The Best Horror Movies Streaming This Month Are Creature Features (June 2024)

A new month is here, which gives us an excuse to showcase a whole new set of streaming horror movies. This month, we're looking at creature features! Monsters, insects, animas run amok — they're all here, ready to make mincemeat of unsuspecting humans who dare cross their paths. The creatures here come in all shapes and sizes, from normal-sized (killer) dogs to mutant sharks to city-leveling behemoths. They're mean, they're scary, they're not to be trifled with. Many of these beasts spring forth from nature, as if nature itself is fighting back against us puny, worthless human beings. Who will survive and what will be left of them? Let's find out. 

Streaming on Netflix. 

In a surprise move, Netflix dropped the acclaimed, Oscar-winning "Godzilla Minus One" onto its platform with no warning on June 1. That's great news for those of us who missed the monster movie when it roared into theaters last year. Godzilla has been stomping around for 70 years, and yet "Godzilla Minus One" proves you can still do something fresh and remarkable with the character. Over the years, Godzilla has morphed into an almost heroic figure, fighting off other monsters. The ongoing MonsterVerse has turned big G into King Kong's fighting buddy, saving the day when humanity needs them. But "Godzilla Minus One" returns the character to his post-World War II roots, using Godzilla as a metaphorical monster that represents the horrors of PTSD and nuclear anhiliation. And it works incredibly well. The story, which feels heavily influenced by Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" at times, follows kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who is too afraid to carry out his suicidal mission. He lands on an island, and ends up running afoul of a local monster the locals call Godzilla. Godzilla slaughters (almost) all the other soldiers on the island, leaving Shikishima traumatized and ashamed over his inability to act. A few years later, Shikishima has become a minesweeper, cleaning up unexploded mines left over from the war. And wouldn't ya know it? Godzilla is back — and he's bigger than ever. "Godzilla" movies can go to some silly places, and that's fine, but "Godzilla Minus One" plays things completely straight, resulting in a stirring, emotional, and frequently scary movie. Long live the king.

Stream this if you like "Godzilla" movies in general and "Jaws."

Streaming on Netflix.

"Godzilla Minus One" isn't the only "Jaws"-inspired horror movie on Netflix this month. There's also Xavier Gens' wonderfully ridiculous "Under Paris." In this French film, a mutant shark ("the first of a new species!" we're told) somehow swims its way into the Seine. It's up to traumatized shark expert (Bérénice Bejo) to warn everyone. But in true "Jaws" fashion, the mayor doesn't heed the warning, and people start turning into shark food really fast. There's some stuff thrown in about climate change and activism, but that's all just window dressing to serve up a series of killer shark attacks. This isn't a great killer shark movie, but it mostly delivers on its premise of a shark swimming around in Paris. 

Stream this if you like shark movies — you'll get what you expect. 

Streaming on Max.

"Cujo" is somewhat infamous for being the Stephen King novel that King doesn't really remember writing due to his substance abuse. The book was also turned into a 1983 film starring "E.T." actress Dee Wallace as a mother facing up against a killer St. Bernard. That would be the titular Cujo, who starts off as a very good boy — until bats bite him and turn him rabid (poor Cujo didn't have his rabies shots). Cujo goes nuts, kills his owner, and then traps poor Donna (Wallace) and her young son Tad (Danny Pintauro) in a car on a very, very hot day. If Cujo doesn't kill them, heat exhaustion just might. Icky and mean, "Cujo" doesn't often get hailed as one of the better King adaptations, but King himself seems to be a fan. "Of the smaller [adaptations], the best one is probably 'Cujo,' with Dee Wallace," King once said. 

Stream this if you like "The Howling."

Streaming on Prime Video, Hulu, Peacock, and Kanopy.

A Bong Joon-ho monster movie? Hell yeah. In "The Host," formaldehyde dumped into the Han River in South Korea creates a monster that bursts onto land and abducts teenager Hyun-seo (Go Ah-sung). After the monster steals Hyun-seo away, her family, including her father (frequent Bong Joon-ho player Song Kang-ho) to try to find her. SInce this is a Bong Joon-ho movie, don't expect a traditional monster movie — expect something smarter, and deeper, and even sadder. That doesn't mean there isn't plenty of monster mayhem to go around, though.

