As we arrive at the halfway point of the 2020s, it’s safe to say that it has already been one of the most interesting decades in the history of cinema. Writers’ strikes, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ever-increasing presence of streaming and on-demand media have had an enormous impact on the industry. Amidst all this change, one genre has proven surprisingly resilient and, in many ways, more alive than ever: the creature feature.
The 2020s have delivered a fresh wave of memorable monsters, innovative practical effects, and bold storytelling. Whether tapping into ecological fears, exploring body horror, or simply unleashing chaos for pure entertainment, these modern creature features continue to evolve while honoring the genre’s B-movie roots. We’ve seen the rejuvenation of major franchises like Alien and Predator; there have been blockbuster spectacles like Godzilla vs. Kong and Nope, and a slew of indie darlings including Antlers and Hatching.
Here are 10 of the best creature features of the 2020s so far.
10
‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ (2021)
Holding the record for the longest continuously running film series, Godzilla is one of the most renowned and iconic creature feature franchises in the world. But, unbelievably, it wasn’t until 1998 that Hollywood sank its claws into the IP and decided to create a big-budget adaptation of its own. With a gargantuan budget of around $140 million, expectations were sky-high—but instead of the roaring success we all hoped for, the movie was a colossal disaster. Fortunately, 2014’s Godzilla and 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters were both marked improvements.
Elsewhere, the Kong franchise had witnessed resurgences thanks to 2005’s King Kong and 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, but it wasn’t until 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong that we got what so many had been waiting for—two hours of self-aware silliness and constant dumb fun as the two legendary creatures fought it out on the big screen.
‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Marks the First Time the Titular Monsters Had Clashed in Nearly 60 Years
Big, bold, and brash—the effects are spectacular, the cinematography is awe-inspiring, and the clash is everything we had hoped for: an unrelenting, cinematic showdown for the ages. The fight itself is so good, in fact, that the absurd sci-fi concepts and hokey human subplots are easily forgiven. While far from perfect, Godzilla vs. Kong turned out to be a great summer popcorn blockbuster that proved there is still life in the old creatures yet.
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9
‘A Quiet Place Pt. II’ (2021)
The original A Quiet Place was a huge surprise hit, exceeding commercial expectations and wowing critics and audiences across the globe with its unique premise based around a family trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by blind extraterrestrial creatures with an acute sense of hearing. It was praised for its originality, exploration of themes around parenthood, and its nail-biting tension, establishing actor and director John Krasinski as one of Hollywood’s most exciting talents.
‘A Quiet Place Part II’ Was a Worthy Follow-Up
When it came to the sequel, Krasinski retained the original’s suspense and quiet tension but also brought a fresh perspective by deepening the story’s emotional stakes and expanding the world-building. The introduction of Cillian Murphy’s hardened, reclusive survivor character, Emmett, was a particularly nice touch. While Krasinski’s choice to up the action elements wasn’t well received by all, it keeps the movie fresh, and combined with the film’s moments of hush horror, makes A Quiet Place Part II one of the most genuinely terrifying creature features in recent years.
8
‘Beast’ (2022)
Release Date
August 19, 2022
Runtime
93 minutes
Writers
Jaime Primak Sullivan, Ryan Engle
Beast is a movie that seemed to fly under the mainstream radar despite its star power and simple yet intriguing premise. The movie sees Idris Elba stranded on a South African game reserve with his two teenage daughters, where they are relentlessly stalked by a ferocious lion.
The Thrill Is in the Chase
While there are certainly moments of exhilarating action where Elba comes face to face with the lion and must fight to survive—brain versus brawn—it’s the building of suspense in the lead-up to these moments where the film truly shines. Brilliant sound design and a tour-de-force performance from Elba are largely to credit for this nail-biting tension that keeps viewers on edge as they bear witness to a harrowing battle for survival.
7
‘Love and Monsters’ (2020)
Release Date
October 16, 2020
Runtime
108 minutes
Director
Michael Matthews
Writers
Brian Duffield, Matthew Robinson
Set in a post-apocalyptic Earth where giant alien creatures have overrun the planet and all survivors have been forced underground, Love and Monsters follows a young man named Joel as he embarks on a perilous journey across the country to be reunited with his lover.
‘Love and Monsters’ Is Wildly Original
Far from the scariest entry on this list, Love and Monsters is just as much about heart as it is about horror. Its unique tone blends heartfelt emotion, action, adventure, and humor to create one of the most original creature features of the decade. Unfortunately, despite its impressive 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the movie from getting a full theatrical release—and perhaps the wider recognition it deserves.
6
‘Cocaine Bear’ (2023)
Release Date
February 24, 2023
Runtime
95 Minutes
Writers
Jimmy Warden
Cocaine Bear is an absolute blast to watch. Starring the late, great Ray Liotta—who unfortunately passed away before the film’s release—it pretty much does what it says on the tin. It’s a movie about a bear who goes on a rampage after consuming copious amounts of cocaine that had been lost in the forest by a drug smuggler.
