One of the easy ways how to terrify the audience is to take something they known from their everyday lives and make it much more dangerous and sinister. That includes various animal species, some of which are more familiar to people than others. While the viewers may not have met an actual shark, for example, they know about their existence very well and also about how deadly sharks can be under the wrong circumstances.
Animals and other movie creatures often use their strength and other abilities against humanity, and they can act in an unnatural way too. Some of these b-list animal slash monster movies have taken the concept too far and are just plain ridiculous.
Night Of The Lepus (1972)
The imagination of film creators knows no boundaries. Sometimes that's a good thing - sometimes not so much. Night of the Lepus falls into the second category and it's one of those movies that are hard to believe unless the audience actually watches them.
The film is about giant mutated rabbits with a taste for human flesh. Even though the film has several iconic cast members (such as Janet Leigh from Psycho) even those actors couldn't save it from being a flop.
Squirm (1976)
Most people consider earthworms pretty gross, and this film cements their reputations as creatures that are best to avoid, especially if there's a lot of them.
Squirm takes place in a little town in Georgia where a lot of electrified, carnivorous earthworms appear. They climb out from basically everything and it's hard to stay away from them, which makes for one hilariously disgusting movie.
The Uncanny (1978)
Cats are cute, fluffy, and usually loving, right? Wrong! The typical housecats many people have and love have become dangerous creatures in this film. Unlike other films on this list, The Uncanny has the form of a film anthology and it features three stories in which cats usually take vengeance on people.
Yes, it's exactly as bizarre as it sounds and what's even stranger is that the film has some pretty impressive cast members, such as the silver screen legend Peter Cushing.
Piranha (1978)
This one is a classic and for a good reason. It can be both terrifying and sometimes slightly amusing. It also draws a clear inspiration from the Steven Spielberg masterpiece Jaws (1975) that came out just a few years before the release of this film.
Joe Dante often made films that played with lots of various creatures, such as Gremlins, werewolves, and, of course, the piranhas in this film, so he knew what he was doing and the film is enjoyable to watch for those who like the genre. It's still ridiculous, but unlike some films on this list, in a good way.
The Swarm (1978)
It seems that 1978 was a good year for all fans of bizarre b-list animal slash monster movies. Many people are afraid of bees and this film plays on their fears.
However, while the concept might have been good, the film is anything but. So in the end, it's best-known as the film that Sir Michael Caine considers the worst film he has ever made.
Alligator (1980)
Alligators and other water creatures are an important storytelling element in many b-list animal movies. Everybody knows of their existence but they're still different enough from humans to feel strange and terrifying, even somewhat alien at times.
The film can be partially considered a parody as well since it makes fun of the conventions of this genre and of the trope of nature running wild and doing what it wants.
Slugs (1988)
Earthworms and piranhas aren't the only creatures that can bring along some hard times to humankind. So can slugs. At least in this now iconic film that many people consider so bad it's actually good.
The slugs in the film suddenly turn homicidal and start eating people. The rest of the story goes as one might expect, and it features some pretty bizarre moments, such as exploding heads, that make no sense.
Black Sheep (2006)
A lot of people may have traveled past the countryside at one point or another and saw a flock of sheep, peacefully spending time outside. But the sheep in this film is anything but peaceful.
Just like the above-mentioned slugs, the sheep have turned murderous and are now killing people. The film was so insane that it was screened on the movie festival "Midnight Madness" that specialized in weird films that are best to watch late at night.
Big Ass Spider! (2013)
This film isn't suitable for anyone who suffers from a fear of spiders since the titular spiders are - well, big ass. However, the rest of the audience could enjoy the film since it's actually pretty funny and even though it's ridiculous, it doesn't take itself seriously which makes it watchable.
Plus, the cast does a good enough job and while the special effects aren't the best, the spiders still look real enough to be scary.
Sharknado (2013)
Finally, this list wouldn't be complete without the most bizarre and ridiculous animal movie of the recent years - that has already kickstarted a series. Sharknado is about flying sharks that travel in the form of a tornado, fall from the skies, and eat people who have the misfortune of being underneath the shark tornado.
The concept must have worked since this film has five more sequels but it's still difficult to believe that something like Sharknado exists.