Such examples as The Black Phone and Crimes of the Future, both released in June of 2022, display that horror can be the product of both man and science. However, there's something inherently devastating when the source of the scares is a force of nature rather than an artificial or manufactured construct.
Beasts, monsters, and natural disasters have been the source of many moviegoers' nightmares. From the simple affairs of spiders, snakes, and rats to the more complex creatures that live on desolate islands or at the bottom of the sea, mother nature can unleash a bloody torrent of her fury upon a host or even a planet of unsuspecting victims.
The Creature (The Creature From The Black Lagoon)
There is perhaps no natural movie monster more famous than the Creature from the Black Lagoon. The Universal Monsters series' resident sea beast, this fish-themed goon from the depths of the Amazon river rose from the deep in 1954 and has been the blueprint for many an aquatic terror ever since.
In The Creature From the Black Lagoon, the creature is not created by radiation, a lab experiment, or some interplanetary interference with the water supply, but he is discovered living deep below the surface on a scientific expedition. It is the humans who come into his environment and start terrorizing him before he retaliates. That is one major factor that separates the character from his peers like Frankenstein's Monster and the Wolf Man.
Bruce The Shark (Jaws)
Where the creature had his environment encroached on by a team of explorers, the same cannot be said for the giant great white shark that prowled the waters of Amity Island in search of swimmers and surfers to snack on. Although his appetite might not be common compared to an actual shark, the one in Steven Spielberg's blockbuster is a totally natural occurrence with an unnatural craving.
By relying on a more naturally occurring monster than something out of a sci-fi/horror cliché, it grounds the fear in reality as something that's not only probable but possible. Shark attacks are rare and even more rarely is someone consumed to Jaws' extent. It certainly kept more than a few beachgoers out of the water.
Spiders (Arachnophobia)
It might be slightly cheating to consider the mutated spiders in this underrated monster movie but since it is a natural mutation and not something created by science gone wrong, they are still technically a naturally occurring species in the plot of Arachnophobia. When a newly discovered species from South America crossbreeds with a Brown Recluse, it creates a deadly infestation for a sleepy little town.
Hybrids happen all the time in nature, though one of this magnitude would be unquestionably disastrous. Spiders aren't considered the most lovable creatures, to begin with, making them larger and more venomous doesn't help their case.
Cujo (Cujo)
Although he's not the only movie dog to get a bad case of rabies, he is the only one to star in a Stephen King production. Cujo might have begun his life as a slobbering gentle giant, but one bite from a rabid bat soon changed that for the worse. In a matter of scenes, Cujo goes from a lovable St. Bernard to a bloodthirsty monster.
Cinema and humanity are both home to some beloved canine companions and the idea that they could turn monstrous with such a fast-acting catalyst is undeniably unsettling. Cujo was a neighborhood dog, one known by the community, and that transformation from friend to fiend will certainly leave a lasting impression.
The Rats (Willard)
Although the original from the '70s will always be a classic to some, the remake featuring Crispin Glover in the title role turns a common pest into a deadly force as Willard Stiles finds a new breed of friends in the colony of rats that lives beneath his home. Upon earning their friendship, he trains them to seek revenge on his abusive boss. They are all obedient and loyal to their master, but when he no longer has use of them, he learns not to estimate their numbers.
Rats have always been a creepy presence in classic horror movies, but the voracious and jealous nature of the swarm seen in Willard is certainly large enough to make anyone's skin crawl. Glover's performance as the disturbed Willard is just the cherry on top of the rat-infested sundae.
Plant Life (The Happening)
M. Night Shyamalan's R-rated movie did one thing particularly interesting, which is making nature itself the monster. Mutated and evil plants aren't a particularly new phenomenon in the horror genre but having them function in this extreme is certainly a fresher take to say the very least.
In the film, plant life develops a deadly neurotoxin as a defense mechanism that forces large groups of people to commit suicide. By using a scientific phenomenon rather than constricting vines or carnivorous tendencies, Shyamalan creates a memorable movie threat, even if the plot wasn't.
Megalodon (The Meg)
What The Meg lacks in subtlety, it more than makes up for in entertainment value. For some reason, it seems like shark flicks are the gold standard when it comes to over-the-top natural monsters, especially with shark movies like The Requin seen in the media. However, a tornado full of sharks is no match for a gigantic dinosaur one.
Found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, this massive shark is Jaws on a kaiju-level scale. Once more, scientists and explorers encroach on a monster's natural habitat, evoking his fanged wrath upon them and others on the surface.
Anaconda (Anaconda)
Anaconda features both a star-studded cast and a naturally occurring monster ready to take a bite out of every last one of them. When a group of explorers embarks on an expedition down the Amazon to discover a lost tribe, they also encounter a gigantic predator lurking in the waters.
Inspired by the actual snake species, Anaconda is one of those '90s action/horror movies that blended genres to create more spectacle and suspense. Although the snake effects might not have aged as gracefully as something like Jurassic Park or The Mummy, the mix of adventure and monster movies is an excellent and exciting hybrid.
King Kong (King Kong Series)
Known to some as America's contribution to the kaiju genre, King Kong is the gigantic ape that has been tearing through the silver screen since the '30s. With four core movies and crossovers with Godzilla in his filmography, Skull Island's resident eighth wonder of the world is an intimidating force of nature that always finds his way into a concrete jungle.
Skull Island is described by some as a place untouched by time and civilization, meaning that creatures like Kong and a handful of dinosaurs call it their natural habitat. It's only when he is pulled from his island and brought into modernized captivity that he truly becomes the monster the explorers make him out to be.
The Amphibian Man (The Shape Of Water)
"Twas beauty killed the beast." is a line that owes its existence to King Kong, but Guillermo Del Toro took the trope so long associated with monsters and damsels and turned it on its head with his Oscar-winning The Shape of Water. Taking heavy inspiration from films like The Creature From the Black Lagoon and La Belle et la Bete, the master of monster movies gave audiences a new breed of creature.
Having remarkably similar origins to the Creature, the Amphibian Man hails from the Amazon and is held captive as the government's latest discovery. Created by nature, yet imprisoned by science, the monster is shown to be a much more complex figure as romance blossoms between the gilled amphibian and a mute cleaner.