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

J is for ...

We're up to J. I've always had a soft spot for the letter J, for no logical reason, maybe I just like the shape of it. So today I have some interestingly shaped monsters for you.

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)

Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas)

Jack is the pumpkin king. Like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus are to Easter and Christmas, Jack is the patron spirit of Halloween. This makes him master of ceremonies and he is in charge of all the celebrations in Halloween Town.

He is basically a skeleton in a spiffy suit with an awesome collar. He can also remove body parts at will without any adverse effects for that extra Halloweeny look.

Just because he is a monster doesn't mean he lacks a heart and he's a genuinely nice guy. He is, however, very impulsive and doesn't get that not everything should be spooky.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a fantastic animation from Tim Burton's imagination, so it's weird and wacky. Such fun.

Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest)

Davy Jones is the curse captain of The Flying Dutchman and is introduced in the second of the Pirates of the Caribbean films. He was once human, but fell in love with Calypso and, when he thought she had betrayed him, turned to evil, becoming monstrous.

He enslaves dying sailors for 100 years to sail his ship and is the terror of the seas.

Because of his love for Calypso he carved out his own heart, placing it in The Dead Man's Chest and burying it.

With his monstrous form come supernatural powers. He can teleport within The Flying Dutchman and The Black Pearl, as well as walking through solid matter. He cannot be killed, except by stabbing his removed heart, and he can control the Kraken. He is a formidable monster indeed.

I really loved the first Pirates film, but I have to admit, I'm not overly taken with the sequels. I think they rather flogged a dead horse when they kept making them. However, they have some great effects. Davy Jones is all CGI over Bill Nighy, who wore no prosthetic makeup during filming.

Jimmy Angelov (Practical Magic)

Jimmy is the wild boyfriend of Gillian Owens, a descendent of Maria Owens, a young witch exiled to Maria's Island in Massachusetts. She escaped her own execution and her descendent are all known as witches like her.

Gillian is the wild child of her and her sister Sally, and Gillian has bad taste in men. Jimmy becomes abusive and when Sally goes to get Gillian they accidentally kill him with belladonna while he's trying to kill Gillian.

The really big mistake they make is trying to resurrect him with a forbidden spell. His demeanour has not improved and he tries to kill Gillian again, so Sally kills him again and they bury the evidence. Unfortunately, he's not quite gone. Jimmy's spirit comes back for revenge.

Jimmy is a monster in life and in death. In life he is an abusive asshole and in death he is an evil ghost on a path of vengeance. He's a great villain. If you haven't seen Practical Magic it is a joy of a film. It was one of the first DVDs I ever owned.

Jabba the Hut (Return of the Jedi)

Okay, so Jabba is not technically a monster, he's an alien, but he really isn't very pretty and he's a mafia style boss, so he's definitely monstrous.

He looks very slug-like, but he has something of a toad look going on as well because he has arms. He is greedy for money and other things, and enjoys power. He also seems to have a good side of lust - although one has to wonder why a slug-like alien would find the humanoid female form attractive given that his biology is completely different.

He is the epitome of all that is monstrous about those who love to take from others. That makes him a true monster in my book.

In other Star Wars spin offs and canon he seems to have more depth than in RotJ, but he gets what he deserves in the movie. I have to admit that Jedi is my favourite of the original Star Wars movies, probably because I was just the right age when it came out. Jabba was a big part of it in that I love to hate him. Hence his place on my list.

Q: Who did it better, Davy Jones with his CGI or Jabba with his foam and latex? Any J monsters I should add to the list?

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