THE ANIMALS – 1977
So, up to this point you’ve managed to dodge each and every animal attack by staying away from areas where ferocious animals live. You stay out the water, never visit an African jungle, keep your house clean of spiders and never own house pets, but you can’t out run them all. Day of the Animals proves that, if even in a campy way. William Girdler directs a cast of people who want to (ironically enough) get back to nature, and nature is not pleased. Leslie Nelson, who you may not know used to do serious roles, leads the group through the mountains where, because of depletion in the ozone layer, animals living above 5,000 feet have gone mad with frenzy. Every animal attacks – not each other just people – as mountain lions, vultures and bears take their decades of frustration out on the unsuspecting hikers with prejudice.
As you can see, you can’t fight Mother Nature and you can’t hide from her either. There are plenty of other animal movies out there that are just as horrific (in one way or another). We would love to hear your thoughts on the above movies or any that you feel are other terrifying animal flicks.
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oh my God .
Arachnophobia scared the Hell out of me.
my and Spiders do not mix well.
ack !
How come there’s never been a horror movie about the Loch Ness Monster?
@neontiger21
there have been a few, the only problem is that the majority of them Suck.
i’d love to see a good nessie Monster flick.
but we can only hope.
Nessie is scary when presented as a documentary, NOT as a movie. She’s (he?) a legend enough as it is.
Pah ha, that feature header is top! Where do you find pictures like that? Brilliant!
Komodo had some pretty scary lizards.
I found most those movie more humorous than scary. My favorite line in Lake Placid was when they found the thumb(?) of one of the victims and the remark was made like “I thought he was taller.” But Betty White WAS the highlight of that movie.
“Lake Placid” was supreme camp that somehow turned into Oscar material if you ask me,,, Agreed Betty White was amazing!!!
“The Ghost and the Darkness”,,, I’ll have to check that out, can’t go wrong with that cast,,,
On hunting Lions,,,
I’ve been confronted by some pretty dangerous wildlife and even with high powered weapons felt a strong sense of, “what if I miss?”
I’m screwed, there’s 5 of them,,,
Lions, Tigers and Bears will kick your butt, if you can’t handle your adrenaline…
^
Cool post,,,
i thought “Ghosts in the darkness” was really good. always loved lions growing up.
i had to bring up a movie called “Prophecy” about a giant mutated killer bear, not to be confused with “Grizzly.”
I can’t remember if it scared me, but I still remember seeing it as a young buck.
great list and topic
just a few animal creepy films as well “Rogue”,”Mimic”,”Food of the Gods” (giant human eating hamster), and “Them”
LMAO @ “They have nine lives, we only have one” HAHAHA
And Frogs, I mean, seriously?? Is that like a miniature hand in its mouth???
I saw that movie Ghost and the Darkness, but don’t remember it, must add it to my list of movies to rent… Wild cats are freakin crazy ass super hunting machines, I don’t think any other class of animals can even begin to compete… Have you seen the special about this guy that trained two Tigers to live in grass lands instead of the forest? What a freakin slaughterfest, he didn’t need to train them at all! lol.
I also loved ‘Ghost And The Darkness”, and the most interesting thing about it is that the really dumb parts actually happened. All the smart stuff (including the Michael Douglas character) was made up. But I never really considered this a horror, but I can see the appeal to horror fans.
I’m a huge ‘Blue Monkey’ fan (giant mantis in hospital flick from ’86), and I keep my eyes peeled for a DVD version. I still have the VHS tape. Better than nothing. I also had a guilty pleasure in “Komodo” (2000) as well. Then there’s “Mimic”, “Deep Blue Sea” and “Rogue”
I’m a little surprised that ‘Jurassic Park’ isn’t on this list, and the sci-fi classic ‘Them!’ is nowhere to be seen, but there is one favorite film of mine that I must mention.
1983′s Of Unknown Origin
Folks, you don’t know what you are missing. Take a overworked biz executive played by Peter Weller, have his hot wife go on an unrelated biz trip of her own, and have the dude become obsessive-complusive in getting rid of one troublesome rat. Not a giant rat. Just big enough to cause damage to furniture, appliances, getting into the food and drink and strong enough to kill a cat. Sure, the body count isn’t real high, it’s basically one guy vs. a rodent. But it’s a terrific film.
@ Paul young
There ahve already been two remakes of Piranha both were str8 to DVD done. I can’t see this new crap 3D ( yes 3D is a POS gimmick that needs to stop) version living up to the original as most new remakes can never capture the essence of the original film.
I’d take the movie Rogue over lake placid any day.
Oh yes why was the movie SLUGS not put on here. ROFL and a half.
James Cameron directed “Piranha2 the Spawning.”
Just fyi…
@ 790
Yes he did, but let’s keep that lock and key :p. The remakes of the Original Pirahna were made by New Horizon’s video (which also made the first live action Fantatistic 4 Movie, and Anchorbay made one as well).
i have almost everyone of those films. killer animal films are some of my favorites,and they dont make enough of them. i liked rogue,and deep blue sea as well. i think steve altens book the loch should be made its got everything anyone would want. i also would love to see meg,creature from the black lagoon remade,birds remade,a very latge taranchula film in the amazon like anoconda,and some more really thought out and greats acrion and cgi animal films with crocs,bears,insects, sharks,and snakes,and beasts.i would also like a jurrasic park 4 that is a little scarier.and off the subject a resident evil remake like the first video game.well thats my opinions.
I would have voted Jurassic park should have made the list…that T rex eating the dude off the toilet and the raptors scared the Bejeesus out of me. Or what about the sci fi classics carnivores with the killer dinosaurs. Also The Edge was crazy where Alec baldwin and Anthony hopkins had to fight off that grizzly bear.
i agree marcusfenix, i have the edge to and jurrassic park 1-3. that part were the guy is attacked by the grizzly and is ripped apart was brutal,but that makes the film feel real and terrifying.directors need to look at these films and study them and make alot more of them,with better acting,great story and graphics like rogue,and anoacondas.i for one would love to see great killer animal films keep coming but only if they are well thought out,i love them.
I tried to read a book years ago called “Alaska Grizzly Bear Attacks”. The book contained true stories of actual attacks.
The book was so graphic that I stopped mid way through,it was that disturbing.
Grizzly Bears are insanely tough to kill and will wipe your face off when confronted. Intense stuff…