Horror can be a very subjective genre, as what's scary to some might not be scary to others. However, that means there is almost no end to the various types of monsters horror movies have used to try to scare us over the years. Today we wanted to take a look back at the last decade in particular to showcase some of the scariest monsters we've seen in horror movies.
RELATED:10 Scariest Horror Movie Monsters That We Never Actually Saw On Screen
It's important to note that we won't be including ghosts, zombies, vampires, or werewolves despite the many amazingreleases of the last decade that featured these equally terrifying creatures of the nightbut will instead betrying to focus on specifically monstrous monsters that terrified us in all kinds of ways.
LILY THE SUCCUBUS - V/H/S (2012)

This decade saw a number of indie/low-budget successes when it came to horror, especially with a few of the anthology films that were released.V/H/Sfeatured a few terrifying found-footage shorts from horror directors, includingAmateur Night from director David Bruckner (more from him soon).
The short followed a group of friends trying to pick up girls so they can film them inappropriately in a hotel room that night. However, one of the girls soon revealed her true horrifying nature as a succubus. Lily(played by Hannah Fierman) would return in Bruckner's filmSiREN, which would expand on the shortand somehow made Lily the Succubus even more terrifying.
RED-FACED DEMON - INSIDIOUS (2010)

Director James Wan followed up his horror hitSaw withthe less gory but still terrifyingInsidious, which would launch a franchise of its own and lead to Wan's eventualdevelopment of The Conjuring franchise. The film was best-known for its liberal use of jump scares, but also featured a terrifying demon from the astral dimension known as The Further.
RELATED:10 Scariest 2000s Sci Fi Movie Monsters, Ranked
This Red-Faced Demon was discovered to be the malicious entity attempting to take overthe body of the lost astral dreamer, Dalton Lambert. His first few appearances in the film are some of the most terrifying, and when Dalton's father Josh personally encounters him in The Further, we were admittedly scared out of our seats.
EASTER BUNNY - HOLIDAYS (2016)

2016 saw the release ofHolidays, another horror anthology with each short film based on a usually happy and positive holiday like Christmas, Halloween, or Mother's Day. Writer/director Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact,At the Devil's Door) brought his unique take toEaster, a short film that has now irreparably tainted theuntaintable.
Easter focused on a household at night as it gets a visit from the Easter Bunny. However, we soon learn alongside a young girl that the Easter Bunny's connection to Christianity (the crucifixion of Jesus, specifically) is horrifyinglyrealas the monstrous true form and curse of the Easter Bunny is revealed.
THE BABADOOK (2014)

Fans didn't quite know what to think of 2014's surprise hitThe Babadook, but we were unquestionably scared by the unique monster that shares its name with the title of the movie and the odd, haunting book that terrorizes the traumatized Vanek family.
RELATED:15 Underrated Horror Movies from the 1980s You Have to See
Looking past the troubling psychological scarsand trauma the widowed mother and her son are dealing with, the Babadook as a pop-up storybook monster that will haunt those who know of its existence forever is horrifying. And if you've heard it say its name in that creepy cracking voice you'll undoubtedly agree with us.
THE ENTITY - IT FOLLOWS (2015)

David Robert Mitchell's 2015 horrorIt Follows is a bit hard to categorize as a film, and the film's "monster" is equally unquantifiable, though that doesn't make the haunting entity any less terrifying. The film introduces the following entity after the main character is passed the curse through sexual activity and begins being followed by something.
We soon learn the murderous entity is able to transform into anyone while it follows the holder of the curse, with little rhyme or reason behind which form it adopts.It is also only visible to those who are currently affected by the curse, though it can absolutely affect anyone who gets in its way, making it not only terrifying but incredibly deadly.
GRETCHEN - XX (2017)

One of the more recent horror anthologies followed in the footsteps of films likeThe ABC's of Deathby focusing on the directors behind the camera and giving them the freedom and spotlight to share their stories.2017'sXXfeatured short horror films from female directors and has even led to the development of a TV series with a similar focus.
RELATED:11 Most Exciting Horror Movies Coming In 2020
Writer/director Roxanne Benjamin (Southbound,Body at Brighton Rock) introduced Gretchen intheDon't Fall segment, as one of four students at a protected nature site is killed by an evil monster. That creature then wears the skin of Gretchen to violently kill the group, with the final shot of the Gretchen/monster climbing downthe cliff lasting well past the credits.
ANNABELLE - THE CONJURING (2013)

