10 Best Monsters From Standalone Sci-Fi Movies, Ranked

Science fiction movies have had countless monsters that have enthralled and terrified filmgoers for generations. While many of the most famous sci-fi monsters, like the Xenomorph or Predator, have continued to appear in sequels and ongoing franchises, other terrifying creatures left their mark in standalone movies. The one-and-done nature of these creatures made them all the more horrifying as the impact of their initial reveal was never lessened by subsequent appearances in later films.

The best monsters from standalone sci-movies dated right back to the 1950s as contemporary political fears led to movies that encapsulated society’s growing distrust and disillusionment from one another. However, these monsters only became more fearsome as time went on due to the increased potential of visual effects and the power of modern filmmaking styles. There were just so many monsters from standalone movies that have frightened, horrified, and shocked science fiction audiences.

10

Mimics

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Edge of Tomorrow was a fantastic Tom Cruise sci-fi movie that blended intense military action with the repeating time-loop narrative structure of Groundhog Day and featured one of the most compelling movie monster species in the Mimics. These were an extraterrestrial species that came to Earth and waged war against humanity and, in Edge of Tomorrow, Cruise’s character of Major William Cage was tasked with facing them time and time again. As an alien race that operated with a hive mind, Mimics were able to rewind time when they were killed and create temporal loops.

As incredibly large brooding creatures that were hugely agile and possessed numerous tentacles, Mimics would often camaflouge themselves only to emerge and take out their unsuspecting prey. With three connected castes known as Drones, Alpghas, and Omegas, the Mimic species was truly a force to be reckoned with. While plans for an Edge of Tomorrow sequel have been festering for the past 10 years, for now, Mimics stand as one of the best monsters from standalone sci-fi movies.

9

Pod People

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

During the 1950s in the United States, McCarthyism was at its peak and many were terrified by the spread of communism. This deep fear found its cinematic personification in Invasion of the Body Snatchers as the Pod People seen in the film acted as sinister duplicates of once upstanding members of society. The alien race seen in Invasion of the Body Snatchers assimilated the physical traits, memories, and personalities of sleeping people and replaced them with duplicates devoid of human emotion.

While the concept behind Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which was based on a novel by Jack Finney, was terrifying, it became even more insightful when considering the era of political unrest which the film was produced during. Invasion of the Body Snatchers was made during an era of paranoia and was intrinsically linked to an anxiety around society being infiltrated with undesirable elements. While the alien monsters seen in Invasion of the Body Snatchers looked just like everyday people, they represented so much more.

8

Audrey II

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Although Little Shop of Horrors has its origin in the 1960 film version, the 1982 horror comedy musical version later eclipsed it as the most famous iteration of the story. Telling the tale of a flower shop owner who discovered a sentient carnivorous plant that feasted on human blood, Little Shop of Horrors was a hilarious dark tale that included one of the best sci-fi movie monsters. The plant, which was named Audrey II after its owner Seymour’s wife, came from outer space and continued to grow larger as it fed on human blood and eventually meat.

As Audrey II grew larger in size and strength it even developed the ability to talk as it twisted Seymour to its own sinister needs. While Little Shop of Horrors featured lots of campy musical fun, the monster that was Audrey II was so also a serious foe to be reckoned with. Audrey II became even more terrifying as, in the original ending, the plant was seen toppling buildings, destroying cities, and with a plan to take over and destroy the entire world.

7

The Aliens

Signs (2002)

The unnamed alien species seen in M. Night Shyamalan’s sci-fi horror Signs had a mysterious and terrifying presence as they invaded Earth in this highly suspenseful and chilling film. As tall, humanoid creatures, the aliens in Signs had a menacing camouflage ability that allowed them to remain unseen throughout most of their invasion. With spikes protruding from their wrists that expelled poisonous gas, they mastered space travel and made their way to Earth to utilize humans for some unknown purpose.

While the alien creatures in Signs appeared to be unstoppable forces of evil, they did possess one major weakness that saved humanity from utter destruction. Luckily, the aliens were averse to water and after the Hess family seen in Signs discovered this, they were able to defeat them and kill the terrifying creatures. Signs explored ideas around faith, religion, and the end of the world, and the alien creatures featured in the movie addressed humanity’s innate fears about the potentially devastating consequences of extraterrestrial life.

6

The Merman

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

The sci-fi horror spectacle of The Cabin the Woods was full of countless terrifying movie monsters but considering the sheer sinister presence the Merman stood out among all of them. A half-human half-fish with flabby blue skin, the Merman in The Cabin the Woods was in stark contrast to the image of pure radiant beauty that Mermaids were usually portrayed as. With sharp teeth, unkempt black hair, and a frightening blowhole on its back, the Merman felt like it had more in common with a shark than it did a human due to the fin on its back.

