This list contains one mention of a sexual assault scene.
Horror moviesare often set in the woodsbecause we understand that the darkness and sounds of an enclosed forest can be a creepy setting, especially at night. However, whilebeing lost in the woods is a horror trope, the trees often fade into the background unless they are central to the story. Though horror movie villains can take many forms, it is often still a surprise when a horror movie features a malevolent tree or plant. Seeing the peaceful embodiment of nature becoming bloodthirsty monsters can either make a hilarious horror-comedy or a genuinely chilling horror movie nightmare.
The central plots in biological horror movies likeThe Happeningoften involve sympathy for the plants, as they revolve around people treating nature without the necessary respect, or scientists going too far with their experiments. Alien landscapes like the one beyond “the shimmer” inAnnihilationare often dangerous in their own right, without any need for the plants themselves to be evil. However, movies have featured villainous plants for decades, and it appears that while “plant horror” is rare compared to some ofthe many horror subgenres, trees and plants are underrated horror movie villains.
10The Day of the Triffids (1963)
Seawater Is The Only Weapon Humans Have Against These Villainous Plants
The Day of the Triffidsmovie changed some major aspects of the book it is based on, including the origin of the malevolent plant monsters called “triffids.“InThe Day of the Triffids, the plants arrive from spacein a meteor shower, which spreads plant spores, which then grow into the giant, menacing triffids. Like many plants, triffids can continue growing after they are damaged, making the fight against them seem hopeless.
The Day of the Triffidsis a classic 1960s horror movie and its solution might be a little simplistic for modern horror movies, but it is logical. The characters find thatthe monstrous plants are vulnerable to saltwater, after reasoning that if you’re able to kill a houseplant with saltwater, perhaps you can kill a triffid too.The Day of the Triffidsis being made into a TV series, and the premise is still creepy today.
Cast
A scientist and a teacher living in a dystopian future embark on a journey of survival with a special young girl named Melanie.
The fungal enemy inThe Girl with all the Giftsis based on a terrifying natural phenomenon. The spores of the cordyceps fungus infect the brains of insects, turning them into zombie-like creatures, and the premise ofThe Girl with all the Giftsexplored what would happen if the cordyceps affected humans.The Girl with All the Giftsis a twist on the zombie movie, and was released beforeThe Last of Us, which has a similar premise.
Fungus is technically different from plants, as it doesn’t produce its food through photosynthesis. As many of the plants in this list don’t do that either, choosing to prey on humans, this writer has allowed fungus to make the list.
The plots for manyplant-based horror movies can often be campyand silly, butThe Girl with All the Giftsis disturbing, with both gore and creepy feral children added into the mix. The ending is bleak and unexpected, even for a zombie movie. The movie has an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a cast full of well-known stars, including Glenn Close, Gemma Arterton, andHouse of the Dragonactor, Paddy Considine.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a 1978 science fiction horror film depicting two Department of Health workers in San Francisco. As residents transform into emotionless replicas of themselves, the characters unravel a chilling extraterrestrial threat spreading across the city.
Invasion of the Body Snatchersis a critically acclaimed horror, with a 93% positive Rotten Tomatoes score andan impressive cast, which includesStar Trek’s Leonard Nimoy, Donald Sutherland, and Jeff Goldblum.Invasion of the Body Snatchersis often considered one of the greatest remakes of all time, as it is a remake of a 1950s horror of the same name. The villainous plants in this movie are the disturbing “Pod People.”
The Pod People inInvasion of the Body Snatchersare a shape-shifting, parasitic alien race that resembles plants with pink flowers. They take the place of existing humans when the humans fall asleep, with the movie showing many of the Pod People as half-formed embryos before they fully replace these existing characters. The concept has been so successfully disturbing that there have beenfourInvasion of the Body Snatchersmovies.
Little Shop of Horrors
Based on the stage musical of the same name, Little Shop of Horrors stars Rick Moranis as Seymour Krelborn, a shy young man working at a florists shop in New York City who acquires a strange plant that begins to bring in more business for the shop. When Seymour learns that the plant is not only sentient but requires human blood to grow, he comes caught up in a nightmarish farce in order to keep the plant fed. Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, and Steve Martin also star.
is an iconic horror comedy musical about a timid florist’s assistant named Seymour, who discovers that the strangest plant he owns is both evil and carnivorous. The monstrous plant, which Seymour has named Audrey II after his co-worker and love interest, turns out to be an alien from outer space, but it resembles a cross between a watermelon and a Venus fly trap.Audrey II convinces Seymour to feed people to itin exchange for fame and fortune for his botany skills.
Little Shop of Horrors Remake Needs To Keep 1 Element From The 1986 Movie
Little Shop of Horrors is, once more, in the process of getting a remake, and to succeed, it needs to keep one key element from the 1986 version.
The originalLittle Shop of Horrorswas a 1960 movie, which was then made into a musical in 1982. The plots are significantly different, though both star a villainous plant, andAudrey II is still one of the most recognizable horror comedy villainsaround. The award-winning 1986 movieLittle Shop of Horrorschanges the musical’s darker endinginto a more lighthearted conclusion, with a happy ending for Seymour and Audrey.
The Evil Dead
The Evil Deadis a horror movie from 1981 starring Bruce Campbell and directed by Sam Raimi. The film follows Ash Williams, who after visiting a cabin in the woods, is tormented by deadites and must fight for his life after his friends are possessed.The Evil Deadnot only started a long-running horror franchise, but it is also the film responsible for putting both Raimi and Campbell on the map as a director and actor, respectively.
