Monday 2 April 2018

AtoZ2018 - B is for ... #MovieMonsters #AtoZChallenge


B is for ...

Welcome back for day 2 of the AtoZChallenge. I hope everyone is enjoying April so far. Today I have lots of different types of monsters for you. Some are monstrous to look at, some are very human, others only hide in a human guise.

Scariness Rating


The little skulls by their name are my scariness rating as to how monstrous and scary I think the creatures are when seen in their films.
  • 1 skull (not scary at all) - 5 skulls (very scary)
  • and there is a special rating for a few - 5 red skulls (utterly terrifying)

Belial (Dylan Dog: Dead of Night)

Belial is the ultimate monster. He is immortal and cannot be killed unless the person who raised him, his master, is destroyed first. As we can see in the piccie, he's not very pretty, and his favourite things are death and destruction.

This nasty comes from the film Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, which is a film I love, but which critics didn't receive well. It's based on a comic book and set in New Orleans, where Dylan Dog, P.I. extraordinaire, used to specialise in supernatural cases, but who now refuses to have anything to do with them. Of course he gets dragged back into the world of zombies, werewolves and vampires because of a murder and a mystery.

The production values on the movie are high, the effects believable, and the actors are good. This is a movie with lots of monsters, but not designed to scare.

Fulton Balcus (The Guyver)

Doesn't look very scary, does he, but you have to wait until he sheds his human disguise. Fulton Balcus is the head of the Chronos corporation. He is in fact a Zoanoid, a human, genetically modified to be able to be able to turn into a monster. He is actually the Zoalord, the big boss of Zoanoids.

What he really wants is the Guyver unit. An alien armour that bonds itself symbiotically to a host, making them all but invincible. Unfortunately for him, Sean Barker (Jack Armstrong) accidentally bonds himself to it before Chronos can get to it.

When I originally saw this film it was under the title Mutronics, but it's been The Guyver every other time I've seen it. It is a movie full of action and adventure and the monsters are men in suits - very good suits, but still suits. However, the stunt work and martial arts are superb and this is a fun watch. It also has Mark Hamill, so what is not to love?

Boone (Nightbreed)

Aaron Boone is the hero of Clive Barker's Nightbreed. He starts as a normal human, but dreams of a place called Midian, where monsters are accepted. Mistakenly believing he is a killer he seeks out Midian, but is refused entry and attacked. However, killed by police who also believe he is guilty, he returns from the dead, now properly a monster.

Nightbreed is a classic. It has high production values, a great cast and a great director. Of course, it being Clive Barker it is also very dark. Boone and the other Nightbreed are fantastic monsters, but this is a world of misunderstood creatures who wish to live quietly in peace, but are hunted by humans.

There is the theatrical version and the director's cut now available on blu-ray, but only on US format.

Batty (Blade Runner)

Roy Batty is a human made monster. He is a genetically engineered being, a replicant, specifically a Nexus-6. Designed to be a soldier in off world situations. He and four of his fellow Nexus-6 replicants have come to Earth seeking a way to extend their limited life spans.

He is a very sympathetic monster, in that he is fighting for his life, but he kills without regret. He is ruthless and has been trained to have a disregard for the lives of his enemies.

Blade Runner is a brilliant film. Of course it has its issues, but it is a science fiction classic of the first order. This is a must see for all sci-fi fans.

Blake (The Fog)

So we come to the first monster I have ranked at 5 skulls. The Fog is a movie that still freaks me out, even now, and the reason is Blake.

Blake was a rich man who contracted leprosy. An outcast, he and his fellow sufferers wished to create a colony along the coast from Antonio Bay. However, they were betrayed and their ship, the Elizabeth Dane, was sunk with all hands, their gold stolen by the new town.

On the 100th anniversary of Antonio Bay Blake and his crew return as revenants to have their revenge. The way they come out of the fog is so very, very creepy, and if the fog gets in, so do they.

When I first saw The Fog, many years ago, it scared the bejeezus out of me, and it still does, especially on a dark night with all the lights off. The book of the film is also well worth reading, although hard to find.

Q: Do you have any monster movies you saw when you were younger that can still scare you? Any B monsters to add to the list?

