Best Monster Movies by Mark Pellegrini
Best Monster Movies
{by Mark Pellegrini of Adventures in Poor Taste}
{by Mark Pellegrini of Adventures in Poor Taste}
When did you realize you wanted to be a movie critic?
When I began making long, rambling messageboard posts detailing my opinions on horror movies and other media. After a few years of that, I figured with some spell-checking I might as well start a blog.
All-time favorite movie:
"Ghostbusters"
Movie you quote a lot:
"Ghostbusters", as trying to slip by quotes in conversation was a game I played with my brother for years.
Movie character that reminds you of yourself:
The nameless ancillary character that dies in the first 5 minutes of a slasher movie.
Movie you wish you could un-see:
Rob Zombie's remake of "Halloween".
Learn why Mark curated the best Monster Movies: Monsters have fascinated me since I was a toddler and was terrified of the Boogeyman in my closet. So naturally, I find all the best horror movies are monster movies, even when said "monster" isn't quite so obvious (and that approach can be even more effective than a guy in a rubber suit). The movies I've selected aren't all necessarily "scary", but simply have monsters that will stick with you, whether you're shivering or laughing. For my section, I wanted to get a good spread across as many different subgenres and eras as possible; from vampires to serial killers, from the silent to the modern.
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- The Lost World (Image) DVD
- Long before "Jurassic Park" (1993), audiences thrilled to the prehistoric wonders in this 1925 adventure. Special effects pioneer Willis O'Brien, who also gave the world "King Kong" (1933), created a remote plateau inhabited by allosaurus, brontosaurus, triceratops and pterodactyls, all… [ read more ]
- $19.99
- Freaks DVD
- Tod Browning's directorial masterpiece "Freaks" (1932) demonstrates the loving side of a chastised group of unique performers. The cult classic follows a circus midget Hans, played by Harry Earles, who falls in love with the 'normal' performer Cleopatra, played by Olga Baclanova. Cleopatra… [ read more ]
- $19.98
- Godzilla: The Criterion Collection DVD
- Godzilla (a.k.a. Gojira) is the roaring granddaddy of all monster movies. It's also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama, made in Japan at a time when the country was reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing in the Pacific. Its rampaging radioactive beast, the poignant embodiment… [ read more ]
- $29.95
- Island Of Lost Souls: The Criterion Collection Blu-ray
- A twisted treasure from Hollywood's pre-Code horror heyday, Island Of Lost Souls is a cautionary tale of science run amok adapted from H.G. Wells's novel The Island Of Dr. Moreau. In one of his first major movie roles, Charles Laughton is a mad doctor conducting ghastly genetic experiments… [ read more ]
- $39.95
- Jaws: 25th Anniversary Collector's Edition DVD
- This triumph of underwater terror has captivated audiences for decades. When a great white shark begins feeding on the summer denizens of Amity Island, the ensuing panic threatens to ruin the island's tourist season. Roy Scheider plays Brody, the no-nonsense Chief of Police who is bullied by… [ read more ]
- $14.98
- House DVD
- Ding Dong, You're Dead. Horror novelist Roger Cobb is a man on the edge, reeling from his recent divorce, haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his young son, and struggling with his new book about his traumatic experiences in Vietnam. But when he moves into the strange house left to… [ read more ]
- $9.98
- Fright Night DVD
- A teenage horror buff’s celluloid dreams become a nightmarish reality when his next door neighbor turns out to be one of the undead in this ‘80s cult classic. William Ragsdale stars as Charley Brewster, a monster movie fanatic who discovers that the recently arrived Chris Sarandon is an… [ read more ]
- $14.99
- The Fly Collection DVD
- A 4-disc collection of classic films from the "Fly" trilogy, plus behind-the-scenes bonus footage and other extras. In "The Fly" (1958), David Hedison is a scientist who accidentally transforms himself into a hideous mutant insect. Then, in "Return of the Fly" (1959), Brett Halsey tries to… [ read more ]
- $39.98
- Phantasm DVD
- This low-budget thriller won a richly deserved fan base when it first opened in 1979. Writer-director Don Coscarelli - later known for "Beast Master" (1982) and "Bubba Ho-Tep" (2002) - manages to mix big shocks with good laughs as a handful of suburban teenagers deal with ghouls, apparitions… [ read more ]
- $14.98
- Nosferatu: The Ultimate DVD Edition
- Max Schreck makes this ultimate edition of "Nosferatu" (1922) one of the most terrifying and menacing films ever shown on screen. F.W. Murnau's eerie direction makes it difficult to think of vampires without getting chills down the spine, and his protagonist helps him take horror to a whole… [ read more ]
- $29.95
- The Blob DVD
