Unnamed monsters – A Quiet Place
2018 horror A Quiet Place features monsters which, though blind, have unusually acute hearing. As scary as these beasts are in concept alone, they’re even creepier to look at. As reported in Vanity Fair in 2018, the SFX team drew on “prehistoric fish, black snakes, and bats,” plus “bog people: cadavers that have been mummified in peat.” Small wonder the end results are so creepy.
Dementors – Harry Potter series
The Dementors, the black-cloaked wraiths that guard Azkaban prison, are surely the creepiest creations of the Harry Potter series. For their first appearance in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, director Alfonso Cuarón was originally keen to bring them to life exclusive via puppetry. However, this proved too costly and CGI was used instead. However, puppets were used as reference for the CG artists.
Davy Jones – Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean villain Davy Jones is portrayed by actor Bill Nighy, but the character’s facial effects are created almost completely from CGI: Nighy wore a prosthetic only once, when Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner steals a key from within his tentacle beard. The success of this CGI surprised even the filmmakers, who filmed extra shots using traditional make-up which they ultimately didn’t need.
The dinosaurs – Jurassic Park
1993’s classic monster movie Jurassic Park was produced in a time when CGI was still in its infancy, yet the film’s digital effects (used seamlessly in conjunction with old-school practical effects and animatronics) are extraordinarily realistic today. For every frame of the T-Rex in the rain, the effects took six hours to render – and, if you recall, there’s a lot of rain in this movie.
Gollum – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Is Gollum a monster or a man? Either way, the character as presented in Peter Jackson’s movies is a technical marvel. Gollum’s arrival in The Two Towers marked a watershed moment for the blending of CGI and live-action footage: though animated, he is performed by actor Andy Serkis. FX company Weta Digital began animating Gollum back in 1998 four years before The Two Towers opened.
‘Clover’ – Cloverfield
While never given in a name in the film, the giant monster of 2008 found footage horror Cloverfield was affectionately nicknamed Clover by production staff. 25 storeys tall and brimming with teeth and bug eyes, you might be surprised to learn that Clover is intended as an infant of its species, with larger versions glimpsed in 2018 sequel The Cloverfield Paradox.
The Homunculi – Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
2011’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is a remake of a 1973 TV movie. It didn’t prove a big hit, but CGI beasties the Homunculi deserve appreciation. Inspired by mole rats, the creatures are almost completely blind and hairy in all the wrong places. These monsters, the film tells us, drag human beings into their ashy pit and make them into monsters themselves. Yikes.
Kong – King Kong (2005)
When Peter Jackson remade King Kong in 2005, many complained it was overlong and overblown, but few could fault the SFX. It was the first entirely digital take on the mighty ape, once again portrayed by Lord of the Rings actor Andy Serkis via motion capture technology. The frightening but also sympathetic monster truly feels alive at times, and the film’s dinosaurs are remarkable too.
Arachnids – Starship Troopers
Though it divided critics on release, 1997’s Starship Troopers was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the Oscars, as it boasts some of the most remarkable CGI monsters of the era. Variously known as Arachnids or simply Bugs, the film’s antagonists are giant, inarticulate insects from space. Most are comparatively small soldier bugs with sharp limbs, but some are considerably larger, resembling giant militarized cockroaches.
The bear – Annihilation
2018’s Annihilation was one of the most abstract and genuinely nightmarish science fiction films in recent memory, boasting a wonderfully monstrous CGI creation. The terrifying, mutated bear-like creature is only seen in brief glimpses, which serves to make it all the scarier. The film’s FX artists brought to life by literally merging a scan of a bear skull with that of a human skull.
Edgar the Bug (Men in Black)
1997’s Men in Black has no shortage of alien creations merging CGI with practical make-up. However, the most impressive of the lot has to be the film’s main villain, Edgar, played in his initial human form by Vincent D’Onofrio, but revealed as a mighty bug in the final scenes. The level of CGI required meant the final showdown with Edgar cost the filmmakers $4.5 million.
