Last Updated on 8 October 2024
Creature Features are a subgenre of horror movies that, well, feature a creature(s). This includes movies that feature monsters, killer aliens, hostile animals or plants, or any other kind of menacing lifeform that poses a threat to the human characters of a film.
The following list is the Official Definitive List of the 300 best Creature Feature movies of all time.
I found 38 different ranked lists online of “best creature features or monster movies of all time” and pulled them all into Excel and merged them all to get this definitive compilation. See my Methodology page for the research process that was used, including links to all 38 lists that were averaged. Below is a checklist you can print to track which ones you’ve seen, followed by the ranked list with links to IMDb.
- Jaws (1975)
- Godzilla (1954)
- Alien (1979)
- The Thing (1982)
- Frankenstein (1931)
- Jurassic Park (1993)
- King Kong (1933)
- The Host (2006)
- The Fly (1986)
- Tremors (1990)
- Aliens (1986)
- Gremlins (1984)
- Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
- Cloverfield (2008)
- Predator (1987)
- Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
- The Mist (2007)
- The Descent (2005)
- The Birds (1963)
- Arachnophobia (1990)
- Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
- Them! (1954)
- A Quiet Place (2018)
- The Wolf Man (1941)
- Cujo (1983)
- Monsters, Inc. (2001)
- Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
- Pacific Rim (2013)
- Lake Placid (1999)
- The Evil Dead (1981)
- Anaconda (1997)
- Hellboy (2004)
- Nosferatu (1922)
- An American Werewolf in London (1981)
- The Blob (1958)
- Pitch Black (2000)
- The Shape of Water (2017)
- It Follows (2014)
- The Mummy (1999)
- Let the Right One In (2008)
- King Kong (2005)
- The Blob (1988)
- Deep Blue Sea (1999)
- The Mummy (1932)
- Attack the Block (2011)
- The Day of the Triffids (1963)
- The Babadook (2014)
- Cabin in the Woods (2011)
- Black Water (2007)
- Dracula (1931)
- The Monster Squad (1987)
- Shin Godzilla (2016)
- Clash of the Titans (1981)
- Jeepers Creepers (2001)
- Rogue (2007)
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
- Super 8 (2011)
- The Reef (2010)
- The Howling (1981)
- Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
- Troll Hunter (2010)
- It (2017)
- Mimic (1997)
- The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
- 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)
- Swamp Thing (1982)
- Nope (2022)
- The Faculty (1998)
- Starship Troopers (1997)
- It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)
- Piranha (1978)
- Dog Soldiers (2002)
- Open Water (2003)
- The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
- Rodan (1956)
- Van Helsing (2004)
- Re-Animator (1985)
- Night of the Lepus (1972)
- The Grey (2011)
- Tumbbad (2018)
- Alligator (1980)
- The Relic (1997)
- Leviathan (1989)
- Mothra (1961)
- Slither (2006)
- Dark Tide (2012)
- Island of Lost Souls (1932)
- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)
- Crawl (2019)
- Overlord (2018)
- Shaun of the Dead (2004)
- Underwater (2020)
- Nightbreed (1990)
- The Toxic Avenger (1984)
- Basket Case (1982)
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
- Pet Sematary (1989)
- Sputnik (2020)
- Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)
- Snakes on a Plane (2006)
- Halloween (1978)
- Son of Frankenstein (1939)
- The Wailing (2016)
- Godzilla (1998)
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
- War of the Worlds (2005)
- The Deadly Mantis (1957)
- Willard (2003)
- Splinter (2008)
- 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
- The Cleanse (2016)
- The Monster (2016)
- Eight Legged Freaks (2002)
- The Mummy (1959)
- Destroy All Monsters (1968)
- Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)
- Tarantula (1955)
- Jurassic World (2015)
- Creature (2011)
- Gamera: The Giant Monster (1965)
- Godzilla 1985 (1985)
- Independence Day (1996)
- Monsters (2010)
- Dragonslayer (1981)
- Kong: Skull Island (2017)
- The Stuff (1985)
- Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
- Alien vs. Predator (2004)
- Colossal (2016)
- The Breed (2006)
- Dark Was the Night (2014)
- Evolution (2001)
- Godzilla (2014)
- Cronos (1992)
- Willow (1988)
- The Black Scorpion (1957)
- The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
- Mon Mon Mon Monsters (2017)
- Dawn of the Dead (2004)
- The Fly (1958)
- Black Sheep (2006)
- District 9 (2009)
- Annihilation (2018)
- Evil Dead II (1987)
- Hellraiser (1987)
- The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
