Content Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the Netflix show Love, Death & Robots.
The recently released third volume of Netflix’s Love, Death & Robots introduced even more terrifying creatures like the Honeybadger and the Swarm. The popular animated series applies sci-fi concepts to dystopian worlds, which are almost always frightening due to these menacing beings.
From the deadly dump monster Otto to the spine-chilling arachnid Greta, there’s no shortage of horrifying creatures from the award-winning anthology show. As fans continue to discuss the latest additions to their impressive array of dangerous beings, it’s the perfect time to see how the newcomers stack up against those introduced in the first two seasons.
Otto
Thanks to its art style and humorous protagonist, the Volume 1 episode ‘The Dump’ doesn’t seem too scary at first. It’s only when fans learn about Ugly Dave’s pet Otto that things take a dark turn. Otto is a dump monster that has somehow become sentient and also happens to be friendly with Dave.
Dave doesn’t appreciate how the inspector doesn’t take him seriously, so he tells Otto to devour him just like he did with an old friend. The charming animation and comical tone definitely undercut the horrific scene, but audiences may find themselves feeling extra wary if they ever drive past their local dumps anytime soon.
Not Santa
‘All Through the House’ is an underrated episode from Volume 2 that brilliantly disarms viewers with its Christmastime atmosphere and likable young characters Leah and Billy. The setup makes it so jarring to see its version of Santa reveal its monstrous face for the first time, which literally drives the siblings against a wall.
The not-quite Santa seems to function in a similar way to the original, determining if the characters have been good or bad and giving them gifts for being the former. One of the kids asks a haunting question after the creature leaves, wondering what would have happened if they had been bad. The monstrous Santa isn’t nearly as scary as other beings from the show, but no one would want to open his presents this December for sure.
Tall Grass Creatures
Laird acts out several frustrating horror tropes in the Volume 2 episode ‘The Tall Grass,’ as he doesn’t listen to the steam train’s conductor who warns him against wandering after an unexpected emergency stop. He ends up almost dying after an encounter with glowing ghoul-like monsters that chase him in a clear attempt to kill him.
Viewers likely breathed sighs of relief when the conductor stepped in to save him. The agile and deadly creatures may have been inches away from injuring Laird at one point, but it was arguably the fact that the tall grass obscured the train and caused him to become lost in the first place that’s the scarier part of the story.
The Golden Woman
Volume 3’s ‘Jibaro’ is quickly becoming the most popular episode from that season, as it tells the captivating story of the titular character who encounters a mysterious Golden Woman. She demonstrates her screams’ ability to lure men to their deaths, all except for the protagonist who cannot hear her deadly voice.
There’s something creepy about the unnatural screams, dance moves, and overall look of the Golden Woman. Since Jibaro is able to injure her, though, it’s proven that she isn’t invincible, but that probably doesn’t mean that just anyone could defeat her. She’s still a formidable and frightening force that no one would want to meet in person.
Sonnie / Beastie
Towards the end of the iconic Volume 1 episode ‘Sonnie’s Edge,’ fans learn exactly what the protagonist’s secret is to winning every single “Beastie” fight. A surprising reveal after an equally shocking death details how Sonnie is actually the Beastie itself, having transferred her consciousness to the creature after an incident that left her human body injured and vulnerable.
With the “fear of death” always on her mind, Sonnie, now a Beastie, gives every single battle her all, which is how she’s able to endure even the most gruesome injuries in the ring. That said, her tragic backstory makes it easy to sympathize with her, even if it is almost too painful to watch her use her skills on a person.
The Honeybadger
The group of soldiers introduced in the Volume 3 episode ‘Kill Team Kill’ has to use their wits and strategic skills to defeat the powerful Honeybadger. The cybernetically-enhanced grizzly bear doesn’t look too daunting at first, with its 2D animation style softening the blow of the gory scene around it.
However, as the short film progresses, audiences see just how much death and violence it’s capable of. Hundreds of explosives and a hail of gunfire don’t seem to affect the terrifying creature. It becomes even scarier to think about how the manmade machine was designed with human victims in mind.
The Thanapod
‘Bad Travelling’ is a popular episode from Volume 3 that features the disgusting Thanapod, a crustacean-like creature with the unsettling ability to speak through human corpses before devouring them. Even worse, it’s carrying thousands of tiny versions of itself in its belly, which make an appearance before the short film’s dramatic ending.
While the protagonist Torrin proves that it’s possible to outsmart the monster, viewers likely aren’t lining up to do that anytime soon. Nobody would want to be stuck on a ship with a hungry Thanapod demanding food every few hours and a crew member more than willing to oblige.
The Swarm
Volume 3 introduced the most powerful character in Love, Death & Robots so far in ‘Swarm.’ As viewers learn from its intelligent caste, the titular being is a hivemind that has been in existence for an incomprehensible amount of time, describing humanity as nothing but a blip in the timeline compared to the Swarm.
Aside from the creepy way it uses Galina’s corpse to speak, what makes the massive creature so scary is the way it defeats species that attempt to take advantage of the Swarm by removing their consciousness so that they become mindless workers. It plans to do the same with humans as well, and even though the defiant protagonist believes people are different, the outcome will likely be the same. The best and worst part of that episode is that audiences thankfully don’t have to see that happen.
Greta
The Volume one episode ‘Beyond the Aquila Rift’ tells one of the scariest stories from the series, depicting a crew that lands in an unfamiliar quadrant after a routing error. The protagonist Thom is pleasantly surprised when an old flame, Greta, turns out to be there, too. The spine-chilling reveal that everything is a hallucination being fed to him and his crew by ‘Greta,’ an arachnid-like creature, results in a scene that fans won’t soon forget.
Seeing the parasite masquerading as Greta in its true form for the first time elicits a feeling of dread that’s arguably only topped by one other creature in the show. No one would ever want to experience that routing error, as it’s hard to even imagine what it would be like to live through that nightmare on loop.
Entombed Eldritch Horror
The most terrifying creature in Love, Death & Robots is hidden in the middle of a treacherous cave in the Volume 3 episode ‘In Vaulted Halls Entombed.’ After losing most of their fellow soldiers to flesh-eating arachnids in the tunnels, Harper is forced to follow her superior to the center of an alien structure. There, an eldritch horror is waiting for them.
It soon becomes obvious that its otherworldly voice and numerous eyes can control the minds of nearby humans. Visions of the destruction of the world play in Harper’s head, implying that if she follows the being’s demands to be freed, she allows the apocalypse to happen. As if the monstrous creature isn’t scary enough, what Harper is forced to do is even more horrific. After killing her companion, the only way she can free herself from its control is to remove her own eyes and ears, resulting in a truly horrifying scene. No one would ever want to face the Lovecraftian being, much less do what Harper did to barely survive the encounter.