The Behemoth – The Mist
2007 Stephen King adaptation The Mist sees a small town swept up in a mysterious mist filled with monsters. The film’s many pterodactyl and praying mantis-like creatures are scary in their own right, but the most alarming of the lot is the one known as the Behemoth. As the nickname might suggest, it’s an absolutely gargantuan terror, boasting six legs and tentacles for a face.
Dormammu – Doctor Strange
Marvel are big on top-of-the-line CGI, so it makes sense that 2016’s Doctor Strange boasts a suitably epic big bad in Dormammu, a gargantuan, almost god-like cosmic being – portrayed by Stephen Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch himself, via motion capture technology. Some fans might have complained this wasn’t accurate to the comics (in which Dormammu is standard man-size), but most just enjoyed the spectacle.
Prawns – District 9
Director Neill Blomkamp’s use of CGI has always been on-point, as proved by the FX artist-turned-director’s first feature film, District 9. On a budget of just $30 million, this 2009 sci-fi drama presented some of the most astonishingly realistic CGI aliens ever seen on film, all of which are 100% digital creations.
Non-Terrestrial Intelligence – The Abyss
Writer-director James Cameron has always been at the front lines of the CGI boom. The technology broke through in a big way thanks to Cameron’s 1989 movie The Abyss, whose Oscar-winning SFX team presented the most impressive digital creation ever put on film up to that point: a sentient tentacle of water which imitates the face of actress Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.
General Grievous – Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Though the Star Wars prequel trilogy is frequently derided as the moment that Hollywood’s use of CGI hit saturation point, Revenge of the Sith’s General Grevious remains an astounding creation. An alien cyborg warlord who collects the lightsabers of his defeated enemies, Grievous is terrifying and barely recognizable as a humanoid creature, particularly when his arms split and he crawls around like a spider.
Shelob – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
There’s nothing more terrifying than an eight-legged beast made of eyes and teeth – except for one that’s six feet tall and eight feet long, which is exactly what Peter Jackson delivers in The Return of the King. Some might complain that Frodo and Sam’s night-time fight against Shelob helpfully conceals the CGI arachnid, there’s no doubt that the darkness heightens the tension.
The Jötunn – The Ritual
Continuing our recent fascination with all things Scandinavian, 2017 horror The Ritual sees a group of stranded campers attacked by a Jötunn, a giant-like creature and spawn of Loki. The creature remains hidden until later in the movie – but when we finally do see it, it’s suitably terrifying: Part stag, part man, and part something else we don’t really want to consider.
Trespasser – Pacific Rim
2013’s Pacific Rim boasts that timeless spectacle of giant robots fighting giant aliens. We could pick any number of the Kaiju (or ‘strange beasts’) for this list, but we’re going to focus on Trespasser. The first beast to attack San Francisco, it’s terrifying and awe-inspiring in equal measure, with its hardened shell, gargantuan claws and mighty cranial ridge which earned it the nickname ‘Axehead’.
Ihmotep – The Mummy (1999)
1999’s reboot of classic horror The Mummy cast Arnold Vosloo as the titular Ancient Egyptian antagonist. At first he’s little more than a skeleton but gradually becomes more human in form, as well as possessing great magical powers such as conjuring tidal waves and sandstorms with his face. These effects were pretty groundbreaking for 1999, taking $15 million of the production’s $80 million budget.
Grendel – Beowulf (2007)
When Beowulf was released in 2007, its CGI was nothing short of groundbreaking. Grendel – the first monster the movie’s hero faces off against – is particularly striking, a hulking mass of twisted flesh and sinew that is utterly revolting to look at. Perhaps most impressive is the range of emotions visible in the creature’s facial expressions, thanks to Crispin Glover’s motion capture acting.
