10 Great Movies That Feature Gigantic Animals Killing People
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.
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).
I enjoyed your list but there is one from the seventies that is still great even now…Frogs!
@ 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….
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.
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
You are completely wrong about the Orca, you need to check your information before you post shit like this.
Just curious, why is FAIL unacceptable? Is it an acronym for some profanity? I don’t really get it.
Great list, by the way ^ ^
What about the NZ movie Black Sheep, with wearsheep?
GOD I loved this list.
Only I wish Ben from “Williard” was in here. But I suppose he wasn’t all that “giant” was he? But neither was Cujo for a dog of his breed….ugh arguing with myself XD
Anyways, glad to see someone shares a love for these awesome movies like I do. 😀
orca looks freaky aND THE ANTS TO
I want to know the name of the film where tigers kill human beings which is excellently shot.
Krish