The term beautiful Monster might be considered an oxymoron to some but in the realms of horror and fantasy, it is a very real thing. It’s easy to be a menacing maniac in a mask, but it takes true skill to mix the beautiful with the grotesque.
Many monsters have come a long way from the black and white days of the 1930s, and some have even gone on to become romantic leads. Whether they are beings of flesh and blood or slime and scales, these creatures from the silver screen have redefined standards and proven that beastly can be beautiful.
The Bride of Frankenstein (Bride of Frankenstein)
What better way to start than with one of the first female monsters in cinematic history? Unlike her previously built companion, the Bride of Frankenstein is pale, beautiful, and almost alien-like. Her hair alone is as iconic as she is.
Played by the beautiful Elsa Lanchester, many monsters on this list 0we their standing all to her. Simply put, the bride redefined what a monster could look like, and how hypnotic they could be.
Indominus Rex (Jurassic World)
On the other end of the monstrous spectrum, Jurassic World brought fans the incredible Indominus Rex. While this massive mutant lizard might not be beautiful in the conventional sense, it is beautifully and wonderfully creative.
How does one come up with a bigger and better predator than the Tyrannosaurus Rex of the originals? You build one. The Indominus Rex is a hybrid of every apex predator of the Jurassic age, making it one of the most dangerous creatures on this list. There’s something uniquely beautiful about that.
Smaug (The Hobbit)
In the original book by Tolkien, Smaug is both beautiful and terrifying, a concept which Peter Jackson captures perfectly in his Hobbit trilogy. Although he might be considered a bit basic by some standards, this fearsome fire drake is as incredible as his reputation describes.
Granted, another prominent factor in his appearance and persona comes from the great Benedict Cumberbatch, but from his armor-like scales to his hurricane-making wings, Smaug is everything a perfect dragon should be and more.
Deepthroat (Hellraiser Series)
She might only be one of Pinhead’s minions, but longtime fans of Clive Barker’s work will note that the original entity from his book, The Hellbound Heart, was 100% woman. Looking past the giant gash in her throat, Deepthroat is a punk rocker’s dream girl.
It takes a lot of skill and effort to make a demon beautiful, but the Hellraiser series manages to do it. An intriguing character, but one that definitely prefers the rough stuff.
Ahmanet (The Mummy)
2017’s The Mummy was considered something of an absolute train wreck. But one thing it did arguably do right was give audiences a different spin on a familiar character. Instead of the familiar Imhotep, viewers met the vicious Princess Ahmanet.
Ahmanet might be a scantily clad sorceress, but behind that fair Egyptian beauty lies a cruel demonic entity. The real monster lies beneath, and her four-eyed form truly does capture that notion.
The Alien Queen (Aliens)
The original xenomorph will forever be the poster child for sci-fi horror, but the alien queen scene in the second film of the series will forever live in the shadows of many viewers’ nightmares. Honestly, how can one not?
The Queen is not the average xenomorph, she is a massive insectoid horror continuously breeding more carnivorous offspring. No wonder such a powerhouse like Sigourney Weaver was called in.
Marya Zaleska (Dracula’s Daughter)
Jumping back to the classic days of the Universal Monsters, in the only direct sequel Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, viewers were introduced to countess Zaleska in Dracula’s Daughter. Gloria Holden is just as chilling and hypnotic as Lugosi before her.
She might be reluctant about her vampirism, but she is just as dark and mysterious as her famous father. She also doesn’t discriminate with her victims, persuing both male and female prey, hinting at her still predatory nature.
The Amphibian Man (The Shape of Water)
When it comes to beautiful monsters, Guillermo del Toro owns the market. It isn’t every day a wet, scaly, sea monster from the Amazon gets to play the romantic lead, but Del Toro made it happen in The Shape of Water.
The film was more than worthy of its Oscars, but it also changed the perception of both fantasy and horror films. It brought a new perspective to the concept of unconventional beauty, and it should be praised for breaking down such unconsidered barriers.
The Faun (Pan’s Labyrinth)
For something a little more traditional in del Toro’s lineup, take a journey into Pan’s Labyrinth. This faun might be far from Narnia, but his design and presence bring an otherworldly charm and sophistication to his character.
His nature might be ambiguous, taking Ophelia into the Labyrinth whether for good or evil, but at the heart of it all, he is a benevolent ancient being as old and as beautiful as nature itself. He is truly a prime example of how dark and beautiful the genre can be.
Death (Hellboy 2: The Golden Army)
There have been many grim reapers throughout film and television, but the most visually impressive of them all has to be the angel of death presented in Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. The thousand-eyed wings, the heart of dust, the black shroud, all these elements come together to create a perfectly marvelous monster.
Though Death is intimidating and mysterious, he never comes across as evil. If anything, he’s a manifestation of a natural part of life, though perhaps with an appearance that can come across as either beguiling or nightmarish.