‘Cocaine Bear’ Received “High” Praise for Its Outrageous Premise
The to-the-point movie title and the unusual premise started generating a higher-than-expected level of anticipation in the build-up to its release, and thanks to its strong cast and well-executed direction, the movie turned out to be an extremely fun horror comedy—and news spread fast, making it one of the biggest surprise hits of the year.
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5
‘Alien: Romulus’ (2024)
4
/5
Release Date
August 16, 2024
Runtime
119 Minutes
Writers
Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues, Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett
1979’s Alien and its sequel Aliens are both widely regarded as among the greatest creature features ever committed to film. The franchise began to lose steam, though, following a string of increasingly complicated and far-fetched sequels and the ill-fated Predator crossovers. 2024 changed that fate, however, with the release of Alien: Romulus, the most critically acclaimed Alien movie since the original two.
‘Alien: Romulus’ Takes It Back to Basics and Rehatches the Franchise
Taking place between the events of the first two movies, Romulus follows a crew of scavengers who break into a derelict space station to steal supplies in order to travel to a new, peaceful planet. Upon arriving at the station, they soon find themselves hunted by deadly aliens. While the premise may sound familiar to fans of the series, Romulus does a fantastic job of channeling the claustrophobic dread and visceral tension of Ridley Scott’s original masterpiece—revitalizing the formula with updated visual effects and a sharper focus on vulnerability and survival.
4
‘Hatching’ (2022)
Release Date
March 4, 2022
Runtime
87 minutes
Director
Hanna Bergholm
Writers
Ilja Rautsi
Heavily pressured by her image-obsessed mother to become a renowned gymnast, 12-year-old Tanja one day finds a mysterious egg, which she chooses to bring home. Once it hatches, she names the grotesque birdlike creature “Alli” and cares for it as it grows into her doppelgänger that acts upon her repressed emotions. As expected—chaos ensues.
‘Hatching’ Leans Heavily into Absurdism
Leaning heavily into the realms of absurdism, this Finnish creature feature combines elements of body horror, psychological terror, and social satire to deliver a bizarre yet enthralling viewing experience. Perched between visceral terror and abstract beauty, Hatching was one of the most acclaimed horror movies of 2022 and currently holds an impressive 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.
3
‘Antlers’ (2021)
Release Date
October 29, 2021
Runtime
99 Minutes
Set in a small Oregon town, Antlers revolves around a local teacher who discovers her student is harboring a Wendigo—a dangerous creature from Native American folklore. As the monstrous threat grows, it falls into the hands of the teacher and her brother, the local sheriff, to stop the ancient evil while confronting their own traumatic pasts.
‘Antlers’ Is an Atmospheric Slow-Burn
Steeped in allegory and symbolism, Antlers is a richly atmospheric creature feature, a shocking body horror, and an emotional melodrama all rolled into one. It cleverly weaves folklore with real-world trauma and delivers a haunting, slow-burning, and deeply unsettling viewing experience.
2
‘Nope’ (2022)
Release Date
July 22, 2022
Runtime
131 minutes
Previously best known for his comedy work on shows like MadTV and Key and Peele, Jordan Peele burst into the world of horror when he stunned critics and audiences alike with his critically acclaimed directorial debut masterpiece Get Out in 2017. Proving it wasn’t beginner’s luck, he followed it up two years later with the equally gripping Us. Unsurprisingly, expectations for his third picture, Nope, were sky-high—and, true to form, Peele didn’t disappoint.
‘Nope’ Feels Both Familiar and Vastly Different
While Us and Get Out felt intimate and psychological, Nope takes a bold detour into sci-fi territory with sweeping cinematic scale. It follows two siblings who run a horse ranch in California. After discovering a mysterious, unidentified presence lurking in the skies, they embark on a dangerous quest to capture film evidence of its existence and further understand its nature. While different in presentation, the movie retains Peele’s trademark blend of sharp social commentary and slow-building tension, peppered with sprinkles of dark humor.
1
‘Prey’ (2022)
Release Date
August 5, 2022
Writers
Patrick Aison
For nearly 40 years, the Predator franchise has been putting out films in the hopes of one day recapturing the magic and excitement generated by the classic original movie. There were moments when it seemed as if the studios were onto something—the 2010 reboot, for example, took a talented ensemble cast including Danny Trejo, Adrien Brody, and Alice Braga to another planet and dropped them in a jungle echoing the original film, while updating the legacy with innovative new narrative twists. These moments were few and far between, however, and mostly overshadowed by a string of subpar sequels, reboots, and the dire Alien crossover attempts. This all changed, however, when Prey was released in 2022.
‘Prey’ Holds an Even Higher Rotten Tomatoes Score Than the Original ‘Predator’
Keeping the stylish violence and palpable tension that made the original so great, Prey took the franchise into an entirely different era and added a new protagonist in Naru, whose badassery is comparable to Alien’s legendary Ellen Ripley. Set in 1719 in the Great Plains and starring a predominantly Native American cast, Prey sees Naru, a young Comanche warrior, becoming a war leader as she protects her tribe against a Predator.
Prey possesses a perfect fusion of gripping storytelling, unforgettable characters, and brutal action sequences that won it widespread critical acclaim.
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