Mar 04 2009
10 Movies That Feature Gigantic Animals Killing People
As far as I’m concerned, movies that feature enormous animals eating, dismembering, eviscerating, disembowling or otherwise destroying human beings is a recipe for success. And I’m talking big animals here, so take your Birds and Bats and Snakes on a Plane and shove ‘em. Not all movies with this formula are mindless — anyone who’s read Moby Dick can tell you that the story runs much deeper than the quest to kill a whale — but even the cruddiest movies where oversized animals treat people like Rosie O’Donnell treats french fries is worth watching. After the jump, take a look at 10 movies where gigantic animals kill people. Sometimes it’s for food, and sometimes it’s for revenge, but whatever the reason, it friggin’ rules.
Jaws - Great White Shark
The most infamous - and deservedly so - of all “big animals that kill people” movies is Jaws, a movie so terrifying that it kept hundreds of thousands of people out of the water for fear they’d be ripped to shreds by a great white shark. From the very start, the great white completely overpowers its victims, dragging them through the water before finally swallowing them. Quint’s death was perhaps the most gruesome, as sliding into the shark’s enormous mouth made quite a mess, but the most poignant was the death of the boy on the raft.
Cujo - St. Bernard
Cujo, the big, friendly St. Bernard turned into a slobbering vehicle of death after being bitten by a rabid bat. The end of the film - where Donna and Tad are trapped inside their car while Cujo lurks nearby - is the scariest, as there’s no telling what the big, powerful canine will choose to do next. Man’s Best Friend, a movie about a giant Mastiff, followed a similar formula, but a rabid St. Bernard is scarier than a genetically engineered Mastiff any day.
Deep Blue Sea - Mako Sharks
Deep Blue Sea featured mako sharks, not great whites, and in real life, mako sharks are large, aggressive, incredibly fast, and responsible for attacks on humans. The makos in Deep Blue Sea, however, were genetically engineered to be larger than normal size and, as a result, their enlarged brains led to higher intelligence. Working together and strategizing, the makos are able to kill just about every human in the movie, often in spectacular, gory fashion. If you’ve seen Deep Blue Sea, then you know that the best death of all - and it isn’t even close - is that of Russell Franklin. If you haven’t seen the movie, then just watch the clip below:
Alligator - Alligator
Alligator is one of my favorite movies of all time and is probably the movie responsible for my obsession with animal-on-human violence. A baby alligator named Ramon (yes, Ramon) is flushed down the toilet and survives in the sewers by feasting on genetically altered dogs. This causes Ramon to grow to a ridiculous size and eventually, he emerges from the sewers to eat anyone in his path. Cops, waitresses, and even children aren’t safe from the wrath of this humongous reptile.
Anaconda - Anaconda
The anaconda is rumored to have eaten people, and the snake in the movie Anaconda turns rumor into fact. I’m glad Ice Cube made it through the movie alive, but it’s a shame J-Lo survived as well. I’m guessing the snake would have had a hard time swallowing her ass anyway. The best part of the movie isn’t actually a killing or an eating, but when the anaconda regurgitates Jon Voight. Creepy.
Moby Dick - Sperm Whale
Herman Melville’s classic novel was (of course) turned into a movie, chronicalling the obsessive Captain Ahab and his quest to kill Moby Dick, the great white sperm whale. Sperm whales - the largest of all toothed whales - can be aggressive and dangerous, and Moby Dick was no exception. The leviathan easily made work of Ahab’s boats, splintering them into pieces and sending Ahab’s crew to their watery graves.
Orca - Killer Whale (Orca)
Unlike a lot of the other animals in this article, the killer whale in Orca looks to kill for revenge. After witnessing the death of his mate and his baby at the hands of Captain Nolan, the killer whale tracks and follows Nolan, intent on destroying him. Out in the water, man doesn’t stand a chance against a killer whale, a true apex predator that has been known to kill even great white sharks. When I was a kid, I lived in San Diego for awhile and twice got to meet and pet Shamu during the Sea World Killer Whale Show. Both times, I refused to put my hand in his mouth and scratch his tongue. I’d make the same decision were I given a third opportunity.
Them! - Ants
In Them!, a nest of ants is turned into an army of enormous insects thanks to some pretty substantial exposure to radiation. The movie, which was made in 1954, was one of the very first to feature oversized animals - in this case insects - as antagonists. Like the xenomorphs in Aliens, the flamethrower seems to be the most effective weapon against these oversized bugs.
King Kong - Ape
Even though Kong isn’t a mindless killing machine and actually possesses a personality and emotions, he doesn’t have much reservation about smashing fools that get all up in his face. In both the 1933 and 2005 versions of this movie, humans that are unfortunate to be around when Kong is pissed and rampaging often find themselves smashed, picked up and thrown, or, best of all, picked up and bitten in half. Even though I knew exactly how the 2005 version would end, I still found myself rooting for Kong to smash the attacking planes and escape New York City with Ann Darrow.