The Balrog – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
While the Balrog in the first Lord of the Rings book is described as being about the size of a man, Peter Jackson decided to use CGI to create an altogether more imposing foe for Gandalf and the rest of the Fellowship. The results speak for themselves, with the Balrog – standing dozens of meters tall and wreathed in flame – providing one of the most visually spectacular moments in the entire franchise.
Shrike – Mortal Engines (2018)
Shrike, the secondary villain of 2018’s Mortal Engines, is hellbent on killing the movie’s hero and turning her into an undead cybernetic corpse like himself, so that they can be together for ever. With a motive as unsettling as that, Shrike’s appearance had to be suitably scary, and – thanks to the expert work of the movie’s CGI team – it absolutely is.
The Monster – The Host (2006)
The reason that most CGI monsters are shown in dark environments is simply that it’s a lot harder to make them look good in well-lit conditions. This makes the creature in the 2006 Korean horror-drama The Host all the more impressive, as it spends much of the film rampaging in broad daylight, a creative decision which must have made life difficult for the animation team.
Pennywise – It (2017)
While the 1990 adaptation of It had to rely on the talents of Tim Curry to make its villain scary, the 2017 remake had modern CGI tools at its disposal. While Bill Skarsgård’s performance deserves top marks, the way that Pennywise morphs and shape-shifts – particularly when his face splits open to reveal jaws lined with hundreds of needle-like teeth – significantly elevates the fear-factor.
Tooth Fairies – Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2017)
At first glance, the tooth fairies in Hellboy II seem almost cute (minus the fact that the first fairy seen onscreen is munching menacingly on a tooth). Then, the fairies attack in a vicious swarm, their jaws opening unsettlingly wide to reveal a horrifying set of teeth. It’s credit to the efforts of the movie’s animation team that creatures so small can be so sinister.
Mothra – Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla has graced the silver screen so many times that audiences are somewhat desensitized to the gargantuan atomic reptile. Mothra, meanwhile, hasn’t appeared onscreen since 1992, and CGI has come a long way since then. While the monster’s basic form remains unchanged in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the way the creature’s wings flash with color is a great addition that makes for a much richer visual feast.
Sandworms – Dune (2021)
Easily the most visually impressive creatures in Dune, Sandworms are almost-inconceivably big monsters that dwell beneath the titular planet’s sands. The VFX team spent considerable time getting the Sandworms right, carefully designing them to look like animals that could actually exist and making sure they displace the sand they move through in a realistic way.
The crocodile – Rogue (2007)
2007’s Rogue follows a group of tourists who finds themselves on a man-eating croc’s menu in the Australian outback. To heighten the authenticity, real footage of crocodiles was used wherever possible. The fact that it’s not easily noticeable when the CGI croc takes over is testament to the skill of Weta Workshop, a New Zealand-based special effects production company.
The Pale Man – Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Despite the fact that he’s only onscreen for a matter of minutes, the Pale Man from Pan’s Labyrinth is one of the scariest and most memorable monsters in the history of cinema. The Pale Man was created with a blend of traditional prosthetics and CGI, with the stuttering movements of mime artist Doug Jones bringing the horrifying creature to life.
The trolls – Troll Hunter (2010)
A Norwegian horror gem, 2010’s Troll Hunter proves that you don’t need a massive budget to craft convincing CGI. While the movie deftly uses its found footage format to ensure the camera never lingers on its animated trolls for too long, when the giant creatures are visible the CGI is impressively convincing and wholly terrifying.
Werewolves – The Cursed (2021)
There’s not exactly a shortage of werewolf films, and most moviegoers are pretty familiar with their traditional form. 2021’s The Cursed solves this problem by taking a fresh approach to the look of its CGI lycanthropes, giving them hairless bodies and humanoid faces that are original and horrifying in equal measure.
Alien parasites – Slither (2006)
James Gunn’s directorial debut, Slither has uniformly good CGI, especially for a film released in 2006. While the transformation scenes are suitably gruesome, the animation truly shines when it comes to the parasitic alien slugs, with their writhing movements and glistening skin making for extremely disconcerting viewing.
