10 Creepy Creature Features – Ranked

Welcome to Ranking Horror where we do nothing but rank horror movies. If you like listicles and are looking for your next great horror movie, stick around. This week we have checked out 10 Enjoyable Cryptid Themed Horror Movies and 10 Killer Animal Horror Movies. Today we are keeping that theme going as we check out 10 Creepy Creature Features.

There have been hundreds upon hundreds of creature features over the years. Many of which are among the best horror movies in history. It’s something of a fading trope, though, when it comes to the past few years. You see less and less of these movies with directors far more keen to tap into other horror concepts like vampires and zombies.

With this in mind, today we are bringing you 10 Creepy Creature Features from the past 20 years. All of these movies are excellent and some of them are seriously overlooked. I think there is a very good chance you will find something new to enjoy right here. Without further ado, let’s take a look at 10 Creepy Creature Features.

10. Pandorum (2009) – Space Sickness

Why it Ranked: This is one of those movies critics were pretty unenthusiastic about but fans really enjoyed. Strangely enough, I never hear people talk about Pandorum anymore. A fact which is rather strange given its fantastic cast and legitimately great mutant creature designs. Still, it was a box office bomb so that probably explains why it goes under the radar. Pandorum is, almost, a space station version of The Descent and it works pretty well. Unfortunately, the story is incredibly bloated and goes in some seriously stupid directions. A fact which undermines some of the more engrossing sci-fi horror goodness. Still worth checking out, though.

Synopsis: The story follows a pair of spaceship crew members who wake up after a long hyper sleep. Only to find the ship abandoned except for some strange mutant creatures that begin hunting them.

Where to Watch: Amazon (Rent/Buy), Tubi (US)

9. Man Vs (2015) – Survival of the Fittest

Why it Ranked: Man Vs. is an interesting combination of traditional movie and found footage movie from 2015. Some terrible CGI really undermines just how effective Man Vs. manages to be for much of its length. The whole survival show stuff works really well and the moments leading up to the last twenty minutes are legitimately quite scary. Sure, there is a bit too much of a hint of Predator about the events that take place but it is easy to buy into thanks to our protagonist’s isolation. If you can scrub away how bad it looks in parts, this is a really interesting take on the creature feature formula of old.

Synopsis: It follows the story of a survival expert being dropped into the middle of nowhere to film scenes for a television show. Everything begins to go drastically wrong when it becomes clear that something is with him in the wilderness and it isn’t friendly.

Where to Watch: Freevee, Tubi (US)

8. Sweetheart (2019) – Island Isolation

Why it Ranked: J.D. Dillard directs this movie about a woman washing up on an uninhabited island, only to realise that something is hunting her during the night. If Castaway, sans the brilliant Tom Hanks, doesn’t sound appealing to you, you may have a difficult time making it to the good parts of Sweetheart. Much of the movie is a simple survival isolation story but once the horror kicks in things do get better. It probably goes in a direction that some might not be expecting. But, for a very unique take on creature horror, you could do a lot worse than Sweetheart.

Synopsis: After a shipwreck, Jenn finds herself alone on a small tropical island. She soon discovers that a malevolent force rises from the ocean every night to hunt, forcing her into a desperate battle for survival.

Where to Watch: Netflix

7. Splice (2009) – Playing God

Why it Ranked: Splice is a fantastically underrated horror movie from 2009. Directed by Vincenzo Natali, it follows a pair of scientists who successfully splice together the DNA of multiple animals to create a strangely beautiful, and aggressive, creature that they call Dren. This movie takes a fair bit of flack from fans as some of the decisions made by the characters are beyond farcical. If you can push that poor writing to one side, however, you can really appreciate the unique plot, interesting creature design, and some seriously tense moments that work incredibly well. Not perfect by any stretch but very watchable.

Synopsis: Two genetic engineers hope to achieve fame by successfully splicing together human and animal DNA. What results is a hybrid creature that develops at an accelerated rate, eventually turning into a deadly nightmare.

Where to Watch: Amazon (Rent/Buy)

6. Underwater (2020) – Pressure Point

Why it Ranked: Kristen Stewart stars in this movie that is almost great but stumbles a bit on a number of occasions. Clearly paying tribute to earlier claustrophobic creature horror movies like Alien, William Eubank’s Underwater gets right into the action and keeps things going throughout its runtime. There is plenty of underwater anxiety for sufferers of Thalassophobia and enough thrills to keep the rest of us entertained, too. Really decent stuff.

Synopsis: A group of deep sea researchers working at the Mariana trench find themselves in a fight for survival after an earthquake damages their facility. They soon realise that the depths hide something utterly terrifying.

