Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
What’s the best part of a monster movie? I would argue it’s the reveal. The first time you lay eyes on the creature that’s been causing murder and mayhem throughout the story. While most would argue seeing what’s causing all that destruction lessens the impact, no one can dispute that introductory moment — especially when it’s done right — can make (or break) everything that came before. With a monstrous SPOILER ALERT here are five of the most memorable Jaw-Dropping Monster Reveals in Horror Movies.
#5 Cloverfield (2008)
Shaky cam aside, if you asked me what I could remember about the details of Cloverfield, my answers would be choppy at best. Without looking up the IMDb page, some friends are having a party for another friend, who I think is going to another country to live, and then everything explodes. There’s lots of running and screaming and it’s all a blur until they reveal what’s been causing the world to shake and shimmy and suddenly this movie has my full attention!
What-the-hell-is-that doesn’t begin to describe the feeling I got first seeing the Cloverfield monster revealed. Looking like Godzilla had angry sex with a bat, this…thing almost makes the headache-inducing shaky cam that preceded its reveal worth it. Almost.
#4 The Descent (2005)
Anyone else misses the days when trailers didn’t give away the best bits? Released in 2005 (it’s weird to think that was a long time ago, but it’s been 20 years!) this movie seemed like it was going to be a straightforward tale of survival. It starts off with a group of friends go spelunking in an unmapped system and end up getting lost. Bad goes to hellishly worse when it’s revealed — in one of the best jump scares of all time — the cavern is home to a subterranean race of creatures.
Shown using night vision cameras, these bat-like humanoids are such a shock the first time you see one, it takes a few seconds for your brain to accept what it just saw. It puts you smack dab in the shoes of the characters while adding a major dose of adrenaline to the story which was good up to that point and just got really good afterwards.
#3 The Ritual (2017)
Another movie a lot of folks missed out on its initial release, looking back on it there’s even a few things it has in common with the fourth entry on this list.
A group of old college friends reunite for a trip through the Swedish countryside. Old wounds are opened, secrets are revealed, and friendships are tested. Along the way they come across gutted animals, strange effigies and mysterious symbols carved into the trees. The further they go into the woods; the stranger things get and as they’re picked off one by one the remaining members of the group end up becoming the unwilling participants in a ritual sacrifice to the kind of creature one can only imagined was dreamed up by a writer coming off a bad ayahuasca trip.
This giant deer-like creature is a jotunn called Moder, a god-like entity in Germanic folklore that grants immortality in exchange for sacrifices. At least that’s what Wikipedia says, all I know is that thing has what appears to be a human body coming out of its face and I immediately gave up any plans of sleep after seeing it. I can only remember bits and pieces of The Ritual, but 20 more years could pass, and I will still remember exactly what that monstrosity looked like.
#2 Smile (2022) and Smile 2 (2024)
Nothing and I mean NOTHING that this movie showed audiences prior to this reveal, could prepare you for what the finale of this twisted tale had in store.
Like thousands of genre entries before it, Smile tells the tale of someone cursed by something they unfortunately saw/did/heard. The Ring, The Grudge, Evil Dead, It Follows, the list goes on and on. And while every one of these films have memorable monsters of their own, they all pale in comparison to…whatever the hell this thing is!
At this point it doesn’t even have a name, simply called The Smile Entity, this demonic antagonist only reveals itself when it’s good and ready. So far this has been when there’s no hope left for the unlucky protagonist. It’s not even easy to describe as it’s one of those things where the longer you look at it, the less sure you are about what you’re seeing. Swinging back and forth between hilarious and grotesque — which I think is exactly what they were going for — like most monsters in horror it won’t hold the same impact as more of these movies come along, but that doesn’t take anything away from how tremendously shocking that first reveal was.
#1 Predator (1987)
I mentioned in another list called Seven Best Scares in the Background of Horror Movies, that Alien had one of the best monsters hidden in the background. But there’s also another iconic spaceman whose reveal was the stuff of legends and that would be 1987’s Predator. It seamlessly switches up from bombastic action movie to sci-fi horror, and with its memorable characters and great one-liners that are still dropped by movie fans to this day, it’s one of those movies that just seems to get everything right and that definitely included the smart choice to keep this creature’s appearance a surprise until the perfect moment.
That moment being the final showdown between Dutch and the Predator. We thought we knew what it looked like decloaked (which in itself was a show stopper), but nothing you could imagine could prepare you for the visual of the Predator removing his helmet to reveal what can only be described as a mutated crab blended with a humanoid fire ant. I would pay real money to travel back in time and be a member of the audience who got to see that on the silver screen in real time.
Like all the greats the Predator is still around, mugging it up for the camera, and while I’m no longer surprised at what awaits me under that face-helm, when they take it off it’s a moment that rarely fails to get my attention.
So that’s my list. Which of these is your favourite? Any you would add to the list? And you can check out more horror lists below:
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More