Eight overlooked monster films worth rediscovering

Collider published a roundup of eight monster movies described as perfect 10/10s that nonetheless slipped from mainstream memory. The piece highlights films that range from low-budget indies to studio releases that were hampered by timing, marketing or distribution choices. The list includes Cloverfield, whose uneven trilogy and a poorly received third entry dented the franchise; Love and Monsters, which played one weekend in limited theaters during the pandemic before moving to Netflix; Bong Joon Ho’s The Host, which earned critical praise but struggled in the West because many viewers avoid subtitles; and The Cabin in the Woods, a genre-subverting satire packed with monsters.

Also noted are Colossal, an indie that flopped at the box office (earning $4.5 million worldwide against a $15 million budget); Monsters, Gareth Edwards’ $500,000 debut that led to studio work on Godzilla and later films; Infested, a French-language spider film that scored a near-perfect 95% on Rotten Tomatoes but was released mainly in France before landing on Shudder; and Life, a 2017 space-set creature feature released March 24, 2017, whose similarities to Alien and a crowded sci-fi year limited its attention.

According to the piece, these films were sidelined for different reasons—release strategy, language barriers, marketing struggles or unfortunate timing—and remain under-discussed despite strong elements.

Key Topics

Culture, Cloverfield, The Host, Colossal, Monsters, Life