#7. An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Directed by John Landis

Warning some of these special effects makeups are gory.


The final lycanthrope to appear on the main list is also one of my favorite horror movies as well as one of my all time favorite uses of practical special effects makeups. To simply say they are innovative or groundbreaking is an understatement and they hold up incredibly well over three decades later. There are a ton of really cool special effects makeups in this film from the transformation scene and the werewolf itself to the Nazi Mutants who attack David during his nightmare sequence. One of my favorites is the gradual decomposition of Jack's reanimated corpse as he appears to David throughout the film. The attack scene itself is pretty brutal and the makeup the actor Griffin Dunne initially wears is both gory and grotesque. It was an interesting choice by Landis to keep his werewolf a quadruped instead of walking upright like most of the other werewolves we see in film and I think this really made the monster feel unique. There are a couple documentaries and interviews that really get into the process of what went into the transformation scene that I recommend checking out for those interested.

I love An American Werewolf in London (it's my favorite movie), but The Howling takes the cake for best werewolf transformation and design.

The Phantom of the Opera is one of my favorites and it's one of the better films that I've seen in my lifetime.

I'm surprised by this selection and I wasn't expecting it at all; excellent pick here at #5!

#4. Frankenstein (1931) - Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Directed by James Whale / Rowland V. Lee


It's hard not to understate the influence of the iconic look that Jack Pierce created for this character and you can see it's impact just about everywhere from TV and films to even Halloween decorations and cheap dime store masks. While there have been many versions of the character since like Glenn Strange in House of Frankenstein and homages like Herman Munster this design is what people most associate with when they think about Frankenstein's monster. From what I've read it took about four hours each day to create the makeup with spirit gum, cotton and greasepaint and was a collaboration between the actor and the artist. Pierce slightly alters the design in the sequels adjusting it to show the monsters injuries at the end of the first film. Boris Karloff's brilliant portrayal of the character made it one of the most endearing movie monsters of all time. I always really liked the design of The Bride as well which manages to be both scary and beautiful at the same time. Jack Pierce will appear on this list once more.

#3. Nosferatu (1922)

Directed by F. W. Murnau


The design for the vampire Count Orlok in the original German Expressionist silent horror film is one of the scariest vampires ever created. The performance by actor Max Schreck is incredibly creepy as he completely disappears into the character. As far as I can tell the producer Albin Grau who himself was an eccentric occultist and artist was highly influential to the look of the character but could find little else about its creation. I'm not sure whether the design was influenced by the Bram Stoker novel or folklore or was mostly imagined but you can see it's impact throughout popular culture. Whether it's the Werner Herzog remake and related films and TV series or even stuff like Ben Templesmith's artwork for Steve Niles' 30 Days of Night comic book miniseries. I think the the late Tobe Hooper's TV adaption of Salem's Lot (1979) may be the single scariest use of this design ever. I highly recommend the recently digitally remastered version of this film which has been shown on TCM and is available on Blu-ray as well. It's impressive how crisp and vibrant it looks compared to previous versions on DVD and VHS. There's actually an interesting meta historical drama about the making of this film that's quite good called Shadow of the Vampire (2000) which stars John Malkovich as the director with Willem Dafoe giving a really creepy performance as Schreck.

#2. Alien (1979)

Directed by Ridley Scott


An H.R. Giger painting come to life the Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise are definitely the most terrifying monsters to appear on this list. I think one of the most impressive things about it as a character is that is goes through such a dramatic transformation from egg to facehugger, to chestburster, to fully grown Alien. The design manages to feel both insectoid and reptilian but ...from hell. I love the use of K-Y Jelly as saliva it made for some gross and menacing moments during the close up scenes. The original Giger design for the facehuggers was slightly redrawn by the screenplay writer Dan O'Bannon with help of concept artist Ron Cobb who actually came up with the concept that the Alien should have acid for blood. I think that was a great idea that adds an extra element of danger to the crew. After going through several versions of the design Giger sculpted the final version of the Alien body with Plasticine clay. The final costume version was made from latex and worn by actor Bolaji Badejo whose movements and mannerisms really sell the creature as threatening. The mechanical head effects for the Alien were built by award winning special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi who incorporated a system of hinges and cables to work the jaw and the protruding tongue. I read that his final head piece was made up of over 900 moving parts including all the points of articulation. One thing I always disliked about the sequels is that they painted the aliens brown instead of black for whatever reason. There are a couple really interesting documentaries about the making of this film that do it far most justice than I ever could in this post and I highly recommend seeking them out.