The Merman recalled other amphibious humanoids seen in films like The Creature from the Black Lagoon and he appeared just once in the film near the end of the purge. The Cabin in the Woods made use of practical effects and creating the Merman was reportedly the most difficult monster of all (via EW) as the filmmakers wanted his reveal to be one of the most effective moments in the entire film. All the hard work paid off as the Merman was one of the most memorable monsters in The Cabin in the Woods.

5

The Mutant Bear

Annihilation (2018)

Director Alex Garland’s psychological cosmic horror nightmare hellscape Annihilation featured plenty of terrifying creatures with none being more fear-inducing than the mutant bear. Annihilation explored a group of scientists who entered a zone called The Shimmer which featured mutating plants and animals due to an alien presence. This horrific presence had the unfortunate consequence of turning the already fearsome creature of a bear into something even more horrifying.

The mutant bear seen in Annihilation was a large, hulking figure that resembled the American black bear but instead featured hollowed eyes, sharp expanded teeth, and a slightly skeleton-like face. A truly horrific sight, the mutant bear stalked the group of scientists and the scene where it began its attack was the most terrifying the entirety of Annihilation. A real glimpse into the awe-inspiringly frightening potential of The Shimmer, the mutant bear was a petrifying foe.

4

The Zombies

World War Z (2013)

The sci-fi action horror movie World War Z featured some truly terrifying fast-moving zombies as they exhibited extreme violence in their quest to attack all living things. A truly horrific set of movie monsters, the zombies seen in World War Z had the agility needed to run with ferocity at their would-be victims. With behavior that appeared heavily based on animal characteristics, the zombies seen in World War Z were much more difficult to overcome than the average undead antagonist.

The most shocking aspect of the zombies in World War Z was their ability to work as a unit and mound together to create a pillar. This ability allowed the zombies to overcome enormous barriers and defined them as a practically unstoppable force. With a drive to infect any human they see on sight, the zombies in World War Z oozed a black tar-like substance that contained their zombie-causing virus.

3

Cthulhu

The Call of Cthulhu (2005)

The cosmic horror of the writer H.P. Lovecraft, more so than any other writer, represented the incomprehensible terror of the unknown in the universe. This was encapsulated through the creature known as Cthulhu from his book The Call of Cthulhu and its 2005 film adaptation. Considered one of the Great Old Ones, Cthulhu was a central figure in Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos who possessed an octopus-like head, a scaly body, claws, and wings. The influence of Cthulhu has extended far beyond the work of Lovecraft and the monster has appeared in various media across from cosmic horror genre.

For a long time, The Call of Cthulhu and its representation of the monster was thought to be unfilmable until the release of the silent movie adaptation in 2005. Despite this perception, The Call of Cthulhu was a creative success that maintained the essence of the original novel as well as its tense and terrifying atmosphere. While the Cthulhu creature was mostly unseen throughout the film, its sinister presence and overwhelming nature always worked best in a limited capacity.

2

The Creatures Of The Mist

The Mist (2007)

Humans have always feared what they cannot know, and this was especially true for the creatures seen in The Mist. As one of the best Stephen King movie adaptations, The Mist reveled in the mysterious horror that its foggy atmosphere created as a group of survivors tried to discover what had caused their town to become overwhelmed with a strange and sinister mist. Throughout The Mist the tension only continued to grow as the creatures hidden by the fog were revealed to be from another dimension that sciences had unwittingly opened a portal to.

As a seemingly unstoppable force, the father and son at the heart of the story of The Mist appeared to be doomed to death by the creatures. By the time the largest of the creatures were revealed it seemed like all hope was lost and, in a controversial horror movie ending, many of the survivors chose to end their lives rather than face the monsters. The creatures from The Mist were some of the most terrifying movie monsters ever presented on screen and little-known details surrounding their existence only made them more fearsome.

1

The Thing

The Thing (1982)

The best monster from a stand-alone science fiction movie was The Thing from John Carpenter’s The Thing. A truly fearsome and hostile hive-minded shape-shifting creature from outer space, The Thing could assimilate other life forms to survive and would take on their physical characteristics to survive and spread. Once The Thing had assimilated an organism it could imitate them exactly right down to their memories, mannerisms, and all of their traits.

The abilities of The Thing made it a truly horrifying creature in John Carpenter’s film as the other characters had no way of knowing which of their colleagues had been taken over by the alien. This led to intense distrust among the Alaskan scientists as they turned on one another and became overwhelmed by paranoia and conflict. The unknown nature of The Thing meant that it could have potentially spread to hundreds of thousands of other species across the universe before it came to Earth.

Source: EW