We previously mentioned James Wan's horror franchiseThe Conjuring, which introduced quite a few terrifying ghosts over the course of a few connected films and spin-offs, includingThe Nun,The Curse of La Llorona, and the most popular of the spin-offs, theAnnabelle franchise.
Of course, while Annabelle behaved like a typical killer doll possessed by a spirit, it was actually a malevolent demon who is found to be possessing the doll of Annabelle, though it took hold of a few bodies to get there. The Demon's drive to torture and toy with its victims along with the sheer creepiness of the Annabelle doll make this one of the last decade's scariest monsters.
MODER - THE RITUAL (2017)

Director David Bruckner gets a second shout out this decade with his 2017 adaptation of the novel of the same name by Adam Neville,The Ritual. The film follows a group of friends on a hike inSweden in honor of their lost friend as they are forced to detour through a thick mountainous forest.
RELATED:10 Deadliest Horror Movie Monsters, Ranked
There they encounter a series of unnerving incidents, a creepy cult, and a horrifying monster known as the Moder that is based in Norse mythology. The creature's promises of immortality to the cultists are horrifyingly revealed as is its true form, which is one of the best and scariest monster designs of the 2010s.
MONSTERS - A QUIET PLACE (2018)

Fans were pleasantly surprised by John Krasinski's directorial debutA Quiet Place, which featured dialogue told almost exclusively with sign language and a cast of amazing actors trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by scary alien creatures.
These creatures, or monsters, or Dark Angels as some fans call them are incredibly deadly and hunt by the smallest of sounds, and they took over the world and devastated humanity like a plague. Bulletproof armor skin, slicing claws and teeth and incredible speedmixed with their complete dominance of the planet Earth makes these monsters extremely scary.
PENNYWISE - IT (2017)