Where to Watch: Disney+, Hulu

5. The Ritual (2017) – Nordic Nightmare

Why it Ranked: The Ritual is a brilliant British horror movie by director David Bruckner and, somehow, still gets overlooked quite a lot. The creature stuff doesn’t come in until way later in the movie but the parts leading up to it are full of tension. The forest feels suffocating and there are some brilliant scares throughout. It should probably be pointed out that the creature design here is truly terrifying, as well. One of the best in any of the movies on this list. The Ritual is fantastic.

Synopsis: A group of friends head into the forests of Sweden to honour their late friend on a camping trip, little realising that they are about to uncover a truly ancient evil hidden deep within the forest.

Where to Watch: Netflix

4. The Descent (2005) – Cave Crawlers

Why it Ranked: Neil Marshall’s 2005 horror hit The Descent features some of the best creature designs ever in horror. The movie manages to create a ton of atmosphere and suspense purely out of its location, with the claustrophobic confines of the cave system turning the tension up to 10. When the girls encounter the creatures for the first time, that tension is taken to a whole new level. Featuring some of the scariest moments in a modern horror movie, The Descent is still essential viewing and one of the greatest Creature Features of the past 20 years.

Synopsis: A group of friends head on a trip to the Appalachian mountains to explore an uncharted cave system. The friends find themselves at the mercy of hideous cave dwelling creatures after getting lost.

Where to Watch: Amazon (Rent/Buy), Tubi (US)

3. Cloverfield (2008) – Street Level Kaiju

Why it Ranked: Cloverfield is one of those movies that received a bunch of attention when it released but has since gone under the radar a bit. Filmed in a found footage style, Cloverfield takes the Godzilla experience down to street level, placing the viewer as an observer to the chaos and carnage caused by the creature. It is completely effective and genuinely tense in parts. The relentless action and nail biting scenes of escape stand out as some of the most captivating in found footage horror history. It’s worth keeping in mind that this movie is more than a little guilty of the whole shaky cam thing. If you can get past that, however, you will find an awesome movie.

Synopsis: Filmed from the perspective of a personal camcorder, the story follows a group of friends attempting a rescue mission in New York City after an enormous creature attacks.

Where to Watch: Paramount+, Amazon (Rent/Buy)

2. Prey (2022) – Back to Basics

Why it Ranked: The Predator universe has had its fair share of flops. Prey, however, is not one of them. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg and starring Amber Midthunder, this movie takes things back to basics. Somewhere after the first movie, directors forgot that the best way to make a Predator movie scary was to set it in the wild and have a single predator taking on a group of people. Prey remembers that and is all the better for it. Characters that you actually care about and action that is both tense and exhilarating are key to this movie’s success.

Synopsis: Set in the Comanche Nation 300 years ago, the story follows a skilled warrior who finds herself in a fight for survival against a mysterious alien creature that has begun to hunt her tribe.

Where to Watch: Disney+, Hulu

1. The Host (2006) – River Mutant

Why it Ranked: We are off to South Korea for our movie at number 1 – 2006’s The Host. Directed by the man who would go on to direct Oscar winner Parasite, Bong Joon Ho, The Host manages to accomplish something that is quite rare in horror. It manages to be tense, atmospheric, comedic and, even, sad, all while offering up one of the better creature designs in horror history. This is a difficult movie to place into one category because it manages to accomplish so much. Utterly satisfying and by far one of the best creature features of the past 20 years. Don’t wait way too long; go and watch The Host right now.

Synopsis: A horrific creature emerges from Seoul’s Han River and begins claiming victims. When a young girl is snatched away, her family attempts a desperate rescue mission against the government’s wishes.

Where to Watch: Amazon (Rent/Buy), Hoopla

Monster Mania

There we have it, 10 creature features from the past 20 years that prove there is still plenty of life in the monster movie genre. Whether you are looking for deep sea leviathans or Nordic deities, there is something here to satisfy your craving for claws and teeth. It is a subgenre that relies heavily on design, and as you can see from this list, when the design is right, the horror is unforgettable.

I’ll be back soon with more lists. In the meantime, why not check out some of our other creature-related rankings? Stay spooky.

👹 Quick Picks: Creature Feature Essentials

• 🏆 The All-Rounder: The Host (2006)
• 👻 The Modern Classic: The Descent (2005)
• 🧠 The High Concept: Splice (2009)
• 👹 The Folk Horror: The Ritual (2017)
• 🧟 The Sci-Fi Survival: Prey (2022)