Subgenre Sampler
Horror > Animal Amok: 52 Films to Buy & Rent
- Crawl (2019)
- Dir. Alexandre Aja
Feat. Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper
- When a category 5 hurricane hits South Florida, a young woman attempts to save her father and finds herself fighting to survive in a flooded house…
- Pet Sematary (2019)
- Dir. Dennis Widmyer, Kevin Kölsch
Feat. Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, John Lithgow
- Nothing if not audacious, this updated screen adaptation of the terrifying Stephen King novel takes liberties with the plot to arguably increase the…
- 47 Metres Down (2016)
- Dir. Johannes Roberts
Feat. Claire Holt, Mandy Moore
- Survival horror with two sisters on vacation in Mexico who become trapped inside a shark viewing cage 47 metres under the ocean. Fairly predictable…
- When Animals Dream (2014)
- Dir. Jonas Alexander Arnby
Feat. Sonia Suhl, Lars Mikkelsen, Sonja Richter…
- 16–year old Marie lives on a small island with her seriously ill mother and her father, who takes care of the family. But suddenly mysterious…
- Piranha 3DD (2012)
- Dir. John Gulager
Feat. Danielle Panabaker, Katrina Bowden, David Koechner…
- This chestier sequel to 2010's Piranha remake goes overboard with gratuitous T&A and wanton violence. Dumb, but if you're in the mood, a lot of fun,…
- Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010)
- Dir. James Nguyen
Feat. Alan Bagh, Whitney Moore
- Shoe–string trash homage to Hitchcock's THE BIRDS that follows a romantic couple whose small town that is attacked by birds.…
- Piranha (2010)
- Dir. Alexandre Aja
Feat. Elisabeth Shue, Richard Dreyfuss, Jerry O'Connell…
- Stupefyingly gory remake has the man–eating fish dining out on exhibitionist students while Sheriff Shue must do her best to protect the…
- Black Water (2007)
- Dir. David Nerlich, Andrew Traucki
Feat. Maeve Dermody, Diana Glenn, Andy Rodoreda…
- A fishing tour turns deadly for tourists when their boat is capsized deep in the swamp by a large crocodile in this skillful survival horror.
The…
- Rogue (2007)
- Dir. Greg McLean
Feat. Radha Mitchell, Michael Vartan, Sam Worthington
- Second terrifying outing from the dir. of WOLF CREEK centers on a 'rogue' giant crocodile in the Australian outback, whose latest prey is a boatful…
- Black Sheep (2006)
- Dir. Jonathan King
Feat. Nathan Meister, Danielle Mason, Peter Feeney…
- A slick splatter–comedy in the Kiwi tradition of BAD TASTE, about a herd of rabid, flesh–eating sheep run amok in rural New…
- Cursed (2005)
- Dir. Wes Craven
Feat. Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson, Portia de Rossi…
- Two siblings (Ricci, Eisenberg) are bitten and infected by a werewolf on the loose in their manicured Los Angeles suburb.
Discovering that…
- Isolation (2005)
- Dir. Billy O'Brien
Feat. Essie Davis, Sean Harris, Marcel Lures
- Macabre Irish thriller contained entirely to a farm where a small group of people are pursued by a group of mutated parasites.
Itself a bit of a…
- Locusts - Day of Destruction (2005)
- Dir. David Jackson
Feat. Lucy Lawless, John Heard
- Cheese–dipped thriller set in the good ol' US of A, where a swarm of pissed off bio–engineered locusts run riot across the countryside…
- Willard (2002)
- Dir. Glen Morgan
Feat. Crispin Glover, Jackie Burroughs, R. Lee Ermey…
- Stylistic update of the 70s mini–classic of the same name, with cult actor Crispin Glover as the meek office clerk who befriends and trains a…
- Ginger Snaps (2000)
- Dir. John Fawcett
Feat. Emily Perkins, Katherine Isabelle, Mimi Rogers
- Canadian variation on the teen–horror model mixes the gene pool of adolescent angst with the werewolf genre, adopting lycanthropy as a metaphor…
- Lake Placid (1999)
- Dir. Steve Miner
Feat. Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Oliver Platt
- Gleefully silly horror contrivance abitrarily plonks a 30ft Asian crocodile down in Black Lake (where did Lake Placid go?) to dine on pigs, chickens…
- An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)
- Dir. Anthony Waller
Feat. Julie Delpy, Tom Everett Scott
- Belated official sequel to the '80s horror–comedy classic takes up with the progeny of the London howler (Julie Delpy), also plagued by…
- Pet Sematary (1989)
- Dir. Mary Lambert
Feat. Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne, Denise Crosby
- A competent scarefest scripted by Stephen King from his own novel about a country doctor's experiences with things that won't stay dead.
