Image via Pathé
Just as there wasn’t much of a need to worry about Y2K, so too was there little concern that, come the year 2000, monsters would suddenly stop being cool. The first decade of the new millennium had its fair share of great monster movies, including those in Godzilla’s Millennium era, which technically began in 1999 and ended in 2004 (it would take until 2014 for another Godzilla feature film to come out). But there were other giant monsters who got some time in the spotlight throughout the 2000s, too, and a fair few monsters of a slightly smaller size. Most of the ones here qualify as kaiju, but there are a few monster movies about smaller/regular-sized creatures thrown in here for good measure, and also to help prevent the ranking from being too dominated by Godzilla. Like, yes, everyone knows you’re the king of the monsters, buddy. Calm down. You’re not going anywhere; everyone knows that.
10
‘Dog Soldiers’ (2002)
Directed by Neil Marshall
Image via Pathé
A monster movie about werewolves, which hopefully isn’t a spoiler or anything. It’s more what the film does with werewolves that’s exciting, rather than merely featuring them. They look particularly grotesque and fearsome here and take on a group of soldiers who are in the forest doing war games. So, the soldiers are well-equipped, but the werewolves aren’t really slouches when it comes to killing ability either. It’s simple stuff. There are soldiers with guns, they get surprised, and then they have to defend themselves against particularly gnarly—albeit somewhat familiar—supernatural creatures. There’s just enough edge and style to Dog Soldiers to make it work pretty well as a new spin on old ideas, enough to where it’s probably definable as underrated… though its director, Neil Marshall, would ultimately make a superior monster movie three years later. More on that one in a bit.
9
‘Slither’ (2006)
Directed by James Gunn
Image via Universal Pictures
Well before James Gunn became well-known for making superhero movies, he was somewhat well-known for making B-grade flicks and comedy/horror movies. Super kind of rides the line between old and new Gunn, but Slither sees him full-on in his old mode of filmmaking, since this is a gooey, kind of comedic, bloody, weird, and oftentimes irreverent monster movie about alien parasites. As so often happens to small towns in horror movies, the people there get overrun by these alien creatures, and chaos builds slowly but surely until the weirdness reaches a fever pitch by the final act. Slither is really close to working pretty much all the time, only feeling a little frustratingly off in parts. It’s decent, but could’ve been great. Still, it does offer a bit if you’re willing to be patient, and anyone who’s seen how bad monster movies can get in the wrong hands will know that even the decent to pretty good ones are generally worth cherishing.
Slither
Release Date
March 31, 2006
Runtime
95 minutes
8
‘Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla’ (2002)
Directed by Masaaki Tezuka
Image via Toho
Yeah, as implied (or maybe threatened) before, Godzilla is going to show up a few times in this ranking, including right here, with Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla. MechaGodzilla was already a familiar foe by this stage in the franchise’s history, having first appeared about three decades earlier, but Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla had a new—and arguably leaner and meaner—approach taken to the already mighty foe.
That title is pretty much all you need by way of a plot summary. There is Godzilla, and he is against MechaGodzilla. So, put even simpler, they fight.
And that title is pretty much all you need by way of a plot summary. There is Godzilla, and he is against MechaGodzilla. So, put even simpler, they fight. But their battle doesn’t entirely conclude here, seeing as 2003’s Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. continues the story begun here, with both it and Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla making for a pretty solid duology when taken together (though the first, Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla, is a tiny bit better).
7
‘Big Man Japan’ (2007)
Directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto
Image via Shochiku
You might think you’ve seen it all when it comes to giant monster movies, if you’ve gone back a sufficient amount of time and have sat through dozens to hundreds of them. You’ve probably seen most of it, but you can’t have seen all of it unless you’ve also seen Big Man Japan. “Bizarre” and “unique” are words that don’t even begin to describe this one. It’s kind of like a parody of kaiju movies, a mockumentary, a film about depression (maybe?), and a fever dream all wrapped up in one potentially poisonous cocktail. But if you’re feeling brave, you should have a sip. Nothing else has the sort of gonzo energy as this, with it all being so emotionally detached and over-the-top at the same time, somehow. It’s a tedious, weird, hilarious, and trippy nightmare of a film.
Big Man Japan
Release Date
June 2, 2007
Runtime
113 minutes
Hitoshi Matsumoto
Masaru Daisatô / Dai-Nihonjin
Itsuji Itao
Female Niou-no-jû
Ryunosuke Kamiki
Warabe-no-jû
6
‘The Descent’ (2005)
Directed by Neil Marshall
Image via Pathé Distribution
Neil Marshall did quite a bit with werewolves in Dog Soldiers, but he did even more for crawlers/cave-dwellers in The Descent. Those are the best terms that can be used to describe them, because they are rather unique movie monsters. They’re blind and terrifying, and have adapted to the darkness around them. Unfortunately for the movie’s main characters, they can’t say the same about where they’re trapped. Basically, a spelunking expedition goes wrong, and a group of adventurers find themselves stuck underground with those aforementioned creatures. The tension built throughout here is immense, and anyone who fears darkness and/or enclosed spaces ought to stay away from The Descent at all costs. It’s also a surprisingly effective exploration of grief, at times, which hits you hard in one way while the horror stuff punches you in the gut from another angle.