AtoZ List of All Participants

32 comments:

  1. Boone and Captain Blake are favorites of ours !!!
    ... and happy Easter...

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    1. Happy Easter to you too. I would like to see the longer cut of NIghtbreed - be interesting to see the differences.

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  2. Hari OM
    The only one here I have seen (and that too, over and over and will be adding the latest one to my collection too) is Blade Runner - Batty was BRILLIANT! (Well, Rutger was brilliant as Batty). ... am also a huge fan of James Bond - he's the kind of monster who gets away with being one though, 'coz he's "on our side"... but he's a monster nonetheless. YAM xx

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    1. Batty is an amazing character - I always cry when he dies at the end. You have a point about Bond there too. Thanks so much for visiting.

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  3. Now Batty I know! lol

    I probably won't know many of the monsters on your list but I will try! I tend to shy away from horror, for all my husband loves and sometimes writes it, hahaha. :)

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    1. I like a good horror scare, but I can't abide slasher horror movies like Saw, so I totally understand when some do not enjoy any horror at all. Thanks so much for visiting.

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  4. Excellent list of monsters. Can't wait to see more :-)

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  5. I've been trying to decide if I was going to watch The Fog for a while, and I think you convinced me! Mad props for the selection you pull from, I'm loving this theme.

    Song a Day
    B is for Blindsmyth

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  6. Of all these films, the only one I saw is Blade Runner, many years ago. And yes, it was kidn of difficult to decide who the villain was.
    I know the two coming from literature, Dylan Dog and and Nightbreed.
    Had not idea abotu the others, but the image you used for The Fog really is creepy.

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    1. My sister Soph says the new version of the Fog is better, but I don't like it anywhere near as much - the old version is way creepier :) Thank you for dropping by.

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  7. Have you seen the "sequel" to Blade Runner ("Blade Runner 2049")? I found it really quite awful, compared to the original – which is so philosophically interesting and complex. I'd say Jared Leto's character in that one definitely qualifies as a monster!

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    1. I have - I enjoyed bits of it, but it made no sense whatsoever :) You are definitely right about Leto's character.

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  8. In my younger days, I watched semi scary movies, but now I don't watch any because they get stuck in my mind and replay and scare me all over again. That one about the fog is scary enough, just reading your blurb.
    http://findingeliza.com/

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    1. I love a good scare, but only when I am able to hide behind a cushion or my husband :) There are a couple I have regretted watching though. Thank you for dropping by.

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  9. The Body Snatchers, now that's a movie that scares me silly :)

    Great post!

    Sophie
    Ghostly Inspirations - Sophies A to Z

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  10. The Fog is a great movie. Blake is a great pick. No love for Balrog from Lord of the Rings or the Babadook?

    B is for Boss

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    1. See I had Balrog in there to begin with, but I thought I had too many, so he got cut :) The Babadook didn't really get me, which is why he didn't make the list of my favs, although I really wanted to love the film because of Essie.

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  11. Eek! I don't watch horror movies, but I stopped by because you left a comment on my blog. So, to me they all get 5 skulls.

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    1. Thank you for visiting back, even though my theme isn't your thing :)

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  12. Don't recognise a lot of those, I am so out of touch! Good choice of topic though :)

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    1. Thank you, and it's probably not that you are out of touch - some of my choices are eclectic :D

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  13. Batty was brilliant, a kind of anti-hero.
    Dr Who used to scare me - I still think the angels are freaky.

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    1. Most definitely - a brilliant anti-hero at that.
      The angels are most definitely freaky - I remember being scared rigid by the Fendaline when I was small.

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  14. I don't know any of these! But I know for sure that these will scare me :)
    C at Kohl Eyed Me
    C at Something's Cooking

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    1. I have some monsters coming up which definitely won't scare :) Thank you so much for visiting.

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  15. Blade Runner is one of my top ten movies and Roy Batty is a huge reason. Batty is brilliantly played by Rutger Hauer - a great actor in most roles - but at his best and almost sympathetic as Batty. That 'death' scene is so emotional.

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  16. Good choice of Batty in Blade Runner. A monster I felt empathy for.

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  17. I'm not familiar with any of these apart from Batty. I'll have to check out some of these movies, they sound good.

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Thank you so much for reading. I love to hear from people. Please leave your comments below.