- Young Frankenstein (1974)
- Army of Darkness (1992)
- Silver Bullet (1985)
- Night of the Living Dead (1968)
- The Beast (1975)
- A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
- Cat People (1942)
- 28 Days Later (2002)
- Reign of Fire (2002)
- Society (1989)
- The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
- Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
- Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
- The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
- Dawn of the Dead (1978)
- The Tingler (1959)
- Zombieland (2009)
- Resident Evil (2002)
- Wolfen (1981)
- Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
- World War Z (2013)
- Backcountry (2014)
- Deep Rising (1998)
- The Mummy Returns (2001)
- Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
- House of Frankenstein (1944)
- The Ruins (2008)
- The Beast (1996)
- What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
- Near Dark (1987)
- From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
- In the Heart of the Sea (2015)
- The Lair of the White Worm (1988)
- The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
- Dead Alive (1992)
- Predators (2010)
- The Cave (2005)
- Piranha 3D (2010)
- Vampyr (1932)
- This Is the End (2013)
- Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (2002)
- The Lost Boys (1987)
- Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
- Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
- The Killer Snakes (1974)
- Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
- Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
- Godzilla vs. Mothra: The Battle for Earth (1992)
- Congo (1995)
- Feast (2005)
- Horror of Dracula (1958)
- The Brood (1979)
- Day of the Dead (1985)
- King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963)
- Fright Night (1985)
- Shark Night (2011)
- The Return of Godzilla (1984)
- Razorback (1984)
- The Valley of Gwangi (1969)
- Train to Busan (2016)
- The Shallows (2016)
- Curse of the Demon (1957)
- Night of the Creeps (1986)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
- Quarantine (2008)
- Werewolves Within (2021)
- Creepshow (1982)
- It Chapter Two (2019)
- Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
- Black Sunday (1960)
- Signs (2002)
- I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
- Prophecy (1979)
- The Happening (2008)
- The War of the Gargantuas (1966)
- The Thing from Another World (1951)
- Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
- Gorgo (1961)
- Mysterious Island (1961)
- Blade (1998)
- Into the Grizzly Maze (2015)
- The People Under the Stairs (1991)
- 47 Meters Down (2017)
- Reptilicus (1961)
- The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
- Zombie (1979)
- The Beyond (1981)
- The Dream Catcher (1999)
- The Suicide Squad (2021)
- Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
- Grindhouse (2007)
- The Pyramid (2014)
- Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
- The Hallow (2015)
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
- I Am Legend (2007)
- Bait (2012)
- Black Sabbath (1963)
- Warm Bodies (2013)
- Splice (2009)
- Orca (1977)
- Martin (1977)
- Primeval (2007)
- Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
- Silent Hill (2006)
- Altered States (1980)
- Boggy Creek (2010)
- Jurassic Park III (2001)
- The Last Man on Earth (1964)
- Wind Walkers (2015)
- Into the Blue (2005)
- Komodo (1999)
- Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
- Leviathan (2014)
- Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
- I, Frankenstein (2014)
- Event Horizon (1997)
- Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)
- The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
- Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004)
- Prey (2007)
- Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
- Willow Creek (2013)
- Animal (2014)
- Cemetery Man (1994)
- Mega Piranha (2010)
- Let Me In (2010)
- Piranhaconda (2012)
- Night of the Comet (1984)
- Planet Terror (2007)
- Unnatural (2015)
- Crocodile (2000)
- Dead & Buried (1981)
- Wolf Children (2012)
- Zombeavers (2014)
- Nightlight (2015)
- 28 Weeks Later (2007)
- Prometheus (2012)
- The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)
- Critters (1986)
- Silverhide (2015)
- Thirst (2009)
- Ginger Snaps (2000)
- Lake Effect (2015)
- Demons (1985)
- Lake Placid vs. Anaconda (2015)
- Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003)
- Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)
- Exists (2014)
- The Hunger (1983)
- Jurassic City (2015)
- Lifeforce (1985)