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Creature features and monster movies often provide some of the most thrilling and entertaining experiences within the horror genre. Vampires, werewolves, zombies, and all things that go bump in the night can be the source of both fear and enjoyment in the world of cinema. Films like “The Lost Boys” and “Fright Night” showcase some truly gnarly creatures that manage to scare and entertain audiences simultaneously. Some horror movie monsters, like the Xenomorph from “Alien” or the Red Face Demon from “Insidious,” are genuinely terrifying, particularly during those heart-pounding jump scare moments. At times, it’s not just the fear factor but also the sheer disgust that can make your skin crawl, as seen in the shape-shifting monster from “The Thing” or the Brundlefly from “The Fly.”
In many horror films, especially those featuring monsters as the primary antagonists, these creatures are often revealed gradually throughout the movie, intensifying the discomfort experienced by viewers. However, there are horror movies that take a different approach by keeping the hideous or terrifying monster concealed until the final act, allowing the tension to build and creating a sense of dread about what the creature or entity might actually look like. Here, we’ll explore ten such horror movies that masterfully withhold the monster’s reveal until the end.
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10 Horror Movies Where You Don’t See the Monster Until the End
Smile (2022)
“Smile,” released in 2022, took audiences by surprise with its resounding success, owing to its compelling performances and intriguing premise. The film centers on Rose Cotter, a psychiatrist haunted by her own traumatic experiences, who helps others dealing with trauma. However, her life takes a dark turn when a patient claims to be pursued by an unseen malevolent entity. Soon, Rose discovers that this sinister force is now after her. A chilling aspect of the entity’s curse is that anyone who witnesses an infected person will also become infected, leading them to take their own life in front of someone else, perpetuating the curse. Those afflicted by the entity exhibit a deeply unsettling and grotesque smile until their final moments.
The entity’s true form remains shrouded in mystery until the film’s climactic final act, revealing a nightmarish sight. This horrifying creature is tall, repulsive, and exudes malevolence. Its true face is a gruesome and skinless tangle of grinning mouths, exposing its bloodied insides, making it a source of intense terror.
Host (2020)
Created, edited, and released during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, “Host” capitalized on the social isolation prevalent at the time by employing video chat platforms to craft a truly frightening horror experience. It offered a fresh take on the found footage genre in a concise 57-minute runtime. The story revolved around a group of friends who, in an attempt to alleviate their lockdown-induced boredom, organized a virtual séance over Zoom.
Their seemingly harmless endeavor to contact spirits takes a horrifying turn as one by one, the friends are gruesomely confronted on camera. Jemma, played by Jemma Moore, even defies quarantine measures to check on her friend Haley, portrayed by Haley Bishop, due to the night’s terrifying events. As the Zoom session’s timer rapidly counts down, the two friends employ a Polaroid camera to illuminate the room. In a chilling twist, the camera’s flash exposes a nightmarish creature just before the timer expires, and the feed abruptly cuts off.
Sinister (2012)
A decade before collaborating on “The Black Phone,” director Scott Derrickson and actor Ethan Hawke worked together on the supernatural horror movie “Sinister.” The film cleverly combines found footage from the past with regular filming for the present. It revolves around the story of Ellison Oswalt (played by Hawke), a true crime novelist who moves his family into a house where a previous family was brutally murdered. What’s shocking is that he fails to inform his wife and children about the house’s gruesome history. Ellison’s motive is to write a successful book based on the crime, and in his quest for research, he stumbles upon a series of disturbing tapes. However, what he discovers is far more horrifying than he ever anticipated.
Through these tapes depicting various gruesome crimes, it becomes clear that a malevolent entity named Bughuul, also known as the Eater of Children, is responsible for these horrific killings. Bughuul manipulates innocent children, leading them to commit heinous acts by murdering their own families, all with the intention of preserving the children’s souls for his own consumption. This chilling concept is further compounded by the terrifying appearance of the monstrous Bughuul, which is finally revealed in the film’s climactic moments, when Ellison’s daughter writes on the walls of their home using her family’s blood.
The Babadook (2014)
Jennifer Kent’s Australian psychological horror film revolves around Amelia, a single mother, and her troubled son, Samuel. Both are haunted by nightmares stemming from a mysterious children’s book that appears in their home. This malevolent entity within their dreams is a terrifying monster that appears to reside within their house, and it can be summoned by reading the ominous book, which proves indestructible.
The movie keeps the audience and its characters in suspense, as they eagerly anticipate the revelation of this malevolent presence. The Babadook only makes its appearance in the third act, and its true form is far more menacing than what one would expect from a character in a supposedly innocent children’s book. With its long, eerie physique and deathly pale countenance, The Babadook is a nightmarish figure that no one would want to encounter in their dreams.