Reapers – Blade 2 (2002)
Although the first Blade movie suffered from some glaringly bad animation, by the time the sequel rolled round in 2002 CGI had come on leaps and bounds. This is most evident when it comes to the Reapers, mutant vampires that can open their mouths gaping horrifyingly wide to reveal vicious fangs and a long, protruding tongue that acts like a syringe.
Sugarplum Fairy – Cabin in the Woods (2012)
In Cabin in the Woods’ climactic ending, the surviving characters find themselves in a subterranean compound inhabited by monsters of all shapes and sizes. By far the creepiest of the bunch is the Sugarplum Fairy, which appears to be a young girl in a ballerina’s costume until it turns around, revealing a face covered in concentric rings of jagged teeth.
Sandman – Spider-Man 3 (2007)
The CGI sequences in 2007’s Spider-Man 3 were so ambitious that animators had to build entirely new programs in order to create them. While the glob of sentient sinew that is Venom is definitely visually impressive, the movie’s pièce de résistance is the scene in which Flint Marko falls into a particle accelerator, turning him into Sandman.
The spiders – Eight Legged Freaks (2002)
An arachnophobe’s worst nightmare, 2002’s Eight Legged Freaks is set in a small Arizona town overrun by giant spiders. The overgrown arachnids are brought to life with CGI that still looks decent even by today’s standards, and it’s almost impossible not to wince whenever one of them gets a hold one of the movie’s characters.
Vampires – Priest (2011)
There are more vampire movies than you can shake a wooden stake at, so finding ways to keep the mythic monsters fresh is challenging for filmmakers. 2011’s Priest deftly resolves this problem with cutting-edge CGI, creating legions of hulking, feral blood suckers that look nothing like any other depiction of vampires.
Sando Aqua Monster – Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
While The Phantom Menace had its fair share of woeful CGI (looking at you, Jar Jar), some of its sequences boasted stunning animation. Case in point is the Sando Aqua Monster, a ferocious aquatic predator that inadvertently saves the movie’s heroes by eating the monstrous fish which is chasing them.
M3GAN – M3GAN (2023)
Little miss M3GAN took the Internet by storm when her now-iconic dance went viral. The homicidal doll was bought to life mostly through puppetry and a performance from young actress Amie Donald, but to fully create the uncanny-valley look of her face, CGI and computer effects were used to enhance her creepiness.
Jean Jacket – Nope (2022)
For most of Nope’s runtime, the mysterious UFO preying indiscriminately on man and beast alike is assumed to be some kind of alien spaceship. The eventual reveal – that it’s actually a predatory biological organism – is pure genius, which, coupled with some outstanding CGI, results in an unforgettable movie monster that’s as beautiful as it is terrifying.
Megalodon – The Meg (2018)
While megalodons have appeared in a number of schlocky B movies, it wouldn’t be until 2018 that the prehistoric monsters would get the CGI treatment they desperately deserved. With a budget of $130 million, the makers of The Meg were able to accurately convey the sheer, horrifying size of these mercifully extinct predators.
Dren – Splice (2009)
Dren – a genetically modified organism dreamed up by two ambitious bioengineers in 2009’s Splice – remains one of the most visually distinctive monsters in recent horror history. With bizarrely jointed legs, wings and a prehensile tail equipped with a stinger, Dren’s appearance is as hypnotic as it is unnerving.
Rathtars – Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rathtars are predatory aliens that look like giant meatballs with tentacles and teeth. If that doesn’t sound overly horrifying, that’s because J.J. Abrams instructed the VFX team to make them “family scary.” While they’re not the most terrifying of CGI monsters, they still look visually impressive.
