Top 10 Lovable Horror Movie Monsters!

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Speak up friends, how many of you already watch Bong Joon-Ho’s OKJA on Netflix over the past day or two? If you did, what’d you think? Is it up to the sterling South Korean director’s standards?

Either way, there’s no denying that the monster in the movie is that of a gentle giant. A benevolent beast. Of course, that got us down the rabbit hole of what other horror movie monsters adhere to a similar ilk. Got any off the top of the dome? No sweat, we got you covered. Take a light, breezy jaunt into the weekend by celebrating our Top 10 Most Lovable Horror Movie Monsters!

#1. GIZMO (GREMLINS)

Ah, peep that adorable little punim. Hard to beat that! Indeed, what made Joe Dante’ GREMLINS so damn sweet and family-friendly was the evil endangerment and prosperous protection of Gizmo, the doe-eyed Mogwai. Of course, his race is easily susceptible to turning into ferociously evil little hellions, which in a way makes Gizmo even more sympathetic. We not only want to see him unharmed, we want to see him remain a furry little cuddle-buddy. Straight up though, on a night out on the town, I’m cracking brews with Spike!

#2. STAY-PUFT MARSHMALLOW MAN (GHOSTBUSTERS)

Marshmallows are sweet by nature, so it stands to reason that the hugely hulking Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man – the most unsuspecting of baddies in GHOSTBUSTERS – comes off equally sugary when loping through Times Square. That innocently cherubic facade is too lovable to hate on, and the painful winces he flashes upon being blasted with four proton streams actually makes you feel genuinely sorry for the gentle giant. Then again, “he’s a sailor, he’s in New York – we get this guy laid, we won’t have any trouble!”

#3. E.T. (THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL)

Honestly, we almost went with the R-rated PAUL, an obvious offshoot of E.T., but when all is said and done, Spielberg’s heartfelt ode to the wonderment of childhood in THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL is too damn powerful to omit. Besides, who hasn’t teared up at least a little when seeing that slimy little bastard “phone home” and shoot off across a full-moon on a bicycle. Don’t lie, you wept! Interesting to note, a theory out in the ether posits that Elliot, whose last name is never revealed (but played by Henry Thomas) is actually E.T. himself. Drink that up!

#4. HARRY (HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS)

I loved me some HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS as a kid, mainly for its kind and anodyne depiction of an otherwise loathsome Bigfoot. John Lithgow always rocks, and his interplay between his own domicile and the giant fish-out-of-water (or bigfoot-out-of-the-woods I guess) is a formula for pure comedy gold. Props to the late Kevin Peter Hall, the 7’2” actor who not only played the primary Predator in PREDATOR and PREDATOR 2, but died way too young at 35 years old in 1991. Hey, with Harry, he left more laughing in a life cut short than most who live a full life!

#5. FRANK’S MONSTER (MONSTER SQUAD)

Because he’s so futilely powerless and unable to control what is happening to his body of spare parts, there’s something deeply sympathetic to pretty much every FRANKENSTEIN’s Monster. That said, the sweetness is taken to a whole new level in MONSTER SQUAD (props Tom Noonan!), especially when interacting with little Phoebe. We love this guy like we love a dumb pet animal, forgiving of his mistakes, understanding of its inherent nature. When the gormless ghoul is sucked into that blackhole in the end, great sentiment for the little girl saying goodbye is felt in the heart.

#6. THE FAUN (PAN’S LABYRINTH)

Although much uglier on the exterior than most on our litany, the protective guardian nature revealed in The Faun at the end of PAN’S LABYRINTH make him one of the more lovable monsters in the entire film. Though frayed a bit in the middle section, The Faun’s intentions end up being on behalf of pure goodness when all is tallied. Guillermo del Toro has made a career of making the resplendent out of the unattractive, be it HELLBOY or the little ghost boy in THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE. Beauty in the macabre, is del Toro’s mantra!

#7. MAURICE (LITTLE MONSTERS)

Let’s be real, who grew up in the 80s and didn’t at some point get down with Freddy Savage and LITTLE MONSTERS? I know I did, and wouldn’t castigate the film until much later when learning that Maurice – the adolescent monster that guides Savage through a hellish world of ghouls and goblins under his bed – was played by Howie Mandel. Yikes! Still, at the time, there was an undeniable playfulness and level of nonthreatening fun when Maurice and Savage entertained their little adventures. Good old PG-rated family fun!

#8. TREE (A MONSTER CALLS)

Since A MONSTER CALLS is still so fresh on the film-going consciousness, time will tell whether or not Tree – the munificent monster – will ascend higher than #8. As it is now, the ranking feels proper. Not because Tree isn’t as aesthetically adorable as others on our list, because frankly, this big branchy bastard has a heartened inner-beauty that can’t be denied. He may look scary, he may talk toughly, but when it counts, Tree has little Connor’s best intentions in mind. The Tree may be sappy, but go see this movie if you haven’t already!

#9. WOOLA (JOHN CARTER)

What the hell is this thing? A wombat? A walrus? A wombrus? Who f*cking cares, Woola in the infamous big-budget bomb JOHN CARTER is kind of too cute to kick out of the party. Those lower fangs, that mangled nose, those puppy eyes, this little pug looks like Jabba the Hut if he was your household pet. Seriously, are those turtle feet? A bigger question might be where in the horror Taylor Kitsch went? Dude all but vanished off the map since appearing in True Detective season 2. As for John Carter 2? Never!

#10. SCOTT HOWARD (TEEN WOLF)

Alright, so this little hairy homunculus isn’t a full-blooded monster, but he’s half of one, and that’s good enough to get this f*ckin’ party a rockin’-n’rollin’! I mean, don’t let the heinously hirsute Chewbacca knockoff fool you when he says “hey, I’m no different than anyone else!” He is! Scott Howard is a geek by day, a popular teen werewolf by night, a feral beast of metaphorical pubescence. Silly, fun, lovable Scott is about as rootable and nonthreatening as horror movie monsters go. A Fox in wolves’ clothing!