Malignant (2021)
James Wan is best known for his work in the horror genre, and he has created some highly acclaimed films in this category over the last two decades. His contributions include the famous Saw franchise and the Conjuring Universe, as well as a number of standalone horror movies, such as the twist-filled Malignant.
In a significant spoiler for Malignant, a startling revelation unfolds during the movie’s third act. We discover that the main character, Madison, played by Annabelle Wallis, has a sinister teratoma tumor that shares her brain and spinal cord. Originally intended to be her twin brother, this monstrous entity, named Gabriel, has the ability to manipulate Madison’s body and take control of her cognitive and motor functions to cause havoc. Gabriel’s presence is only fully unveiled in the final act, and his grotesque form resides within Madison’s skull, emerging through her hair when he seizes control of her body.
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Skinamarink (2022)
In 2022, Kyle Edward Ball’s surprise horror film “Skinamarink” generated significant buzz within the horror community. The film is unique in that it relies on subtlety and suspense, leaving much to the viewer’s imagination. Instead of showing explicit events on screen, the film often utilizes subtitles to hint at unsettling occurrences. The story centers on two young children who wake up one night to find their father missing and their house mysteriously sealed, with all windows and doors gone. They are trapped in darkness, with their only source of light being a continuous loop of a disturbing cartoon on the television. Inside the house, a demonic presence whispers to the children, coercing them into committing horrifying acts.
The entity’s true form remains shrouded in mystery throughout the film, adding to the overall dread. Its penchant for keeping the children in the dark and deliberately frightening them intensifies the chilling atmosphere. Towards the end of the movie, there is a brief, indistinct glimpse of what appears to be a deformed face, believed to be the entity, and it is deeply unsettling to witness.
A Quiet Place (2018)
John Krasinski demonstrated his multifaceted talent as not just an adept actor but also a highly proficient director and writer with the release of “A Quiet Place” in 2018. This horror masterpiece is set in a world where menacing creatures inhabit the Earth, responding to any sound by launching vicious attacks.
These creatures are exceedingly menacing and dispatch their victims swiftly and ruthlessly. Any noise, whether it’s a minor disturbance or the starting of a vehicle, can trigger their appearance. What adds to the eerie factor is their blindness, making them even more unsettling. They possess incredible speed, near invincibility, and exceptional strength. The film predominantly relies on minimal sound, which effectively amplifies the tension when these horrifying monsters are on screen. The monsters’ full, grotesque appearance isn’t revealed until the film’s climactic final act, and they can certainly rival the terror-inducing nature of the creatures from the “Alien” franchise.
The Fly (1986)
Both David Cronenberg’s remake and the 1958 original film of “The Fly” share a similar monster reveal, yet they employ distinct approaches, while retaining a consistent storyline executed with notable differences. In Cronenberg’s adaptation, we follow the story of Dr. Seth Brundle (played by Jeff Goldblum), an eccentric scientist who revolutionizes the world with his groundbreaking teleportation device.
When Brundle decides to experiment on himself, an accident leads to the fusion of his body with a common fly, one of the most annoying pests on Earth. In the 1958 version, the doctor’s transformation is immediate, whereas in Cronenberg’s adaptation, Seth’s transformation is a gradual process, marked by skin irritations and the eventual deformation of his flesh. Nevertheless, as in the original, the creature’s true form remains concealed until the very end. In Seth’s case, his jaw is torn apart, marking the completion of his metamorphosis into a fly.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
The horror genre underwent a significant transformation in the 1960s, leaving a lasting impact, thanks to movies like Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” and “Rosemary’s Baby.” “Rosemary’s Baby,” a famous religious horror film, tells the story of a young Catholic couple eager to start a family. Upon moving into the infamous Bramford apartment building in New York, strange occurrences start happening as Rosemary (portrayed by Mia Farrow) becomes pregnant. The couple finds themselves facing bizarre events within the complex, and Rosemary becomes deliberately isolated from her circle of friends, hinting at a sinister and meticulously orchestrated conspiracy.
Hellraiser (1987)
Clive Barker’s 1980s horror thriller “Hellraiser” revolves around Larry and Julia, a married couple who move into a house near Larry’s daughter Kirsty, living with her boyfriend. Julia discovers that the house is already inhabited by her brother-in-law, Frank, who opened a supernatural puzzle box, summoning a group of demonic sadists from hell. To escape their clutches and regain his human form, Frank must offer a series of blood sacrifices.
These demonic sadists are known as the Cenobites, once-human beings now twisted into deformities, such as Pinhead with his iconic nail-covered head and the Chatterer with his incessantly clicking teeth. While Frank and his skinless form appear frequently in the film, the Cenobites make their striking entrance towards the end of the story.
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