Stream this if you like "Parasite."

Streaming on Prime Video and Tubi.

You wanna see something scary? Then you should watch Neil Marshall's terrifying 2005 horror pic "The Descent." In this claustrophobic nightmare, a group of women go cave-diving in an uncharted system of caves and discover a horde of nasty monsters. While this was shot on sets, it feels genuine — as if Marshall and his cast really went deep underground to capture the smothering atmosphere. After a brief emotional set up, "The Descent" becomes relentless, as the trapped women struggle to find a way out before the monsters make meals of them all. Brutal, unflinching, and, yep, scary, "The Descent" is an all-timer. Watch this with all the lights out ... if you dare.

Stream this if you like "Aliens."

Streaming on Tubi and Shudder.

What if H.P. Lovecraft wrote Richard Linklater's "Before" trilogy? The result might look like "Spring," a romantic horror film that hits all the right notes. After his mother dies, Evan (Lou Taylor Pucci) heads to Italy to get away from it all. Once there, he meets the beautiful Louise (Nadia Hilker), who has a secret: she's a 2000-year-old man-eating monster. Ah yeah, that old chestnut! This wild premise was cooked up by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, a stellar indie filmmaking team who are now working in the Marvel world. "Spring" is sweet, charming, and weird, and it has a romantic element that feels genuine. It's not your typical monster movie, and that's what makes it great. 

Stream this if you like the "Before" movies.

Streaming on Netflix.

Boasting a great monster design, David Bruckner's "The Ritual" sends four friends on a hiking trip through a Swedish forest. Anyone familiar with horror can tell you that a trip through a forest or any sort of woodland area in general is a bad, bad idea. Sure enough, these four men first find an incredibly spooky cabin and then run afoul of a terrifying monster worshiped by some locals. Thick with dread, "The Ritual" takes a simple enough premise and runs wild with it, creating an atmospheric bit of folk horror that lingers with you long after the end credits have rolled. 

Stream this if you like "The Witch."

Streaming on Max.

Vincenzo Natali's ultra-weird "Splice" stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as a couple of rock star scientists who create an animal-human hybrid in a lab. Guess how well that goes? Things get increasingly more bizarre and oddly sexual as the story progresses, making this the strangest monster movie on this list. The creature effects are great, and the film's overall vibe is so kooky and off-kilter that "Splice" becomes a real stand-out. This movie was a box office disappointment when it arrived in 2010, but at this point, it feels destined for cult status. Go ahead and get weird and watch it.

Stream this if you like David Cronenberg movies.

Streaming on Prime Video and Tubi.

I think "Stranger Things" owes a few (stranger) things to this delightful bit of 1987 cheese. Glen (a young Stephen Dorff) and his nerdy metal-loving buddy Terry (Louis Tripp) think a hole where a tree once stood in Glen's yard is the portal to a hellish dimension. It turns out they're right! Soon tiny little monsters have escaped, and all sorts of nightmarish shenanigans are happening. The '80s vibes are impeccable (just look at the hair styles some characters sport!) and the practical monster effects are neat. Adding to the fun is the fact that the characters get most of their information about the hell portal via a Satanic metal album. It's good, clean, '80s family horror fun.

Stream this if you like "The Monster Squad."

Streaming on Paramount+.

"Mimic" marked the American debut of Guillermo del Toro, and the production was somewhat infamous in that del Toro's vision was tampered with by the film's producer, the infamous Harvey Weinstein. And while del Toro would eventually release a director's cut that he was more happy with, the theatrical cut has its charms, too. In this altogether gross movie, Mira Sorvino plays an entomologist who engineers a new form of insect to help stop a disease. The plan works, but a few years later, the genetically altered bugs have evolved into giant bug-monsters that have the ability to look like humans (sort of). If you're afraid of bugs, maybe skip this one.

Stream this if you like "The Fly."