13 Animal Horror Movies with Bite
Lions and tigers and bears … and wolves and sharks and … sheep?
Sheep?
How scary can a sheep be?
Apparently comedically scary when you mess around with their genetics.
Several of the movies in this list contain genetically-altered animals who run amok. But there are just as many animals in here doing what animals do for no other reason than that they are what they are.
From dogs and cats, to wild animals, to prehistoric animals, to fluffy white sheep. These thirteen animal horror movies all feature creatures who really have an issue with us.
After watching some of these, you may not look at sheep quite the same again.
Contents
1. Jaws (1975)
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat”
What list of animal horror movies would be complete without Jaws?
Jaws is an action horror movie in which the monster is a monster shark.
When a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it’s up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
Ratings
IMDB: 8.1 out of 10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 90% audience score | Amazon: 4.8 out of 5
2. The Grey (2011)
“Live or Die on This Day”
Wolves are smart. Don’t be hunted by wolves.
The Grey is a survival horror movie in which the monsters are wolves.
A plane carrying oil workers crashes in the Alaskan wilderness. The seven that survive the crash find themselves hunted and attacked by a pack of wolves.
Ratings
IMDB: 6.8 out of 10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 79% audience score | Amazon: 4.5 out of 5
3. Baxter (1989)
“Beware of the dog who thinks”
Do you ever wonder what dogs think about? I do.
Baxter is a French comedy horror movie in which the monster is a bull terrier dog.
Mrs. Deville’s daughter gives her a bull terrier named Baxter as a surprise present. Although she’s afraid of him, she doesn’t want to give him away because she feels lonely. But Baxter has other ideas. He’s not content with this boring life so he causes an accident to get rid of her. The neighbors take him and he’s happy, until a baby comes along.
Also see the book this movie was based on: Hell Hound (1977) by Ken Greenhall
Ratings
IMDB: 6.8 out of 10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 89% audience score | Amazon: 4.6 out of 5
4. Rogue (2007)
“How fast can you swim?”
And to think, crocodiles are not the only thing that can kill you in Australia.
Rogue is an action horror movie in which the monster is a crocodile.
A group of tourists sign up for a cruise along a rugged river in northern Australia. They find themselves in the hunting grounds of a huge crocodile, who attacks the boat and forces them onto a small mud island that slowly disappears as the tide comes in.
Ratings
IMDB: 6.2 out of 10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 89% audience score | Amazon: 4.6 out of 5
5. Cujo (1983)
“Now there’s a new name for terror…”
Not one of Stephen King’s better efforts in my opinion, but still worth the watch just because it’s a classic.
Cujo is a thriller horror movie in which the monster is a Saint Bernard dog.
Brett Camber’s best friend, his Saint Bernard dog Cujo, is bitten by a rabid bat. When Donna Trenton takes her car to the Cambers’ auto repair shop, she and her five-year-old son are trapped in the car by the rabid Cujo.
Also see the book this movie was based on: Cujo (1981) by Stephen King
Ratings
IMDB: 6.1 out of 10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 53% audience score | Amazon: 4.6 out of 5
6. Black Sheep (2006)
“There are 40 million sheep in New Zealand and they’re pissed off!”
Seriously, who can go past a movie about bloodthirsty sheep?
Black Sheep is a New Zealand comedy horror movie in which the monsters are sheep.
An experiment in genetic engineering turns sheep into bloodthirsty killers that terrorize a New Zealand farm.
Ratings
IMDB: 5.8 out of 10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 53% audience score | Amazon: 4.1 out of 5
7. Burning Bright (2010)
“His feeding. Your frenzy.”
Tigers are probably not the sort of animal you want to be trapped in a house with.
Burning Bright is a thriller horror movie in which the monster is a tiger.
During a hurricane, a young woman and her autistic brother are trapped inside their house with a starving tiger.
Ratings
IMDB: 5.8 out of 10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 47% audience score | Amazon: 4.5 out of 5
8. Get Out Alive (2012)
“You are what it eats.”
Get Out Alive is a thriller horror movie in which the monster is a … well, you tell me what it is.
Paul and Marilyn find themselves stranded at a desolate truck-stop when their car breaks down along the back roads of upstate New York. They discover that a strange creature is being held in a cage behind the local auto shop, and the mechanic and his assistant plan on feeding them to it. In their attempt to escape, Paul and Marilyn fall prey to these two homicidal locals, bent on preserving the secret of their bloodthirsty pet monster.
Ratings
IMDB: 5.7 out of 10 | Amazon: 4.7 out of 5
9. The Uncanny (1977)
“They prowl by night…lusting for human flesh!”
We all know that cats can be monsters.
The Uncanny is an anthology horror movie in which the monsters are cats.
Wilbur Gray is a horror writer who has stumbled upon a terrible secret: cats are supernatural creatures who really call the shots.
In a desperate attempt to get his book published, Wilbur tells his publisher three tales of feline horror.
Ratings
IMDB: 5.7 out of 10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 22% audience score | Amazon: 4.3 out of 5
10. Beast (2022)
“One ordinary father. No ordinary animal. Prey for survival.”
Watch out, there’s lions about.
Beast is an adventure horror movie in which the monster is a lion.
Following the death of his ex-wife, Dr Nate Samuels takes his two teenage daughters to the African savannah where he originally met their mother. A group of poachers kills a pride of lions but miss the alpha male. Nate and his girls find themselves hunted by the lion who’s now out for revenge.
Ratings
IMDB: 5.6 out of 10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 77% audience score | Amazon: 4.2 out of 5
11. The Silence (2019)
“They’re listening”
Why is it always the predatory prehistoric creatures that are still around, not the cute and fluffy ones?
The Silence is a thriller horror movie in which the monsters are pterosaur-like flying creatures.
When the world is under attack from terrifying creatures who hunt their human prey by sound, 16-year-old Ally Andrews, who lost her hearing at 13, and her family seek refuge in a remote haven.
Ratings
IMDB: 5.3 out of 10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 25% audience score | Amazon: 4.0 out of 5
12. Grizzly (1976)
“18 feet of towering fury!”
This movie is basically Jaws, but with a bear instead of a shark.
Grizzly is a thriller horror movie in which the monster is a grizzly bear.
A huge grizzly bear goes rogue and starts to kill hikers and campers in a national park. The supervisor refuses to close the park and it’s up to a park ranger, a veteran helicopter pilot, and a naturalist to stop the bear’s rampage.
Ratings
IMDB: 5.2 out of 10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 32% audience score | Amazon: 4.4 out of 5
13. Man's Best Friend (1993)
“Nature created him. Science perfected him. But no one can control him.”
Another dog one. Probably shouldn’t mess with the DNA.
Man’s Best Friend is a comedy horror movie in which the monster is a genetically-altered Tibetan Mastiff dog.
Lori, a television reporter, frees Max, a Tibetan Mastiff dog, from a genetic research facility. Max’s DNA has been spliced with the DNA of other animals, such as big cats, snakes, chameleons, and birds of prey, giving him enhanced strength, speed, and senses. At the facility, he’s normally drugged because he’s prone to violent rages.
Max becomes loyal and obedient to Lori, but when she’s not around he becomes violent and wreaks havoc as the facility owner desperately tries to get him back.
Ratings
IMDB: 5.2 out of 10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 43% audience score | Amazon: 4.6 out of 5
Published: 30 November 2022
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