Gingerbread Men – Krampus (2015)
While the eponymous villain in 2015’s Krampus was mostly brought to life with practical effects, the movie did still make heavy use of CGI. In what is arguably the movie’s best sequence, a squad of demonic gingerbread men launch a vicious assault on the beleaguered Engel family, wielding sharpened candy-canes and other Christmas-themed weaponry.
Aliens – Attack the Block (2015)
The directorial debut of Joe Cornish and the film that made John Boyega famous, 2015’s Attack the Block featured some of the most unique aliens ever seen onscreen. Ape-like and fluffy with glowing blue fangs, the aliens were achieved by having a stuntman run around like a gorilla while wearing a green-screen suit, with CGI used to overlay the creatures in post-production.
Dragons – Reign of Fire (2002)
Dragons are notoriously difficult to animate, given their vast scale and the complexity of their movements, which normally include both crawling and flying. This makes the animation in 2002’s Reign of Fire all the more impressive, with the winged fire-breathers presenting an impressively-terrifying visual spectacle.
Sarah – The Void (2016)
2016’s The Void pays homage to the monster movies of the 80s, giving some idea of what they might have looked like if they’d had today’s CGI at their disposal. The most impressive – and downright revolting – moment comes when a recently deceased woman named Sarah is resurrected by her grieving father; it’s safe to say he gets more than he bargained for.
Skull Crawlers – Kong: Skull Island (2017)
2017’s Kong: Skull Island, finally answers the question of what happened to the rest of King Kong’s species. The answer is the Skull Crawlers, a race of giant reptiles that look like a cross between a crocodile and a snake. While the monsters look undeniably scary, it’s the lumbering, undulating way they move that makes them truly horrifying.
Subsiders – Daybreakers (2009)
2009’s Daybreakers puts a dystopian twist on the vampire genre, with the movie set in a future where almost the entire population has turned into blood suckers. Without enough blood to sustain all of them, some of the vampires have devolved into Subsiders, hideous mutant-like creatures that can feed on humans and vampires alike.
Xenomorph – Alien: Covenant (2017)
The original Alien movie featured some groundbreaking practical effects, and its titular monster is often held up as an example of how to create scary creatures without animation. For 2017’s Alien: Covenant, however, director Ridley Scott decided to lean into modern filmmaking technology. While the Xenomorph looks much the same, its movements are much more menacing in CGI.
The doppelgänger – Annihilation (2018)
While not quite as viscerally terrifying as Annihilation’s mutant bear, the doppelgänger that appears during the movie’s climax is still deeply unsettling. The creature’s intentions – or whether it even has any – are completely mysterious, but its shifting, metallic skin and featureless face still make it incredibly sinister.
Galactus – Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
Fans of the Fantastic Four comics weren’t exactly thrilled with Rise of the Silver Surfer’s decision to turn Galactus into a gigantic cloud, but that doesn’t detract from how intimidating he is. Most of Galactus’ fear factor comes from his sheer size, with the comic book villain large enough to consume entire planets.
Godzilla – Godzilla (2014)
While Godzilla has stomped his way onto the silver screen almost 40 times, most of his movie incarnations have relied on puppets and practical effects. 2014’s Godzilla reboot marked the first time the world got to see the atomic lizard rendered in truly cutting edge CGI, with results as spectacular as they are terrifying.
Calvin – Life (2017)
Although it starts the movie as a harmless single celled organism, the Martian life-form known as Calvin grows at an exponential rate and is able to change the shape of its body at will. The CGI gets increasingly more impressive – and terrifying – as Calvin rapidly evolves into more complex forms.
Koba – Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
While the original Planet of the Apes movies had to make do with prosthetics and makeup, the 2011 reboot had the advantage of cutting edge CGI and a massive budget. It shows. While all the apes look fantastic, Koba stands out as a particularly impressive achievement, with incredible attention to detail allowing his animated visage to clearly display his simmering hatred.
Thanos – Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
The CGI in the Avengers franchise is so exceptional that many viewers assume Thanos is just Josh Brolin in makeup and prosthetics. In reality, the character is created entirely with CGI, with Brolin using a highly advanced motion capture rig to bring Thanos to life.