- Monkey Shines (1988)
- Dir. George Romero
Feat. Jason Beghe, John Pankow, Kate McNeil
- A first–rate thriller about an invalid who loses control over his pet monkey that has been subjected to cerebral experiments. Intelligent…
- King Kong Lives (1986)
- Dir. John Guillermin
Feat. Linda Hamilton, Brian Kerwin, John Ashton
- A truly blasphemous sequel to the already inessential 1976 remake, has the big ape somehow survive the fall from the World Trade Centre but needing a…
- Howling II, The (Your Sister Is A Werewolf) (1985)
- Dir. Phillipe Mora
Feat. Christopher Lee, Annie McEnroe, Sybil Danning
- A young girl whose sister was murdered by werewolves helps an investigator track down a gang of the beasts. This film has the dubious honour of being…
- Silver Bullet (1985)
- Dir. Daniel Attias
Feat. Gary Busey, Corey Haim, Everett McGill…
- Gary Busey livens Stephen King small town werewolf déjà vu.
- Company of Wolves (1984)
- Dir. Neil Jordan
Feat. Angela Lansbury, Stephen Rea
- This modest, dream–like horror fantasy was liked so much by author Anne Rice, it led to the Irish director calling the shots on INTERVIEW WITH…
- Cujo (1983)
- Dir. Lewis Teague
Feat. Dee Wallace-Stone, Danny Pintauro, Daniel Hugh Kelly
- Of a higher quality than the usual Stephen King adaption, the scariness of this tale of a rabid St Bernard dog will generally depend on your own…
- Of Unknown Origin (1983)
- Dir. George Pan Cosmatos
Feat. Peter Weller, Shannon Tweed
- A mostly inspired horror, this suburban myth plays like an extended episode of 'The Twilight Zone', with claws. Peter Weller is a happily married…
- Razorback (1983)
- Dir. Russell Mulcahy
Feat. Gregory Harrison, Arkie Whitely, Bill Kerr
- The expat–Oz director exercises his burgeoning talent with this local debut about a giant wild pig that terrorises a small country town.
- An American Werewolf in London (1981)
- Dir. John Landis
Feat. Griffin Dunne, David Naughton, Jenny Agutter
- Screamingly funny resuscitatation of the werewolf genre is great fun for the whole family, replete with Oscar–winning effects and many a great…
- Full Moon High (1981)
- Dir. Larry Cohen
Feat. Adam Arkin, Ed McMahon, Elizabeth Hartman…
- Wry horror–comedy with Adam Arkin as a jocular teen whose good time in Transylvannia is marred by his transformation into a werewolf. Change of…
- Howling, The (1981)
- Dir. Joe Dante
Feat. Dee Wallace Stone, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan
- A well–regarded werewolf movie that gets funnier and scarier as it progresses. Rob Bottin's bone–crunching werewolf transformation scenes…
- Piranha 2 - The Spawning (1981)
- Dir. James Cameron
Feat. Lance Henriksen
- Mediocre but bearable sequel to the fun 1978 horror about the ravenous, maneating fishies.
This sacrifices the campy fun of the original for a…
- Wolfen (1981)
- Dir. Michael Wadleigh
Feat. Albert Finney, Edward James Olmos, Gregory Hines…
- Well–made werewolf yarn based around detective Albert Finney's investigation into a series of flesh–shredding killings in…
- Alligator (1980)
- Dir. Lewis Teague
Feat. Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Michael V. Gazzo
- Post–Jaws monster thriller, with giant alligator lurking in Chicago sewers. John Sayles script.
- Piranha (1978)
- Dir. Joe Dante
Feat. Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy
- A gag–filled spoof of JAWS and B–Movies from the 1950s. Premium schlock from the pen of John Sayles.