Jurassic Park - Tyrannosaurus Rex
Sure, Tyrannosaurs are extinct, but that doesn’t exclude them from this article. Velociraptors and Dilophosaurs claim victims of their own in Jurassic Park, but the Tyrannosaur is the real scene-stealer. In the original Jurassic Park, the T-Rex has only one human kill, but it’s a great one: he plucks a guy right off a toilet, shakes him around a bit, and then eats him. The T-Rex really seems to enjoy it, too:
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[…] I just came across this hilarious article that ranks the Top 10 Movies That Feature Gigantic Animals Killing People. Is it wrong that I really enjoyed this? [Unreality] […]
What happened to Godzilla? or Mothra? Or any of the other Japanese movies from the 70s (such as the one with the 3 giant turtles attacking).
Should have a plant catagory also - such as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.
You missed the most brutal scene of them all: The Edge (Kodiak Bear)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZx1wbeQg7w
Rancor didnt make the list???
You forgot Tarantula!
Your forgot “Night of the Lepus” with giant rabbits.
Author here.
I avoided monsters and other fictional animals (like Mothra, Rancor) and instead just focused on real life animals (or mutations thereof).
@ donm
Giant rabbits? That sounds incredible!
This comment was deleted for use of the term “FAIL.” Sorry, that’s protocol around here.
you forgot one of my favorite gigantic animals killing people movies deep rising i mean a giant octopus that eats everybody on a cruise ship what could be better?
Aside from all the giant Gila Monsters, grasshoppers, Praying Mantises (?) and all the other atomically mutated woodland creatures, what about the only contemporary gaint creature movie, “Eight Legged Freaks”, featuring giant killer spiders. Though it was made just for chuckles in my opinion, those spiders were real nasty mothers.
Oh lighten up, pussies.
How about “Squirm”? Oh wait, that was ‘Nature Gone Wild’ with earthworms killing people, not ‘Gigantic Animals’. Nevermind.
Great list, I would add about 5 more though just because godzilla isn’t in it and I’m sure there is a couple more.
@drunko
“Pussies” is just fine. Only FAIL or racial slurs will get your comment deleted. Pretty easy rules by which to abide.
The original comment regarded the exclusion of “Food of the Gods” (1976). I only used the F word in jest. (Didn’t know rule.)
One of my all time favs - Food of the Gods - Giants Wasps, Giant Maggots and the RATS… LOL went with my nana to the drive in when I was 7 to see this… and my love of horror movies was born….
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Great list - I think I’ve seen all of these, and I have a similar fascination for this type of movie!
A couple worth checking out
Grizzly - no prizes for guessing what that’s about
Razorback - Australian movie, really not too bad
Monster from Green Hell - one of the worst movies ever made, but worth watching!
Lake Placid - crocodiles
There’s also Rogue and Komodo - the first was another Aussie movie, I haven’t seen it but it got good reviews. Komodo I have seen and it’s a great B grader.
Oh! And the Ghost and the Darkness, which I thought was quite a good film (although the “true events” it was based on were somewhat less dramatic).
Finally I saw a really, really awful (funny) film on cable that involved using one giant snake (a boa or something) to track down another. I really wish I could remember the name.
[…] 10 Movies That Feature Gigantic Animals Killing People. [Unreality] […]
What about the awesome movie “Eight legged Freaks!” ?? pfft!
What about the snakes on Snakes on a Train! Giant snakes killing and even eating people. And even eating a small Girl Or even both the Original and the remake of Crocodile That Crocs again and a again! or Even yet another Crocodile in Lake Placid!
I really like the pictures but they should really have more like godzilla and komodo i mean that is wrong they are monsters too!!!!!!!!!!!
no i work with orcas and there so freindly i love them and i swim with them there the best whale i have ever worked with
Ok I just got the movie The Food of the Gods.. Best movie ever!! Giant rats, chickens, and wasps… LOVE IT
For me there’s still no better film than Jaws in the ‘Killer Gigantic Animals’ genre.
This is great, I laughed at the name of this xD I totally have to watch jurassic park again.
FYI tho there is no record of an orca killing any one so calling them “killer” whales and being scared of the ones in water parks is a little unrealistic.
Saying that I wouldn’t suggest sticking your head in the water in front of one to prove that either, just in case xD
@ Katrina
The “killer” in killer whales comes from the fact that they hunt and kill other whales. That alone scares the hell out of me, regardless of their relationship with humans. All it takes is one killer whale in Sea World, tired of jumping out of the water, to think “this shit ends today!”
The Orcas indeed seem to be incredibly tolerant towards humans - or maybe they just are well aware that we do not generally tolarate man eating top level predators. Caution of course, always is a good advice - we also generally would keep a distance from a stranger with a rifle in his hand and we would behave very friendly and cautiously. In general, however, I am more afraid of humans any time. They are the ones who tend to be totally unpredictable.
wawwwww oh may gat
wow babies living under pressure with s e x and
f u c k
ew nasty weirdo stop saying bad words without saying bad words
hai katrina how r u where r u
l’orque n’ets pas un animal tueur comme que tout le monde dit
c’est un animal libre,fort et vigoureux
what about “Shark Attack 3Megalodon” ? The one about the prehistoric shark ripping people to shreds.
killer whales don´t attack human beings.
there´s only one case involving human, in which a killer whale confused a surfer with a marine lion, and when the whale noticed that, released the human.
u should learn some stuff before talking dude
@ hunt
It’s a movie, you nitwit.
Hey good list…Thanks
This list needs Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZAxN9M0Ehs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ork1umGl3qk
I love to see but I don’t want to be eaten