ALIEN: Let's be honest: the visual of the Xenomorph is enough. But the whole story, life cycle and hunting patterns surrounding it make it that much cooler. The fact that it is bursts out of your chest, then grows to a size bigger than a human, and crawls around in the dark hunting humans is absolutely terrifying. Usually, when it is chasing you, you are in some sort of highly-pressurized spacecraft or a deserted planet. So there is really no where to run. And make no mistake, it WILL find you. Another cool thing about the alien is that it works as a solo act or in a group. So there can be some variety in the series. Just imagine how much different the series would be if James Cameron just decided to make Alien 2 instead of go the different direction with Aliens. The Xenomorph is an all around great character and one of the best movie monsters.
KING KONG: Now, not only is King Kong cool, but his entire mythology is awesome. I love all the unexplored territory on Skull Island and all of the other monsters that inhabit Kong's world. While the ending is awesome, my favorite part of the movie is when the crew is on the island, encountering different monsters and beasts. The whole unexplored backstory of Kong is just a great idea. I love that it was never expanded upon and they left it up to the audience's imagination. I know they did Son of Kong and a few other sequels, but after the success of the 2005 remake, it would have been so easy to rush a prequel into production showing Kong's origin. But that hasn't happened. The whole story of Kong is great, and I am a huge fan of both the original and the 2005 film.
THE THING: A visually stunning creature, the Thing has to be one of the coolest and most interesting monsters I've ever seen. The fact that it can mimic anything and everything and be disguised as it is terrifying. The Arctic is the perfect setting for this story. And, like Kong, I loved that they left backstory to the imagination. Even though they made a prequel, they still didn't give away anything. As much as I love the Thing, I don't think there will be any more movies featuring it. It is basically a standalone story and the only place you can go with it is to do a prequel. Now that that's done I doubt they have any more places to go with the story. I know John Carpenter had an idea for the Thing II and the SyFy channel was planning a sequel miniseries, but I don't really think you can make a sequel. The Thing is one of the most original monsters ever created. Yes, I know John Carpenter's version is a remake itself but let's face it, Carpenter's version is way cooler than the original.
GODZILLA: What can I say that hasn't been said before? It is the king of the monsters. Godzilla has a fantastic look, and is all around one of the coolest monsters ever. Even though I know that as time went on he morphed into a sort of superhero, my favorite Godzilla is the original one where he was a real threat. There is nothing cooler than seeing something moving under the water and realizing that it is Godzilla. I am really looking forward to the 2014 film and I hope it starts the official American Godzilla franchise.
What are your favorite science fiction/ giant monsters? Sound off below, and let me know!