The Descent
Release Date
August 4, 2006
Runtime
99 minutes
5
‘King Kong’ (2005)
Directed by Peter Jackson
Image via Universal Pictures
You can’t beat the original King Kong, but that one came out 70 years too early to be considered one of the greatest monster movies of the 2000s. Instead, you’ll have to settle for what might well be the second-best King Kong movie: the one directed by Peter Jackson. Yes, it is the first film, but bigger, and sometimes it’s too big (or, more accurately, too long), but when it works, it really soars. And given the 70-year jump between the original and the remake, the technology has changed so much that this experience really is sufficiently different. The first movie, from 1933, is more to the point, and possibly more revolutionary on a technical front, but King Kong (2005) is still extremely impressive as far as its visual effects and filmmaking go, and those with the time to spare ought to check it out at least once.
King Kong
Release Date
December 14, 2005
Runtime
187 minutes
4
‘The Mist’ (2007)
Directed by Frank Darabont
Image via Dimension Films
Though The Mist isn’t quite a perfect Stephen King adaptation, it is an overall pretty damn good one. It takes a novella with the same premise and expands it in interesting ways, especially as far as the final scenes are concerned. That part is what people talk about the most, and maybe that’s fair enough, but the parts where The Mist is more of a monster movie? Those parts are also good! People find themselves confined to a supermarket when a mist sweeps across a town, and in that mist are various creatures, some of whom are murderous and others proving surprisingly large. It was the third time Frank Darabont tackled a Stephen King adaptation, and he did well here, elevating the fairly short story he had to work with and then, of course, radically doing his own thing right near the end of it.
The Mist
Release Date
November 21, 2007
Runtime
126 minutes
3
‘Godzilla: Final Wars’ (2004)
Directed by Ryûhei Kitamura
Image via Toho
Some people will disagree quite vehemently if you tell them that Godzilla: Final Wars is one of the best monster movies of its decade, and also, some people just aren’t worth listening to. Or, well, maybe you can pity those people. In 2004, they were given what’s easily one of the most ridiculous, over-the-top, and unapologetically entertaining Godzilla movies, and if they can’t have fun with it, then they’re a lost cause. Godzilla: Final Wars also so obviously works as a massive celebration of everything Godzilla, being released 50 years after the original and having a plot that allows Godzilla to have a rematch with almost every single one of his prior opponents. He fights a lot, and then the humans also fight—and do wilder things—than the human characters in these sorts of movies usually do. It’s maximalist, silly, and wonderful. It is a movie that undeniably needs more love.
2
‘The Host’ (2006)
Directed by Bong Joon Ho
Image via Chungeorahm Film
Of the monster movies from the past few decades that aren’t Godzilla, King Kong, or (arguably) Jurassic Park-related, it might well be The Host that’s the most important or just the overall best. Its monster is decently-sized, albeit not huge, but that helps make the plot feel a bit more intimate, since the monster is small enough to grab and capture the youngest member of a dysfunctional family. That family stops at nothing to find her again, causing some amount of chaos on the way, with parts of their journey being exciting, parts being sad, and parts being weirdly funny. The Host does its own thing tonally and plays by its own rules, with the approach taken ensuring it feels unique as far as monster movies go. It’s moving, exciting, and, offbeat humor aside, also quite approachable for a monster movie, so it’s worth giving a go for anyone on the fence.
The Host
Release Date
July 27, 2006
Runtime
119 Minutes
1
‘Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack’ (2001)
Directed by Shusuke Kaneko
Image via Toho
It’s no contest, really. Since Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack is a contender for the spot of “Best Giant Monster Movie of All Time,” it only makes sense for it to win the number 1 spot on this particular ranking. It’s Godzilla, but Godzilla is super evil, there’s a fantastical spin on things more than a sci-fi one, and King Ghidorah gets to be heroic for once, which is wild. Also, Mothra teams up with Ghidorah, going against her more expected allyship with Godzilla, since he really is that destructive and terrifying in this movie. Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack plays around with the formula and then some, reshaping what a Godzilla movie could be while also remaining true to the series, and very much not shying away from putting in things that fans would want to see. How it all worked so well, in the end, is a mystery, but it doesn’t matter, because as a film, it really is just that good.
NEXT: The Best Godzilla Allies, Ranked
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