- Swarm, The (1978)
- Dir. Irwin Allen
Feat. Michael Caine, Katherine Ross, Henry Fonda…
- The 70s Disaster Movie rarely got this far–out, with Michael Caine trying to swat a cloud of killer bumble–bees. Many other…
- Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)
- Dir. John Bud Cardos
Feat. William Shatner, Tiffany Bolling
- Insecticides poison the food supply of the local tarantula population, setting them off on a hysterical man–hunt in the Arizona desert.…
- Zoltan, Hound of Dracula (1977)
- Dir. Albert Band
Feat. Michael Pataki, Jose Ferrer
- Strange and not a little camp entry in the 'Dracula' series, has a canine incarnation unleash his fangs on Los Angeles while searching for family…
- Squirm (1976)
- Dir. Jeff Lieberman
Feat. Don Scardino, Patricia Pearcy
- A storm–toppled powerline drives large (and vicious) sandworms out the surrounding swamp–waters, terrifying the local populace in this…
- Jaws (1975)
- Dir. Steven Spielberg
Feat. Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw
- Brilliantly executed, famously scary Spielberg pic about a killer fish. Spawned three forgettable sequels (also available!) and dozens of imitations.
- Chosen Survivors (1974)
- Dir. Sutton Roley
Feat. Jackie Cooper, Alex Cord, Richard Jaeckel…
- Sci–fi horror about a group of people who have been flown to a futuristic bomb shelter in the desert, after being chosen at random to survive…
- Phase IV (Phase 4) (1974)
- Strange structures are appearing in the desert. Scientists are shocked to find that they are the work of super intelligent ants with sinister motives.
- Frogs (1972)
- Dir. George McCowan
Feat. Ray Milland, Sam Elliott, Joan Van Ark
- Swamp critters exact revenge on wildlife predator Ray Milland in this enjoyable schlockfest. Bonus film with PREMATURE BURIAL.
- Legend of Boggy Creek, The (1972)
- Dir. Charles B. Pierce
Feat. Vern Stierman
- Giggle inducing 'documentary' examines the mysterious happenings in lil' ol' Fouke Arkansas where some big ape creature has been stirrin' up folk…
- Night of the Lepus (1972)
- Dir. William Claxton
Feat. Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun
- One of the most incredibly lame (and strange and entertaining) horror films of all time, in which giant mutant rabbits terrorize a small community in…
- Willard (1971)
- Dir. Daniel Mann
Feat. Bruce Davison, Elsa Lanchester, Ernest Borgnine
- Superb persecuted–teen–gets–revenge picture about a young nerd who identifies more with rodents than people. The sequel, BEN, is…
- Blood Beast Terror, The (1967)
- Dir. Vernon Sewell
Feat. Peter Cushing
- In Victorian rural England, Peter Cushing's murder enquiries uncovers a beastly weremoth and the gruesome experiments of a crazed entymologist.
- Hound of the Baskervilles, The (1959)
- Dir. Terence Fisher
Feat. Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Andre Morell…
- Quite possibly the best Sherlock Holmes adaptation, with Cushing in the lead, investigating the horrors of the Baskerville killings. The 'Hammer'…
- Mighty Joe Young (1949)
- Dir. Ernest B. Schoedsack
Feat. Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Robert Armstrong…
- Worthy successor to KING KONG, reunites many of the cast and crew, with a compellingly different slant on the 'Giant Ape' premise.
Here, Armstrong…
- Curse of the Cat People (1944)
- Dir. Gunther V Fritsch, Robert Wise
Feat. Simone Simon
- Sequel of worth to the original Val Lewton psychological chiller, again with the feline Simone Simon, here haunting the imagination of a small girl…
- Leopard Man, The (1943)
- Dir. Jacques Tourneur
Feat. Dennis O'Keefe
- The final Val Lewton–Tourneur horror collaboration concerns an escaped leopard (apparently) running amok in a small New Mexico town. A slim…
- Cat People (1942)
- Dir. Jacques Tourneur
Feat. Simone Simon, Jack Holt, Kent Smith…
- Producer Val Lewton's most celebrated low–budget horror evokes a disturbing atmosphere of repression and menace with shadows, music and the…
- Wolf Man, The (Wolfman) (1941)
- Dir. George Waggner
Feat. Lon Jr. Chaney, Bela Lugosi, Claude Rains
- Universal horror classic has Lon Chaney Jnr. bitten by werewolf Bela Lugosi among the foggy glades of Alpine–set English villages.
- King Kong (1933)
- Dir. Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack
Feat. Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong
- An iconic classic of cinema that literally smashed new ground in terms of special effects, and must have had unwitting audiences of the day…