Genre: creature-feature

Films built around a large animal, monster, or thing that should not exist. The creature feature lives or dies on restraint: the effect is most convincing before it is fully shown, and the best entries understand that the reaction shot does more work than the monster. The reviews here cover stop-motion, practical effects, and digital creatures, with attention to how each generation solved the same problem of making something enormous share a frame with a person.

Them! (1954) film postercreature-feature

Them! (1954)

Ted Sherdeman wrote, from a story by George Worthing Yates. The film made approximately two million dollars at initial release on a two hundred thousand dollar budget.

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Mighty Joe Young (1949) film postercreature-feature

Mighty Joe Young (1949)

Mighty Joe Young is the film where Ray Harryhausen learned what he would spend the rest of his career doing. Willis O'Brien, the stop-motion pioneer who had created King Kong in 1933, was the credited animator.

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Monster Hunter (2020) film posterAction

Monster Hunter (2020) Review

Monster Hunter is one of the more enjoyable action camp productions of the early 2020s and a genuinely fun watch despite its substantial commercial disapp. Anderson had been working primarily on the Resident Evil franchise before Monster Hunter.

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