What is it about monsters that has captivated the human imagination for millennia? Mythological monsters fascinated the earliest human societies – the Ancient Greeks dreamed up legions of scary creatures, flying monsters, blood-sucking fiends and more – and beasts have fascinated cultures ever since (Celtic, Norse, Chinese and Sumerian folklores feature all manner of frightening freaks). Hollywood since has showered us with a fresh generation of stalkers, growlers, slashers and biters often as absurd as they are terrifying.

But cinema now looks in danger of running out of fright life: new release Beastly has seen filmmakers regurgitate 18th century French fairy tale Beauty and the Beast into modernday New York to find a fresh fiend.
So as inspiration to filmmakers (and viewers) everywhere, we count down the top 50 most terrifying monsters committed to celluloid.

50. Night of the Lepus (1972)
Directed by William F Claxton
That rabbit’s got a vicious streak a mile wide, it’ll do you up a treat
‘Attention! Ladies and gentlemen, attention! There is a herd of killer rabbits headed this way, and we desperately need your help!’ Yes, narrowly beating out Frogs and Grizzly to take the coveted No 50 spot is this bright-eyed, bushy-tailed bunnysploitation classic. You may assume there’s nothing particularly terrifying about rabbits, but that’s exactly what Rory Calhoun thought until those twitchy-nosed, floppy-eared hell-fiends started taking over their town, leaving destruction in their wake. TH

49. Nightbreed (1992)
Directed by Clive Barker
Superfreak!
After his success with the inimitable Hellraiser (see No 19), it was inevitable that erstwhile novelist Clive Barker would secure a deal to direct again. Unfortunately, Barker’s experiences on Nightbreed – intended, in the words of its author, to be ‘the Star Wars of monster movies’ – was a far less happy one. Recut and dumped on a disinterested public, Nightbreed remains a shadow of Barker’s original vision. Or so he claims: with the Director’s Cut still locked in the vaults, there’s no way to tell if there’s more to the film than a lot of angry mutants hanging about in a cave. Given Barker’s subsequent work as a writer – including Coldheart Canyon, surely one of the most awful books ever written – it could be unwatchable. But we’re still keen to find out. TH

48. Legend (1985)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Up jumped the devil…
...or did he? It’s emblematic of the confusion that runs through Ridley Scott’s fairytale misfire that we’re never truly sure if Tim Curry’s camp, petulant archfiend is yer actual Devil, a minor Dark Lord or just some horny sort in a cape. Whatever his persuasion, he’s utterly captivating, and quite the best thing about a film that otherwise betrays little understanding of the fantasy genre. While the visuals are especially sumptuous, the blithering script is no more than a clutch of clichés and even an actor with the innate vivacity and overarching wit of Curry has his work cut out with lines like 'Oh, Mother Night! Fold your dark arms about me. Protect me in your black embrace.' ALD

47. The Day of the Triffids (1962)
Directed by Steve Sekely
Danger: heavy plant crossing
The definitive version of John Wyndham’s template-setting apocalyptic masterpiece has yet to emerge. The reasons for this are manifold, but one stands out: there’s just no way to make plants scary. Just ask M Night Shyamalan. This British effort makes a decent fist of it, particularly in the eerie early scenes in which the entire global population is blinded by a convincingly psychedelic meteoric light show. But once the real villains show up, things fall to pieces: okay, they’re eight feet tall, homicidal and blessed with a multiplicity of variegated blood-red suckers. But they’re still, you know, plants. TH

46. Pete’s Dragon (1977)
Directed by Don Chaffey
Just eat the kid already
Pete’s Dragon remained the gold standard for live action/cartoon hybrids until Roger Rabbit stole the crown a decade later. Taking a rigidly Baudrillardian approach to the tale of a sprightly, imaginative lad and his giant lizard buddy, the film toys with existentialist, postmodern ideas of self-constructed reality. Man. TH