The 80s and early 90s were a good time for deadly creatures, with franchises like Alien, Predator, Tremor, Species and many more. The Wolfman represents a revival of the mythical deadly creature, continuing the return of the genre with some new twists that we’ve seen over the past couple years, e.g. with Cloverfield and The Mist.

Which are the deadliest creatures on film so far? And will Wolfman enter the hall of fame?

10. Maritime Creatures: Jaws (1975)
Who doesn’t remember those few notes, which became one of the greatest suspense themes in the history of cinema?
Although Jaws was not the first deadly creature in cinematic history, it was one of the most popular and influential, and really pushed the genre of horror-thrillers to a new level.
Deadliness Level: 8/10

9. Monster-Type Creatures: Cloverfield (2008)
Based on a long tradition of monsters like Godzilla, who aren’t aliens yet aren’t based on actual animals either, Cloverfield refined the sheer horror such monsters cause us into one of the great successes of 2008.

The shaky-realistic camerawork, the viral buzz, and the fact that the actual monster is hardly visible throughout the movie, only enhanced the effect this movie had on audiences – who might previously have felt that the deadly creatures genre was dying from lack of new ideas in the 21st century.
Deadliness Level: 9/10

8. Subterranean Creatures: Tremors (1990)
Here’s something creepy: Worms!

If we thought deadly creatures could come from outer space, from isolated islands and from the bottoms of oceans, now we know they can also come from underground, which means they could be right below us even now…

This dark horror comedy quickly gained cult classic status, and became a franchise with no less than two sequels, one prequel and a TV series.
Deadliness Level: 6/10

7. Amphibious Creatures: The Host (2006)
Here we have, for a change, a creature that isn’t that huge: Basically it’s the size of a small truck. But the saying that size doesn’t matter proves itself once again in this movie. The creature’s relatively small size doesn’t prevent it from chasing, mutilating and eating everyone in sight.

The film garnered critical praise and selections as one of the best of 2006-2007, even in the high-brow magazine Cahiers du Cinema. Clearly, creature films do not have to be trashy or silly in order to be good.
Deadliness Level: 8/10

6. Extraterrestrial Creatures: Alien (1979)
It was either this, or Species. Would you believe that a gorgeous naked blond can lose, and to a slimy giant cockroach at that? It just goes to show that Alien is probably the most well-known and beloved franchises of deadly creatures, with the first Alien considered a masterpiece and a breakthrough in cinematic sci-fi-horror.

Its success spawned novels, toys, comic books, video games and several sequels/prequels. Not to mention a spin-off series in which the deadly creature from Alien battles the deadly creature from Predator, to the extreme joy (or sadness) of all who love this genre. There is a winner in this battle: while a prequel to Alien was rumored, a new sequel to Predator is about to be released this year, Predators.
Deadliness Level: 9/10

5. Cute, Fluffy Creatures: Black Sheep (2006)
A lovely green meadow. Fluffy white sheep eating grass. A sense of tranquility surrounds you… until you feel your leg being eaten!

That is, more or less, the new interpretation of deadly creatures that Black Sheep brings us.

Why use all sorts of weird aliens, underwater monsters and creepy mutants when you can use real-life, regular creatures like sheep? In this movie, it’s the contradiction between the “cute” nature and look of the sheep and the actual things it does that makes us laugh and be scared at the same time. Now how about a film about a manic were-poodle?
Deadliness Level: 5/10

4. Arachnid Creatures: Arachnophobia (1990)
Many housewives and housemen readers of this post will probably agree: Spiders and other domestic insects can be much more frightening than your average gigantic monster or evil alien.
The reason? Spiders actually exist!

It’s a lot easier to tell yourself “It’s just a movie” when it deals with creatures that you don’t meet in real life. But when you encounter spiders on a daily basis, it might seem a little too… well… plausible.
Deadliness Level: 7/10

3. Plant Creatures: Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Newsflash: A creature does not have to be animal-like or even mobile in order to be deadly.

The proof is in Little Shop of Horrors. The greatness of this particularly deadly creature is that it uses its psychological and persuasive abilities instead of its physical abilities. In this movie you will not see screaming people running from unrecognizable beasts, but rather the victims coming to the creature themselves.

Needless to say the movie is more sci-fi comedy than horror per se, but we can’t discriminate just because this deadly creature is a plant!
Deadliness Level: 6/10

2. Unidentified Creatures: The Smoke Monster (Lost, 2004)

“Watching Lost is what I imagine it might be like to be trapped inside Paula Abdul’s brain,” Jimmy Kimmel once said, and indeed, recent happenings in the opening of season 6 of Lost didn’t totally reveal the mystery that surrounded one of the most bizarre deadly creatures in TV history. At times it was even a little ridiculous to see a group of tough grownups running away from a black trail of smoke, but hey, that’s what made Lost so likeable, no? Actually no, but it is better than turning a wheel that removes an island. Anyway, it was definitely an original deadly creature, one I’m not sure will have a successor (nor do we really want it to have one…).
Deadliness Level: 10/10

1. Half-Human Half-Creature: The Wolfman (2010)
This upcoming movie is a remake of a horror classic from 1941, starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving.

The trailer indicates a stylized period piece that could really advance the genre on a few levels from what we’ve been used to in the recent years. Rather than a trashy horror flick created mainly for teens where bodies pile up as the story progresses, perhaps we’ll get something a bit more complex. Of course, we’ll have to wait until the movie is released to see if these guesses are correct.
Deadliness Level: ?

Did we miss your favorite deadly creature? And what do you think Wolfman will be like? Comment and let us know!

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