The 20 Goofiest Movie Monsters Of All Time

[Foywonder]

Forgive the cheap plug I'm about to do, but this is something I spend a year working on and I think everyone here will get a kick out of it. I put together my own personal list of the 20 Goofiest Movie Monsters Of All Time as special feature for the NOWFF site complete with pics and explanations as to why each was selected. Think of it as a bad movie monster version of all those lists that TV Guide and AFI keep doing only with slightly less credibility. Or maybe slightly more credibility considering how much people b***h about those lists. So if you get a chance today, click on over to www.nowff.com and check it out. Heck, there's probably a few of the monsters on the list you've never heard of or have heard of but never seen. I think I have the only shot of the Jellyfish Man from STING OF DEATH on the web.

For those of you who do check out my writings at the NOWFF site periodically, you may recall I originally plugged this in my last article claiming it would be up on Halloween. So are the perils of not being your own webmaster and being at the mercy of one who is having a mid-life crisis.

Anyway, hope you check it out and give me some feedback on which monsters should or shouldn't have gotten a nomination.

[JohnL]

Nice list, but I can't believe you left Octaman off the list.

Also, I have a question about Yog, Monster from Space; I'm 99% sure I saw it years ago, but I think I might be confusing it with another movie. Is there a scene set in a hotel where the squid monster was on the roof of the building and the tentacles were hanging down. If I remember correctly, at this point, the monster hadn't really been shown yet so you get people in the room being menaced by tentacles from some unseen monster. I believe it then just leaves. if not, do you have any idea what movie I'm thinking of?

[Foywonder]

Maybe its just me, but I don't find the Octaman suit all that goofy. It is silly looking, no doubt, but its just to competently put together to be laugh out loud funny. Also, I think the Green Slime have that particular body type covered and are infinintely more silly looking. Put the two side by side and you'll get a new appreciation for Ocatman.

As for your Yog question, that's not Yog you're describing. Sounds like it could be The Crawling Eye or Dagora. I'm not completely sure. Was it Japanese? In color?

[Vermin Boy]

Nice list. A lot of pleasant surprises, like Trumpy (I did manage to track down an uncut copy of Pod People, by the by, under the name The Unearthling. Kinda dissappointing, but it did have a stop-motion scene not in the MSTed version).

One question, though: Why wasn't the Turkey Monster from Blood Freak considered eligible?

[AndyC]

I'm impressed. Didn't expect to see the Cheap Monster on there. Recently saw It's Alive, and the thing just amazed me. It is truly the worst movie monster ever, beating even the creeping carpet.

[Goon]

I thought I managed to get you those pics in time.  Were you looking for pics of the completed monster, or were the ones I sent you too large?
    No offense intended, I'm just a bit curious.  Good job on the article!

----ooo-'U'-ooo-----Kilroy was here.

[Chadzilla]

Are you talking about the first one, the second, or the third.

I liked the first one.

Larry Cohen may try another one, he seems to think the timing is right.

Andy Campbell wrote:
>
> I'm impressed. Didn't expect to see the Cheap Monster on
> there. Recently saw It's Alive, and the thing just amazed me.
> It is truly the worst movie monster ever, beating even the
> creeping carpet.
>

[Squishy]

I would give Honorable (?) Mention to Reptilicus, the Metalunan Mutant of "This Island Earth" (exposed brains and slacks--it's a winning combonation!), the grumbling and fatally-clumsy nerdmonster from "The Alligator People," The Boogens, and the bug-eyed Mole People,,,and Minya would've made my Top List.

Delighted to see Gezora made the list...if Shusuke Kaneko ever follows up "GMK: Daikaiju Soukougeki," I would nominate the Yog!-sters as his next opponents--seriously updated, of course; can't have Gezora dancing across the horizon like that. The Big G rarely fights tentacled monsters like Gezora--Biollante is the only one so far, I think--and unless "Godzilla X Gamera" moves out of the pipe-dream stage, Ganime and Kameba are good substitutes for sea-locked Ebirah and Gamera.

Octaman looks good in stills, but seen in motion, his rubber britches and floppy "arms" and frozen "growly face" make him much more silly than impressive. And anyone with even a little imagination could've designed something better.

[Squishy]

Chadzilla: Larry Cohen's mutant babies weren't on the list--Larry Buchanan's ping-pong-ball eyed "dinosaur" was.

[AndyC]

You're thinking of the mutant baby movie. This was a cheap made-for-TV movie from 1968, featuring the crazy proprietor of a roadside serpentorium who keeps a prehistoric monster in a cave, and feeds unwary travellers to it. The monster is a guy in a wet suit with plastic fangs and ping pong ball eyes. Check www.nowff.com for a picture.

[Chadzilla]

My mistake, but It's Alive 3's grown-up mutant babies got an honorable mention.  So at least I got an excuse! ;)

[Scottie]

Great list. I am especially fond of Big Beulah from It Conquered the World. It's amazing what some people think they can pull off. I thought the Stuff was a a fairly decent movie with a okay plot about killer yogurt, and some pretty neat camera tricks. I though it to be more "cool" looking than "goofy" looking. A*P*E* would have been an excellent addition to the list, as would the title monster from The Deadly Mantis. The collection of rats from the movie Rats: Night of Terror, who were merely poured by the dozen onto actors by stage hands above the screen, or "attacked" in masses by means of a conveyer belt were a treat to watch, and would have fit in perfectly among the many other absurd creatures. Great article Foywonder.

-Scott*

[Squishy]

Just for the lucky souls who haven't seen it yet, here's a shot or two of Octaman in all his, eh, glory.

Scientist: "We don't play God here!"
Homer: "That's ridiculous! You do nothing but play God! And I think your octo-parrot would agree!"
Mutant Tentacled Bird: "Awwk!! Polly shouldn't be!!"
--The Simpsons

[JohnL]

>As for your Yog question, that's not Yog you're describing. Sounds like it could
>be The Crawling Eye or Dagora. I'm not completely sure. Was it Japanese? In
>color?

 From the descriptions I've found, I think it might have been Dagora. I'd have to see it again to be sure. Thanks.

[Flangepart]

How bout the "Creature from the haunted sea"? Talk about ping pong ball eyes. I still think they used the dials from somebodys kitchen range!
Dogara the space monster. Weird concept, decent Toho level execution...Ever wonder about the consiquences of all that "Wasp toxin" they put in the air to fight it? Could not have been good for the environment.