Heptapods – Arrival (2018)
While they turn out to be nowhere near as monstrous as their appearance suggests, Arrival’s towering aliens certainly present an impressive visual spectacle. While not monsters, special mention should also go towards the aliens’ space ships, which were also entirely constructed using digital effects.
T-1000 – Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Much of the T-1000’s menace can be attributed to Robert Patrick’s chilling performance, but the second installment of the Terminator franchise still makes expert use of CGI to deliver some utterly terrifying sequences. While the fact that the T-1000 can turn into liquid metal to pass through any obstacle is scary enough, things get truly nightmarish when it transforms its arms into metallic spikes.
Spinosaurus – Jurassic Park 3 (2001)
Jurassic Park’s T-Rex might get most of the attention, but the franchise actually boasts a much scarier CGI dino: the spinosaurus. Appearing in the third Jurassic Park movie, the spinosaurus is bigger, faster and fiercer than any of the park’s other creations, a point it capably proves by brutally slaying the T-Rex.
Fell-Beasts – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2018)
The nightmarish winged Fell-Beasts ridden by the Nazgûl are among the most horrifying creatures in the entire Lord of the Rings franchise. While a couple of close-up shots of the Fell Beasts haven’t aged particularly well, the sequences of them soaring through the skies still look excellent.
Predator – Prey (2022)
Much like Alien, the original Predator movie used exceptional practical effects, makeup and prosthetics to create a genuinely terrifying monster. 2022’s Prey, however, made full use of its $65 million budget to bring its alien hunter to life in cutting edge CGI, adding subtle details to its appearance that make it even more unworldly and hideous.
Shere Khan – The Jungle Book (2016)
2016’s reboot of The Jungle Book is a testament to how far CGI has come; the movie was almost entirely filmed in a warehouse, with the jungle and its non-human occupants later animated in. Most of the animals look almost photorealistic, making Shere Khan a much more formidable threat than he is in the 1967 original.
Carnage – Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
While Carnage isn’t the first Symbiote to appear onscreen, he’s arguably the most impressive. What he lacks in bulk he makes up for in raw, chaotic viciousness, moving at lightning-fast speeds as tendrils of flesh shoot out of his body. Whenever Carnage is on screen the results are, well, carnage, and he must have been a nightmare to animate.
Elephants – King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
It’s impossible to avoid making comparisons between the 300-foot elephants in 2017’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and the Mumakil from the third Lord of the Rings movie. At least in terms of CGI, the elephants come out on top, with the animation holding up equally well in long shots as well as closeups as the gargantuan beasts smash their way through the battlefield.
Harvester Robot – Terminator: Salvation (2009)
The Terminator franchise might have become an exercise in increasingly soulless cash-grabs, but at least it delivers a constant stream of ever-scarier CGI death-bots. The Harvester Robots from 2009’s Terminator: Salvation are arguably the most menacing of SkyNet’s minions, tirelessly hunting down and exterminating any humans it can find.
Dr. Caine – Hollow Man (2000)
Dr. Sebastian Caine – the villain of 2000’s Hollow Man – spends most of the movie invisible, which, for obvious reasons, doesn’t require a great deal of CGI. The scene in which Caine undergoes the experimental procedure to make himself invisible, however, displays some phenomenal VFX as the mad scientist’s skin, muscles, bones and organs sequentially vanish.
Mimics – Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
A race of horrifying aliens on a crusade to conquer the galaxy, Edge of Tomorrow’s Mimics provide an example of an onscreen monster that simply wouldn’t have been possible before the invention of CGI. Giant creatures with prehensile strands of sinew protruding from their bodies, the Mimics shown in the movie were created entirely with visual effects.