We may have seen a creepy version of Stephen King's scariest clown ever in theTV mini-seriesIT, but the more recent big-screen iteration seen in Andy Muschietti's 2017 record-breaking adaptation playedon a lot of our fears while faithfully bringing the character to life.
Pennywise the Dancing Clown (played byBill Skarsgård) wasn't only scary as a supernatural clown, but he was able to transform in a number of frightening shapes and creatures. These forms were used specifically to increase the fear in Pennywise's victims but it worked wonders on the theater crowd as well.
NEXT:10 Underrated Sci-Fi Films From The 2010s You Have To See
FAQs
Who is the scariest horror movie monster? ›
- 7 The Bear - Annihilation.
- 6 Death Angels - A Quiet Place.
- 5 The Entity - It Follows.
- 4 The Babadook - The Babadook.
- 3 The Alien - The Thing.
- 2 Xenomorph - Alien.
- 1 Pennywise - It.
- The Exorcist (1973)
- Hereditary (2018)
- The Conjuring (2013)
- The Shining (1980)
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
- The Ring (2002)
- Halloween (1978)
- Sinister (2012)
- Every year, we get a slew of new horror movies. ...
- Hostel (2005) ...
- mother! ...
- Saw (2004) ...
- The Thing (1982) ...
- House of 1000 Corpses (2003) ...
- Raw (2017) ...
- The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) (2011)
These top three big original horror movies have been watched continuously by viewers. Halloween (1978), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), and Scream (1996) are classics that have been popular amongst people, especially during October.
What are the top 5 most scariest movies? ›- The Exorcist (1973) ...
- Halloween (1978) ...
- Paranormal Activity (2007) ...
- The Shining (1980) ...
- It Follows (2014)
This scene alone is claimed to have used over 50,000 gallons of blood, earning Evil Dead the record of being the bloodiest film of all time.
What movie has the most Jumpscares? ›The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia is far and wide the most 'jumpy' horror movie ever made with 32 jump scares to enjoy throughout the film. Set in 1993.
What is the scariest psychological horror? ›...
- Psycho (1960)
- The Shining (1980) ...
- M (1931) ...
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991) ...
- The Sixth Sense (1999) ...
- Misery (1990) ...
- Se7en (1995) ...
- Wait Until Dark (1967) ...
With more than 170 votes, the movie The Exorcist scared kids the most, closely followed by Jaws which accumulated 122 votes.
What is the least scariest movie ever? ›Coming out on top as the least scary movie was The Silence of the Lambs with no jumpscares..but we think that might be dependent on who you ask. Also included in the top twenty were Cannibal Holocaust (1980), The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Bone Tomahawk (2015).
Which horror icon has the most kills? ›
Yet top of the pile is the legendary Jason Voorhees, with a whopping 170 kills over 12 movies.
Who are the four kings of horror? ›The Four Kings of Horror Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, John Carradine, Peter Cushing by Terry O'Neill on artnet.
Who is the coolest monster? ›- 10) The Creature, 'The Creature from the Black Lagoon' ...
- 8) Werewolf, 'An American Werewolf in London' ...
- 7) Reapers, 'Blade II' ...
- 6) Frankenstein's Monster, 'Frankenstein' ...
- 5) King Kong, 'King Kong' ...
- 3) Brundlefly, 'The Fly' ...
- 2) Xenomorph, 'Alien' ...
- 1) The Thing, 'The Thing'
The sphinx myth lived from before 2500 BC, when the Great Sphinx was built, to the 9th century, when the last pagans of Greece lived. At more than 3300 years, this makes it by far the oldest monster myth on this list!
What is the most popular monster in Japan? ›- Zinogre – 2,081 votes.
- Mizutsune – 1,556 votes.
- Nargacuga – 1,268 votes.
- Rathalos – 861 votes.
- Khezu – 786 votes.
- Rajang – 686 votes.
- Goss Harag – 653 votes.
- Tigrex – 603 votes.
- Let the Right One In. Year: 2008. Director: Tomas Alfredson. ...
- The Wailing. Year: 2016. ...
- Night of the Living Dead. Year: 1968. ...
- Train to Busan. Year: 2016. ...
- Hellraiser. Year: 1987. ...
- We Need to Talk About Kevin. Year: 2012. ...
- We Are Still Here. Year: 2015. ...
- House on Haunted Hill. Year: 1959.
Well, as it just so happens, there's one horror movie available to watch on Netflix that viewers have struggled to finish for years now. This film is none other than Raw – a 2016 coming of age horror film that's been upsetting viewers since its initial release.
What movie has the scariest ending? ›- Insidious (2010) Filmdistrict / FilmDistrict / courtesy Everett Collection.
- Eden Lake (2008) ...
- Friday the 13th (1980) ...
- Fallen (1998) ...
- Life (2017) ...
- Hereditary (2018) ...
- Threads (1984) ...
- The Vanishing (1988)
- The Fly (1968) ...
- The Blair Witch Project (1999) ...
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991) ...
- The Innocents (2021) ...
- Eden Lake (2008) ...
- Rosemary's Baby (1968) ...
- The Exorcist (1973) ...
- The Shining (1980)
I recommend this 13+ as long as they are mature enough, during sex scenes I would look away just as they can easily too. If your kids know what the jokes in the movie means then they are old enough to watch it, if they find it entertaining/funny which is the purpose of watching the movie. 2 people found this helpful.
What is the least scary horror? ›
- Beetlejuice.
- ParaNorman.
- House on Haunted Hill.
- The Old Dark House.
- Little Shop of Horrors.
- Young Frankenstein.
- Paperhouse.
- Return to Oz.
Examples of early horror icons began with the Werewolf or Lycanthrope introduced in the 1500s, the Frankenstein monster as introduced by Mary Shelley in 1818, and Dracula introduced into literature in 1897 by Bram Stoker.
Is there a 100% rated movie? ›To date, Leave No Trace holds the site's record, with a rating of 100% and 251 positive reviews.
Is there a rating worse than R? ›Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. R: RESTRICTED. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. NC-17: NO ONE 17 AND UNDER ADMITTED.
What movie has a 100% rating? ›Critics Consensus: A technical masterpiece, Battleship Potemkin is Soviet cinema at its finest, and its montage editing techniques remain influential to this day.
What is the oldest Jumpscare? ›Cat People (1942), which featured the Lewton Bus technique, considered the first jump scare.