- "Terror has no shape!" A gelatinous entity from outer space runs amok in "The Blob" (1988), a moody remake of the 1958 camp classic with Steve McQueen. "Entourage"'s Kevin Dillon plays a tough teen who tries to warn the residents of a small town that an amorphous, carnivorous alien is… [ read more ]
- $9.99
- Trilogy Of Terror: Special Edition DVD
- A cult classic from the night of its premiere, this made-for-TV horror anthology, directed by "Dark Shadows" creator Dan Curtis and written by acclaimed novelist-screenwriter Richard Matheson, stars Karen Black in multiple roles. In "Julie", Black plays a college professor who is preyed upon… [ read more ]
- $19.98
- Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark DVD
- An old house…a mysterious locked room… a terrifying secret. Elements that make a horror movie memorably chilling get a taut, spooky reworking in Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. Kim Darby (True Grit) and Jim Hutton (The Green Berets) star as Sally and Alex, young marrieds who inherit a crumbling… [ read more ]
- $19.99
- Poltergeist: 25th Anniversary Edition DVD
- "They're here!" Paranormal activity invades a deceptively ordinary suburban home in "Poltergeist" (1982). JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson play loving spouses who believe that supernatural creatures have infiltrated their house with designs on their youngest child, Heather O'Rourke.… [ read more ]
- $14.98
- The Thing: Collector's Edition DVD
- Something terrifying has thawed out from the Arctic ice in "The Thing" (1982), a chilling horror flick from maestro John Carpenter. Kurt Russell gives an incredible performance in this remake of Howard Hawks and Christian Nyby's classic "The Thing" (1951), based on the John W. Campbell… [ read more ]
- $12.98
- The Beast From 20,000 Fathom / Them! (Double Feature) DVD
- Humanity has split the atom, unleashing a new era of science - an era that would also unleash monstrous celluloid rampages. An A-bomb test in the Arctic awakens The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953), and it makes New York City its stomping ground in the movie (based on a story by Ray… [ read more ]
- $14.98
- King Kong (1933 Single Disc Edition) DVD
- The Original 1933 Classic In Glorious Black-And-White Seeking a backer for his movie, Merian C. Cooper approached a top Hollywood mogul. "You know what a 50-foot gorilla would see in a five-foot girl?" the mogul asked. "His breakfast!" The studio chief wasn't buying but the public was. King… [ read more ]
- $12.98
- Haxan: The Criterion Collection DVD
- One of the most famous cult/horror films from the silent era, "Häxan" explores a devilish hypothesis that the witches during the Middle Ages suffered from the same madness as turn-of-the-century psychiatric patients. Starring Benjamin Christensen, Elisabeth Christensen, Maren Pedersen, Clara… [ read more ]
- $39.95
- Shadow Of The Vampire DVD
- A behind the scenes look at the making of Nosferatu and the odd relationship between the director and the lead actor. Expert Review: Every viewing of Murnau's "Nosferatu" should be immediately followed with a showing of Elias Merhige's "Shadow of the Vampire". The faux "making of"… [ read more ]
- $14.98
- The Evil Dead DVD
- Sam Raimi's "The Evil Dead" (1981) set him apart as the master of ferocious horror. With the camera never still, Raimi pulls off a very fast paced movie that does not slow down till its over. Five college students rent a cabin in the woods for a getaway. They find the Book of the Dead and a… [ read more ]
- $14.98
- The Gate: Special Edition DVD
- See the classic horror film that introduced the world to Stephen Dorff. Dorff ("Blade," "Public Enemies") stars in the '80s horror favorite "The Gate (Monstrous Special Edition)" (1987), the chilling story about a group of kids who accidentally open a portal to another dimension and release… [ read more ]
- $14.98
- Invasion Of The Body Snatchers: Collector's Edition DVD
- Rather than suffer from remake-itis, this 1978 spin on the 1956 classic of Cold War paranoia stands on its own merits nicely. Donald Sutherland plays a Department of Health inspector who discovers alien pods that are cloning humans, and soon San Francisco is being overrun with emotionless… [ read more ]
- $14.98
- Little Shop Of Horrors: The Director's Cut DVD
- A skid-row florist's "mean green mother" of a monster plant is the center of "the looniest, nuttiest, most outrageous movie musical comedy in years" (Jeffrey Lyons, Sneak Preview). Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, Ellen Green, Billy Murray and other comedy greats star. Expert Review: Watching… [ read more ]
- $14.98
- Pumpkinhead: Collector's Edition DVD
- This jack-o-lantern is out for more than tricks or treats - he's out for blood! In this tale of supernatural revenge, a bereaved father conjures the mythological "pumpkinhead" beast and sics him on the reckless teens responsible for his son's death. As the creature comes to life and begins… [ read more ]
- $14.98
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