Azog – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Peter Jackson was roundly criticized for his over-reliance on VFX in 2012’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and its sequels, but the franchise did produce some truly impressive CGI spectacles. While Smaug’s animation was admittedly lackluster, the movie’s secondary villain – Azog the Defiler – was much more convincing.
Driller – Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
The Transformers franchise has uniformly outstanding VFX, with both heroes and villains rendered in gloriously cutting edge CGI. It’s the Decepticons, however, which tend to have the more visually interesting designs, particularly Driller, who goes on a highly destructive rampage in 2011’s Dark of the Moon.
Queen Sand-Gobbler – Love and Other Monsters (2016)
A surprise hit, 2016’s Love and Other Monsters boasts some of the best CGI in the history of cinema. While any of the of monsters encountered by the movie’s protagonists could justifiably be included here, the hideous Queen Sand-Gobbler takes the crown as the film’s most blood-curdling creature.
The fox – Antichrist (2009)
While not a monster in the traditional sense of the word, the fox in Lars Von Triers’ art-house horror flick Antichrist is still deeply unsettling. Fabricated entirely with CGI, the fox delivers a single, chilling line: “chaos reigns.” If the CGI hadn’t been so eerily realistic, the moment probably would have elicited laughs; instead, it elicits shudders.
Graboids – Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell (2018)
A comedy-horror masterpiece, 1990’s Tremors relies almost entirely on practical effects to create its subterranean monsters. While the straight-to-video sequels are unsurprisingly of a lesser quality, they do benefit from modern CGI, allowing them to make the predatory worm-like Graboids significantly more scary.
The Shark – Deep Blue Sea (1999)
Attempts to create convincing CGI sharks have been largely woeful (see: all the Jaws sequels), but Deep Blue Sea managed to pull it off in panic-inducing style. While the filmmakers did have animatronics built for some of the closeups, a lot of the more dynamic scenes – including the iconic sequence in which Samuel L. Jackson is chowed down on while delivering a rousing speech – were created entirely using VFX.
Cthulhu – Underwater (2020)
The Eldritch entities of H.P. Lovecraft’s horror stories are generally described as beyond human comprehension, which poses something of a problem when it comes to depicting them onscreen. While Underwater’s CGI Cthulhu isn’t quite incomprehensible, it’s certainly absolutely terrifying, and does a great job of instilling the sense of dread that pervades Lovecraft’s novels.
The robots – I, Robot (2004)
The very definition of uncanny, I, Robots’ humanoids are generally more creepy than outright terrifying. That changes near the end of the movie though, as the robots turn murderous, suddenly adopting a sinister red glow and displaying genuine hatred on their eerily expressive faces. I, Robots’ CGI was so groundbreaking that an entire documentary was made about it.
The aliens – Monsters (2010)
2010’s Monsters subverts monster movie tropes by rarely actually showing its titular extraterrestrials. This makes it all the more striking when they do finally appear, however. While you never get to see them in their entirety, the towering, tentacled parts that you do see are enough to make your blood run cold.
The Creature – Colossal (2016)
One of the strangers horror films ever made, 2016’s Colossal has a suitably weird CGI creature, which is used as a metaphor for the destructiveness of alcohol. Like 2006’s Host – another monster flick set in Korea – Colossal regularly shows its towering, horned beast in broad daylight, which is notoriously challenging for animators.
Aliens – The Tomorrow War (2021)
An engaging if somewhat derivative take on the alien invasion sub-genre, 2021’s The Tomorrow War contains some of the most impressive CGI extraterrestrials ever seen onscreen. Unlike the technologically advanced aliens of movies like The War of the Worlds, The Tomorrow War’s invaders are vicious, feral and horrifyingly animalistic.
Cave Troll – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Boromir’s exclamation of “they have a cave troll” immediately gets the audience wondering about what the dreaded creature will look like, and it doesn’t disappoint. A hulking mass of pale flesh, the cave troll’s lumbering movements are rendered to spectacular effect in CGI that looks still looks remarkably impressive over two decades after the film’s release.