What movie has the most kills? ›The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King shows that the series was saving the best for last, when it came to on-screen deaths at least. The most well-reviewed and praised of the three at the Oscars, The Return of the King also has by far the most characters getting killed on screen, at 836!
What is the scariest jumpscare ever? ›- A Quiet Place II (John Krasinski, 2020) – 123 BPM.
- Host (Rob Savage, 2020) – 129 BPM.
- The Conjuring (James Wan, 2013) – 130 BPM.
- Sinister (Scott Derrickson, 2012) – 130 BPM.
- Insidious (James Wan, 2010) – 133 BPM.
- 1 – The innocent must suffer.
- 2 – The guilty must be punished.
- 3 – The hero must taste blood to be a man.
According to the acclaimed author, there are three levels of horror: The Gross-Out, Horror, and Terror. It is these elements that allow the genre to be diversely shocking and hypnotizing in not only literature but in cinema as well.
What age group enjoys horror the most? ›
The findings reveal that favorability of the horror genre reduced with age, with 68 percent of 18 to 29 year olds saying that they found horror movies very or somewhat favorable, compared to just 30 percent of adults aged 65 or above. Conversely, the drama genre was more popular among older generations.
What movies have abusive parents? ›- About a Girl (2001 film)
- Achchamundu! Achchamundu!
- Acla's Descent into Floristella.
- The Afflicted (film)
- Affliction (1997 film)
- An American Crime.
- Amityville II: The Possession.
- Amityville Exorcism.
“It's normal for children to want to explore the boundaries of their own fears and what society deems as acceptable,” said Scrivner, who studies horror media and fear, among other “scary” subjects.
Why are kids obsessed with horror? ›“Kids might be into scary movies because they enjoy the rush of adrenaline they feel, or because scary movies are a safe and manageable way to explore their fears, or because they're curious, or because they like the social bonding that comes along with scary experiences.
What horror movie has no deaths? ›1 The Conjuring (2013)
The movie is based on real life reports that also inspired Amityville Horror and its franchise. However, this story revolves around the Warrens, who are a husband and wife team that investigates potential supernatural occurrences.
Just a few years after the first filmmakers emerged in the mid-1890s, Mellies created “Le Manoir du Diable,” sometimes known in English as “The Haunted Castle” or “ The House of the Devil,” in 1898, and it is widely believed to be the first horror movie.
Who is the deadliest horror movie villain? ›- Michael Myers. Michael Myers is one of the most popular and enduring slasher movie villains.
- Freddy Krueger. It's hard to argue with Freddy Krueger's track record. ...
- Jason Voorhees. ...
- The Xenomorphs. ...
- Count Dracula. ...
- Leatherface. ...
- Hannibal Lecter. ...
- Pinhead. ...
- Chucky/Annabelle. ...
- Freddy Krueger. ...
- Pinhead. ...
- Jason Voorhees. ...
- Paranormal Activity. ...
- Leatherface. ...
- Michael Myers. ...
- Jack Torrance.
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
- The Phantom of the Opera.
- Frankenstein's Monster.
- The Mummy.
- The Invisible Man.
- The Wolf Man.
- Dracula.
- The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Yet top of the pile is the legendary Jason Voorhees, with a whopping 170 kills over 12 movies.
Who is the scariest slasher? ›
#1: Jason Voorhees from “Friday the 13th”
These strengths have contributed to Jason having some of the highest kill counts in horror movie history. Having his own crossover movie with another iconic villain, Freddy Krueger, further proves his legacy.
Best Slasher #1 - Michael Myers (Halloween, 1978)
Beyond John Carpenter's filmmaking, there are a few reasons why Myers is the ultimate slasher. One, he has no gimmick (he wears a William Shatner mask, but how frightening is that?). Two, he's unstoppable. Three, he has no personality.
Werewolf
The curse is the result of being bitten by a werewolf while it's in its monster form. One of the first mentions of the werewolf is in the world's oldest known, (1400 BCE!)
- Headless Horseman. Location: Ulster Park, NY. ...
- Field of Screams. ...
- The Dent Schoolhouse. ...
- 13th Gate. ...
- Netherworld. ...
- Nightmare on 13th. ...
- Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory.
The first feature-length films to include what are regarded as monsters were often classed as horror or science fiction films. The 1915 German silent film The Golem, directed by Paul Wegener, is one of the earliest examples of film to include a creature.
Who is God of Halloween? ›This festival was celebrated in honor of the god, Samhain, the Druid god of death and was known as All Hallowtide.
What is the highest rated Halloween? ›- #1. Halloween (1978) 96% #1. ...
- #2. Halloween (2018) 79% #2. ...
- #3. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) 52% #3. ...
- #4. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) 50% ...
- #5. Halloween Ends (2022) 40% ...
- #6. Halloween Kills (2021) 38% ...
- #7. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) 33% ...
- #8. Halloween II (1981) 30%
H eidi Klum has lived up to her name as the Queen of Halloween , as she turned up to her own party as a creepy life-sized worm. The model and television host, 49, was unrecognisable in the giant Halloween costume, which was attached to the rod of her husband, Tom Kaulitz, who dressed as an injured fisherman.
What are humans most scared? ›Enclosed spaces Fear of enclosed spaces, or claustrophobia, plagues most people, even those that would not readily list it as their greatest fear.
What makes a monster creepy? ›The majority of horror monsters tend to be of the beast without kind. Many follow this archetype in a literal sense, taking the form of creatures with the properties of natural predators. They have fangs and claws, flashing eyes, and bloodthirsty growls, and are far swifter and stronger than any normal human being.
Why adults are afraid to monsters too? ›
Teens and Adults
A more persistent monster phobia may be rooted in religious or cultural fears. The fear may be generalized or it may be of a specific type of creature such as vampires, zombies, or ghosts. 13 The fear of witchcraft is sometimes related to the fear of monsters.