If we ask you why monster films work, what would you have to say? We mean all our growing up years, we were always threatened with the prospects of monsters hiding in our closets. How can childhood trauma translate into popularity? To begin with, these are far from the prospective closet-monsters, these are humongous people-gobbling badasses. But as it is wont even with horror films, it’s the ‘fear factor’ that captivates us.
The tried and tested ‘monster’ formula worked brilliantly in King Kong, Godzilla, Jurassic Park and many more films. But it’s not just the ugly, gigantic and creepy monsters that do the trick, it’s the camera work, actors, sound effects and visual technology that add to the shock value.
Director Collin Trevorrow is all set to bring back the hair-raising experience with the release of Jurassic World on June 11.
Let’s take a look at five iconic creatures that have ruled the ‘monstrous’ world of cinema.
King Kong (1933)
The hairy, ugly, giant ape caught the attention of critics and audiences alike, way back in 1933. King Kong turned out to be the grand daddy of all monster films. The film entailed fascinating visual work, unique to its time and era. But King Kong is not a heartless hair-ball, he is equally needy of friends as we are. So from ‘aaaahhhhh’ moments, the film suddenly jumps into ‘aawwwww’ moments!
Godzilla (1954)
Who wouldn’t be scared of a 350 ft fire-spewing reptile? Godzilla or Gojira (as it is known in Japan)? was a gigantic, agitated lizard who is capable of chewing up anything, and anyone. As the monster lizard walked city streets, buildings would fall like towers of cards. It wasn’t just the size of the reptile that caused panic, but also the fear of nuclear weapons that made this film a roaring hit.
Jaws (1975)
After watching Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, based on the popular novel of the same name by Peter Benchley, a lot of us, for the longest time, dreaded going for a beach holiday. Get into the water and get eaten by a big white shark. The great underwater shots and dangling blood-soaked legs and arms made everyone gasp for air! What was more scary is the fact that throughout the first part of the movie, one can hardly see the creature. People fear the unknown more than anything else in this world.
Tremors (1990)
Tremors introduced a fictional sandworm species called the Graboid. Despite being completely fictional, director Ron Underwood successfully managed to produced some good ‘sitting on the edge’ moments with the help of Kevin Bacon. The hideous, terrifying underground worms creeped their way to the top of the Box Office.
Jurassic Park (1993)
Jurassic Park could easily be termed as the King Kong of contemporary times. Steven Spielberg had already left his monstrous mark by making Jaws and he was back again to frighten the audience with this epic film. The film had all the right elements — adventure, horror and sci-fi, and it proved again that we are a succour for creepy, ugly monsters.
Watch those goosebumps people!
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