10 Monsters We Love to Root For

Trick 'r Treat | Legendary Pictures / Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures

Every year, I celebrate what I call the Monster Month of May. I watch a ton of monster films all month. Some of them I’ve seen a hundred times, some are new surprises, and some are just so terrible that I can’t look away. I usually buy myself some sort of unique monster-themed present (this year, I bought an amazing An American Werewolf in London print by Ghoulish Gary Pullin), and I even do an annual themed month for my podcast, where we roast through two monster movies an episode. 

Obviously, the point of monster movies is for the audience to be terrified of the monster. However, I’ve found that there are many monsters who are supposed to be the villain, that I have a soft spot for, and am even rooting for by the end of the film. Here are 10 monsters I love to root for in their films.

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1Zombies – Day of the Dead (1985)

George A. Romero did something with the zombies in this film that really hadn’t been done up to this point. He gave them personality. Not only are most of the human characters in this film completely insufferable and we’re glad to be rid of them, but Romero created Bub the zombie as almost innocent and child-like, discovering a new way to live while clinging to distant memories of a past life. Plus, the tyrannical Captain Henry Rhodes (Joseph Pilato) is one of the most detestable villains in all of ’80s horror. It’s no wonder we love seeing him get munched on by the end. 

2Xenomorphs – The Alien Franchise

Is there a single other human character in the Alien franchise that anyone actually likes aside from Ellen Ripley? Everyone in the first two films is a mansplaining jerk who doesn’t follow proper quarantine protocols…and don’t even get me started on the characters of Alien 3 and  Resurrection. Yeah, the Xenomorphs may be ugly, and vicious, and would most certainly destroy the human race in an instant if they ever got to Earth, but as far as these films go, if this is what humanity has to offer in the future, I say ring the dinner bell. 

3Psycho Goreman – PG: Psycho Goreman

The Archduke of Nightmares loves to murder and destroy, and we couldn’t love him any more for it. He looks awesome, he’s funny, he loves hunky boys, and looks great in an Alan Grant getup. Yes, he is a vicious war-monger that has a thirst for blood, but somehow the oppressive Templars that took over his planet of Gigax were worse. Speaking of Alan Grant…

4T-Rex – Jurassic Park Franchise

“They’re not monsters, Lex, they’re animals.” Uhh…sorry Dr. Grant. These “animals” are genetically altered beasts that basically have super powers. As a result of their tampered DNA, they can spit venom, remember where exactly on electric fences they’ve tested, pretend to be dinosaur heads in jars, and eventually, turn completely invisible. The Tyrannosaurus rex not only eats the “bloodsucking lawyer,” but she saves the day in not one, but two of the Jurassic films, killing off all the “villain” dinosaurs of the films. 

5Kong – King Kong Franchise

Kong just wants to be left alone. It seems like in every single King Kong film, they go to his delightful home of Skull Island, interrupt his normal, every day giant gorilla activities and drag him halfway across the planet. There, he he’s forced into fighting some other giant monster, and then either murdered or left to swim home. Dude just wants to chill, scratch his back with some trees, and eat some giant alligator kabobs. I don’t blame him one bit for turning into a giant, hairy wrecking ball. 

6The Shark  Jaws 3D

Hear me out, clearly the shark is not just a shark. As we see throughout the franchise, the shark either rises from the dead, or its spawn have the ability to hold a personal grudge against the entire bloodline of the Brody family. I think if we’re talking about the first two films, you don’t root for the shark, but then in Jaws 3D, the SeaWorld staff captures and accidentally kills its baby, opening up that sweet, sweet parent/child revenge arc. Another honorable mention here is Orca (1977), but that’s just a normal revenge-bent animal, not an undead one. 

7Frankenstein – The Monster Squad (1987)

Unlike previous films featuring Frankenstein’s creature, The Monster Squad puts him on the team of good guys! Although frightening at first, he develops a friendship with the little girl (in an incredible parallel to the original Frankenstein film) and helps save the day when he takes on Dracula one-on-one, sacrificing himself for the win.

8Godzilla – Godzilla Franchise

Much like Kong, Godzilla usually just wants to swim around and do his thing. But every so often, humans like to do things to destroy our planet, build giant robot versions of Godzilla, or cause giant mutant smog monsters to appear, which draws him to emerge and intervene. I don’t think I’ve seen one Godzilla film where I wasn’t like…”maybe we should just let him burn it all down and start over.”

9Amphibian Man – The Shape of Water

Much like Bub in my first example, Guillermo del Toro gives the Amphibian Man a personality that we can all relate with. We’re already emotionally attached when we see that he was kidnapped from his home and tortured/brutalized by Michael Shannon’s nefarious Richard Strickland, but as soon as we see him develop a loving relationship with the films protagonist Elisa (Sally Hawkins), we’re all-in for the new Gillman. 

10Sam – Trick ‘r Treat

Sam is the monster-ized embodiment of the spirit of Halloween. He only really messes with those that tarnish the sacred holiday, and let’s be honest, do we really need those kinds of people in our lives? Sam is generally defensive of those who show respect, and carries out his punishment ten-fold on those who don’t. It doesn’t hurt that he’s so damn cute…at least before the mask comes off. 

What are your favorite movie monsters to root for? 


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