Summary

• Monsters that fail to scare can leave audiences disappointed, like the non-threatening Mummy in the 2017 reboot.
• The alien "Jean Jacket" from Nope may have horrifying abilities, but its beautiful appearance lessens the fear factor.
• The giant ants in Them! may have been impressive for their time, but now they look more like Halloween decorations than scary creatures.

Movie monsters have been frightening audiences since the dawn of cinema, but sometimes those creatures that are meant to be scary really fail in that department. Whether they're in horror films or other genres, monsters intended to be terrifying can end up being non-threatening or even laughable. The word "monster" is derived from the Latin "monstrum," meaning biologically unnatural — an unnerving definition proving any monster should unsettle viewers, at least.

When that doesn't happen in a movie, it can leave the audience disappointed, as the character they were hoping would give them sleepless nights actually had very little impact or even made them giggle. It shouldn't be that way, but occasionally it is. These fiends, beasts, and abominations that have been found wanting in that capacity are almost endless.

10 The Mummy From The Mummy (2017)

Sofia Boutella Is Menacing But Not Scary In The Role

The 2017 reboot of the Mummy franchise was intended to be the opening installment in Universal's canceled Dark Universe franchise. It made a small loss financially but was a spectacular failure with critics and audiences. One of the many reasons for that is its failure to frighten, and that largely boils down to the fact its eponymous character isn't scary. The female twist is intriguing and certainly had potential, but Universal's plan to get everyone watching meant it was watered down for a wider audience. Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella) looks far less scary than a movie monster should be. The Mummy ends up being more of a fantasy adventure than horror.

9 The Indominus Rex From Jurassic World (2015)

The Dinosaur Hybrid Failed To Give Adults Nightmares As Promised

Jurassic World isn't really a horror film, but the fourth of the immensely popular Jurassic Park movies did introduce a dinosaur that was meant to scare audiences. BD Wong's character, Henry Wu, even says the Indominus Rex was meant to be "scarier" than other dinosaurs, while Irrfan Khan's Simon Masrani says it will give adults nightmares. Sadly, that isn't really the case. For starters, the name "Indominus Rex" is ridiculous and hardly instills fear. Moreover, Jurassic Park's dinosaurs no longer shock audiences. Their on-screen impact has gone on for so many years. Perhaps most importantly, the Indominus Rex is devoured easily by the movie's real scary creature: the gargantuan Mosasaur.

8 Jean Jacket From Nope (2022)

The Alien Antagonist Is Too Beautiful To Be Terrifying

Jordan Peele's sci-fi horror movie Nope undoubtedly provides a creepy viewing experience, but once its alien antagonist is revealed, it becomes considerably less frightening. Dubbed "Jean Jacket" by Daniel Kaluuya's Otis "O.J." Haywood Jr. after an unruly family horse that refused to be trained, the creature is actually rather beautiful. Granted, its abilities to lurk unseen in the clouds and, in particular, to devour living creatures after sucking them up off the Earth are horrifying. However, its appearance is reminiscent of a majestic deep sea creature, the type people look at with awe when they're watching underwater wildlife documentaries.

7 Jack Frost From Jack Frost (1997)

He's A Snowman

Preceding the more wholesome fantasy film of the same name by more than a year, Jack Frost is a black comedy slasher movie that went straight to video. That it didn't get a cinematic release shouldn't surprise anyone, as it's terrible, and its eponymous killer snowman simply isn't frightening. Sure, he's a cannibalistic serial killer, but he merges with snow due to a chemical accident and, well, he's a snowman. Jack Frost is undoubtedly meant to be silly, but it's also a slasher movie, and any slasher villain who can be defeated with a hairdryer fails to instill fear into viewers' hearts.

6 The Blob From The Blob (1988)

No Matter Which Version, Pink Jello-Like Blobs Aren't Scary

The 1988 version of The Blob is actually the third film in the franchise and a remake of the 1958 original. Frankly, all of them fit the criteria. The story sees a military satellite crashing to Earth with an unwelcome stowaway: an acidic, amoeba-like organism that devours and absorbs everything in its path, growing in size as it does so until it's enormous. In anyone's book, a creature resembling a giant pink Jello mold isn't frightening. The 1958 film may have provided a few minor scares to its unversed viewers, but horror audiences were far more hardened by 1988, and they certainly are now.

5 The Ghoulies From Ghoulies (1985)

They're Ugly, But They're Not Effectively Frightening

The 1980s saw an influx of horror movies named after groups of mischievous little creatures — Gremlins, Critters, Beasties, The Boogens, Munchies, and so forth — the least scary of which is the Ghoulies from the film of the same name. They're evil beings conjured by a young man who inherits the estate of his late Satanist father. They're certainly ugly, and the weird mucous they're all covered in adds to their unpleasantness, but scary isn't a word anyone should use to describe them, thanks largely to the fact that their obviously low production value means they could easily have been made by a child using Play-Doh.

4 The Aliens From War Of The Worlds (2005)

Spielberg Delivers Another Cute Species Of Alien

The tripods in Steven Spielberg's 2005 adaptation of War of the Worlds are terrifying. Given that they are towering, nigh-invulnerable war machines of mass destruction, the beings piloting them would presumably be monstrous. However, when they are finally shown on screen, the aliens are actually rather cute. Sure, they've got long limbs that look otherworldly, and they're large and imposing, but their faces, particularly their big eyes, make them look like creatures that would make delightfully cuddly toys. When one of them emerges from its tripod in a dying state at the film's climax, it is quite easy to feel genuinely sad for it.

3 The Killer Klowns From Killer Klowns From Outer Space (1988)

They're Colorful & Hilarious Rather Than Truly Terrifying

Anyone with coulrophobia — the fear of clowns — will disagree, but the eponymous characters from 1988's Killer Klowns from Outer Space aren't remotely scary. They are darkly goofy, but that's about it. The fact that Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a horror comedy would suggest the Klowns aren't meant to be as scary as the likes of fellow evil clown icons Pennywise or Art, but they're so far away from being on the same level that it's laughable. Those without coulrophobia see these characters as no more terrifying than the average birthday party entertainer.

2 The Fly From The Fly (1958)

The Original's Fly/Human Hybrid Looks Silly Not Scary

Make no mistake, what was scary to moviegoers in the 1950s differs greatly from what scares them now. However, nothing about the 1958 sci-fi horror film The Fly is scary at all. Its story follows the attempt of scientist André Delambre to transport matter in his experimental device. When Delambre enters the machine in an effort to teleport himself, a fly enters with him and their bodies inadvertently merge. Afterward, Delambre has a fly's head and left arm. Sure, the concept might have been a little shocking at the time, but the hybrid creature looks nothing short of silly and, especially these days, not scary in the slightest.

1 Giant Ants From Them! (1954)

They Look Like Halloween Decorations Come To Life

The 1950s saw a spate of "nuclear monster" movies, one of the first of which was the strangely titled Them!, released in 1954. In this movie, a colony of ants is mutated by radiation from the first atomic bomb test, transforming them into giant specimens that rampage across America. Sadly, they just aren't scary. The first mistake this movie makes is using ants. Ants aren't frightening creatures to begin with. The second mistake is the practical effects. For their time, they were excellent, but they never looked frightening, and they certainly don't today. In fact, they look like Halloween props at best.