Director Sam Raimi’s horror movieThe Evil Deadis about demonic possession, and the movie drew positive reviews, including praise from legendary horror writer Stephen King.The Evil Dead’s possessed trees have a key role in the movie, as they both torture the main characters and try to stop them from escaping. AlthoughThe Evil Deadfeatures many graphic and disturbing scenes, it is often overshadowed by one controversial scene, which Raimi has admitted he regrets.
The Evil Deadshows the possessed tree vines sexually assaultingone of the main characters. This infamous scene attracted backlash when the movie was newly released, and has even led to some countries banning the movie.Raimi has spoken out about the “tree rape” sceneand its controversy, admitting that it was too graphic and brutal. While director Fede Álvarez kept the scene in his 2013 remake, it was considerably toned down.
Godzilla vs. Biollante
Godzilla vs. Biollante is a 1989 Japanese kaiju film directed by Kazuki Omori. The film follows Godzilla’s battle against Biollante, a genetically engineered rose monster infused with human and Godzilla’s DNA. As the two monsters clash, humanity faces the devastating impact of their confrontation. This installment explores themes of biotechnology and environmental consequences.
The iconic “King of the Monsters,” Godzilla has fought many enemies throughout the 30 movies in his long-running franchise. While theGodzillamovies are often very different depending on theGodzillaera and whether he has been cast as a hero or villain,Godzilla vs Biollanteincludes more horror elementsthan otherGodzillamovies. Biollante is even bigger than Godzilla and resembles an enormous plant, with the mouth of a crocodile.
Biollante is a mutant kaiju, created by scientists using a mix of DNA from a human, a rose, and Godzilla himself. This formidable combination makes Biollante one ofGodzilla’s strongest enemies. As Biollante was created by a grieving scientist with some of the DNA of his dead daughter, the monstrous plant keeps some human elements, including human voices in its roar, which adds an extra disturbing element toGodzilla vs Biollante.
The Ruins
The Ruins is a horror film directed by Carter Smith, centering on a group of friends who encounter terrifying forces at an ancient archaeological dig in Mexico. As they attempt to escape, they realize the ruins harbor a sinister presence. The film stars Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, and Laura Ramsey, and is based on the novel by Scott Smith.
The Ruinsstars Jena Malone and Shawn Ashmoreamong a group of tourists who join up to explore a Mayan ruin in the Mexican jungle. At first, the human guardians of the ruins appear to be the main antagonists, when they immediately threaten and then shoot one of the group, forcing them to flee into the ruins. However, the extreme measure is soon explained, as the evil inThe Ruinsis revealed.
The real danger inThe Ruinshas been in plain sight all along. It is the vine itself, which had been lurking in the background in many of the movie’s shots before the team met the Mayans.The vines are carnivorous, luring people into the ruinsusing their ability to mimic sound. This begins with the vines mimicking a ringing phone, and ina scarier alternative ending forThe Ruins, another character’s voice.
Poltergeist
Poltergeist is a supernatural horror film directed by Tobe Hooper and produced by Steven Spielberg. Released in 1982, it follows the Freeling family as strange phenomena disturb their suburban home, prompting them to seek the expertise of parapsychologists to confront the malevolent forces threatening their daughter.
The main villain inPoltergeistis the ghostly force that causes havoc in a new house that has been built on top of a graveyard. This force possesses several things in and around the house, including the old oak tree in the garden.Poltergeist’s tree is already scarybefore the movie’s supernatural events begin. It is an imposing, gnarled presence that towers over the children in the movie, who are afraid of it at night.
After the haunting begins, the tree smashes through the house’s walls, snatches up one of the children, and attempts to eat him as a mouth opens in its bark.The child tries to escape, but the tree’s roots grab himonce more before the tree is defeated by a tornado. The movie plays on a common fear for children - scary shadows outside the window - and with an even creepier twist,Poltergeistis based on a horrifying true story.
2The Thing From Another World (1951)
The Humanoid Plant That Inspired A Body Horror Classic
The Thing From Another Worldis a 1950s black-and-white science fiction horror, set in Alaska, where a group of scientists finds and thaw out a spaceship that appears to have a human occupant. Though the unfrozen villain looks like a humanoid creature, it is biologically more similar to a highly evolved form of plant, which can shape-shift and shoot spores out of its hands. This shape-shifting alien antagonist might sound familiar to horror fans.
10 Scariest Black And White Movies Of All Time, Ranked
Black and white horror films, with their ability to intensify sinister imagery and tones, rank among some of the scariest in film history.
The Thing from Another Worldis based on a 1938 novella, called “Who Goes There?“The Thing From Another Worldshares a location and many scenes with John Carpenter’s critically-acclaimed body horror movie,The Thing,because both movies were inspired by the same novella. However, the two movies treat the evil plant differently. WhileThe Thing From Another Worldkeeps its monster in the shadows,The Thingtakes its body horror to gruesome levels with practical effects.
A Murderous Tree Spirit Is Feeding People To Her Tree
The villain inThe Guardianis relatively rare, as its evil tree is not an alien from outer space or possessed by malevolent forces. Instead,The Guardian’s antagonist is a tree spiritwho is working as a nanny and stealing the children she cares for, so she can feed them to the tree as human sacrifices.The Evil Deaddirector Sam Raimi nearly directedThe Guardian, but he dropped out of the project.
The Guardianwas critically panned and has a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 25% positive. This is surprising considering the movie had a horror veteran involved in its production.The Guardianwas written and directed by William Friedkin, director of the groundbreakinghorror movie,The Exorcist. ThoughThe Guardianwas not Friedkin’s best movie, it has an interesting premise and villain, and some unintentionally hilarious gore.
