10 Scrapped Horror Movie Monsters That Would Have Been Terrifying
The scariest creatures the cutting room floor has to offer.
There will never be a movie that goes throughout its entire process unchanged. From beginning to end, things will be altered, and certain aspects will be added or removed, be they characters, plot threads, locations, and plenty more.
Whether this was done for the eventual benefit of the movie or not, exploring and dissecting what didn't make the final cut can be incredibly intriguing and illuminating. What could have been is always interesting, and while this can come in many forms within the world of horror, one that stands out in particular is monsters left on the cutting room floor.
The spectrum of such cinematic monsters is incredibly wide. For every Godzilla there is a Gremlin and so forth, as these beasts could be anything an imagination can dream of, which is what makes them so damn compelling. Even, sometimes especially, when they end up unseen.
This happened to the following ten monsters for a variety of reasons, whether they were ultimately unnecessary, they didn't fit the tone of the rest of the film, or in some cases were almost too brutal. Regardless of why they never saw the light of day, they all have in common that they would have been incredibly scary, whether they would have made their films better or not.
10. The Skull Cowboy - The Crow
Alex Proyas' The Crow has become legendary in the years since its release for various reasons. Of course, there is the tragedy surrounding Brandon Lee's untimely death, but also the fact that it is a damn good cult classic that deserves recognition as such.
It goes without saying that the production was drastically altered by Lee's death, with the team deciding that the best thing to do would be to continue the film in his honour. One such change that had to occur was the omission of the Skull Cowboy.
Set to be portrayed by Michael Berryman, the character, whose aesthetic is really quite self-explanatory from the name, would have been incredibly creepy. Appearing as something of a mentor and guide to Lee's Eric Draven, the Skull Cowboy would have been largely expositional, reminding Draven and the audience of the rules, but quite a sight to behold regardless.
Since the scenes were yet to be filmed properly when Lee passed, the Skull Cowboy never made the final cut, but ultimately the movie didn't miss him, though the deleted scene is a fun and appropriately creepy watch all the same. Rupert Sanders' 2024 effort also left the character out, though the less said about that one, the better.