Though far from the best movie ever made, 1999's Deep Blue Sea is an incredibly fun creature feature. The movie follows a group of scientists trapped in an underwater facility while being hunted by the highly intelligent sharks they have been experimenting with.
The movie doesn't take itself too seriously and delivers on some genre fun as the sharks pick off the humans one-by-one with some really memorable kills. But Deep Blue Sea was just one of the great popcorn features from the 90s to have some fun with killer creatures. If you're a fan of the genre, here are some other great offerings from that era.
Congo (1995)
Most movie fans know Michael Crichton as the author of Jurassic Park. Following the success of that film, his novel Congo was quickly made into a sci-fi creature feature in the hopes of launching another mega-franchise. That being said, fans shouldn't expect the same quality they found with Jurassic Park.
Congo follows a group of scientists and explorers travels into the African Congo to find a missing expedition. Instead, they are terrorized by the killer gorillas protecting their ancient home. Though a bit embarrassing at times, Congo delivers some fun and plenty of laughs, even if they are unintentional. If it helps, this is the movie where Tim Curry gets beaten up by gorillas.
The Relic (1997)
The master of creature design, Stan Winston, created one of his most underrated works in The Relic. The movie is set in a Chicago museum as it prepares for its biggest event of the year. But when people start getting picked off, it is revealed an ancient creature is loose.
The creature looks excellent, even if the computer effects don't hold up so well. The movie delivers a lot of thrills and fun on a pretty low budget compared to some of these other films.
Alien Resurrection (1997)
The first two Alien films are fine examples of how the creature feature genre can deliver truly brilliant movies. The sequels that followed Aliens, though, never managed to recapture the greatness of those first two entries, but Alien Resurrection at least has some fun.
The fourth film in the series finds Ripley cloned by an evil corporation that is breeding the Xenomorph creatures. Needless to say, all hell breaks loose and Ripley teams with a gang of mercenaries to escape the facility alive.
Godzilla (1998)
Godzilla is one of the greatest icons of cinema and he was given a new upgrade courtesy of Roland Emmerich. This American remake of the classic monster movie followed the ancient and gigantic lizard as he arrives in New York City and runs amok.
Audiences weren't too keen on this modern take on the monster, especially with the new redesign and an entirely new story that disregards literally everything that made the original Godzilla so beloved in the first place. While it is a bit difficult to get past the film's goofy humor, there is some fun destruction and monster action like only Emmerich can deliver.
Bats (1999)
Though it may be one of the lesser-known films on this list, Bats is one of the so-bad-it's-good entries into the creature feature genre. As with all the great films of this kind, it focuses on the genetically enhanced animals that then escape and terrorize humans.
Fans won't find any brilliant writing in this movie, but the animatronic bats are actually pretty impressive. It makes for a different kind of creature movie with an army of bats rather than the one large intimidating creature.
Deep Rising (1998)
Deep Rising features a group of mercenaries who are hired to perform a heist on the high seas with a luxury cruise ship as their target. However, when they arrive on the ship, they find the passengers all missing and the ship overrun by gruesome creatures.
The fun cast includes the likes of Famke Janssen, Djimon Honsou, and Treat Williams. There is also plenty of over-the-top gore and corny humor which helps make this a totally enjoyable ride even if the special effects don't hold up too well.
Lake Placid (1999)
Once again, Stan Winston is the star of the show in Lake Placid, with his amazing design of the animatronic crocodile. The film follows researchers and law enforcement officers in a small rural community trying to find the beast who is responsible for several deaths.
The bodycount here might leave more to be desired, but there are actually some fun characters here. Brendan Gleeson and Oliver Platt make a fun duo while Betty White steals the show as a woman cheering on the crocs.
Arachnophobia (1990)
While some of these movies don't seem to be aware of how funny they are, Arachnophobia embraces its humor with great results. The film is set in a small community where a deadly jungle spider has made its way to and begins killing off some citizens.
The movie allows itself to be scary when it needs to be, but it also has a lot of fun with itself. John Goodman has a particularly entertaining supporting role as an over-the-top exterminator brought in to help save the day.
Tremors (1990)
Another creature movie that is the right amount of tongue-in-cheek is Tremors. The movie is set in a small desert town where two aimless repairmen are looking to escape. But they soon find the desert around their town is the hunting ground for worm-like creatures hiding under the ground.
With fun performances all around and some memorable creatures, Tremors is a perfect popcorn creature movie. While the franchise never really hit these heights again, the first film remains a genuine blast and a classic in the right circles.
Anaconda (1997)
Just like Deep Blue Sea, Anaconda has everything fans of the genre could possibly want. There is a memorable and intimidating creature with this gigantic snake, a fun cast, and some great kills. The ridiculousness of what is happening on screen makes it impossible not to laugh with/at it.
When a documentary crew goes downriver in the Amazon, their boat is taken over by a mad poacher (Jon Voight) looking to capture the massive snake. As fun as the snake is, Voight's hilariously wild performance is the real treat.