20 Horror Monsters That Were Scarier Before You Saw Them
It would've been a lot scarier if we didn't see these monsters at all.
No movie genre defines "less is more" quite like horror. Although terrifying monsters are the bread and butter of the genre, they leave more of an impression when they're rarely seen. By teasing them throughout, it heightens the fear factor and leaves a bigger impact when they're finally unveiled.
At least, it would if the monster were intimidating in any way. Even if the film in question is subpar, you may be inclined to keep watching, curious to see what the big bad looks like.
So, when the so-called monster is revealed to be nothing more than a goofy puppet or a badly rendered CGI character, it's hard not to feel disappointed. It's more frustrating when a horror feature is great up until that point, since a poorly designed antagonist can tarnish the entire experience. Even when the beast's design is decent, showing it can dilute its power, and by dragging the evil into the light, the dread that had been carefully cultivated for the last 90 minutes can be lost in an instant.
Though people have an instinctive fear of monsters, the following 20 creatures stopped being scary the moment they popped on-screen.
20. The Boogens - The Boogens
The Boogens kicks off with a group of miners preparing to reopen an abandoned silver mine, oblivious that it houses subterraneous creatures.
As is standard practice with the genre, director James L. Conway utilises a slow-burn approach to tease the Boogens, such as POV shots from the creatures' perspective being used when they're stalking victims in the tunnels.
The Boogens' prey are hurled around the room or dragged across the floor, suggesting these brutes are of immense size. When the main characters find corpses riddled with enormous gashes, it highlights the Boogen's unmatched ferocity. On top of that, the actors are solid at selling the idea that they're facing the most skin-crawling beasties imaginable.
That's why it's anticlimactic when the Boogens are revealed to be little spider-turtle thingies. Not only are they much smaller than expected, but their stubby appearance makes them look more clumsy than menacing. Instead of sparking fear, their faces are goofy and cute, which is among the last qualities a movie monster should have.
The Boogens were hyped up superbly throughout, which is why it's ironic how they stopped being unnerving when they jumped into the spotlight.