It’s surprising that there aren’t more fairy tales turned into R-rated horror films, because many of them are incredibly dark. With The Hallow (review) coming out last weekend, we thought we would take a look back at some of the creepiest fairy tale creatures ever put on screen!
Lady Claudia Hoffman (Snow White: A Tale of Terror)
The VHS box for this film used to scare the crap out of me when I saw it at Blockbuster as a child. Sigourney Weaver’s Evil Queen is one for the ages, and while she’s not technically a “creature,” I dare you to tell me that her Old Hag persona is not terrifying (and an excellent makeup job on Weaver).
Rumpelstiltsken (1995 Film)
To be fair, Rumpelstiltsken is not a good movie. Directed by Mark Jones (who also directed Leprechaun), the film puts the famed fairy tale creatures into modern day Los Angeles, where he goes after the baby of a widow. It’s all rather silly, but Rumpelstiltsken himself is still gross to look at.
Otik (Little Otik)
The Czech folktale “Otesánek” is not one commonly known to American audiences, but the 2000 film adaptation is one of the more unsettling films adapted from fairy tales and should be sought out. A married couple (Jan Hartl and Veronika Žilková) who are having trouble conceiving find a baby-shaped tree stump in the yard, which then comes alive and happens to have an insatiable appetite. At first it’s innocent, with Otik eating people’s hair, but eventually he begins to crave human flesh. It’s some pretty nasty stuff.
The Pale Man (Pan’s Labyrinth)
Guillermo del Toro gave us one of the most terrifying fairy tale creatures ever in what is arguably his best film, Pan’s Labyrinth. I’m pretty sure anyone watching this for this first time was screaming at little Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) to not eat the damn grape, but it wouldn’t be a proper fairy tale if our protagonist didn’t make a mistake every now and then. Her mistake awakens the Pale Man, a creature whose eyes are located in the palms of its hands. The sight of him eating the heads off of the fairies is traumatizing enough, but del Toro gives us some nail-biting suspense with Ofelia’s narrow escape from the creature.
The Gentlemen (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Okay, this one isn’t a movie, but the Gentlemen are some of the scariest fairy tale creatures ever put on film. While they are not “real” fairy tale creatures (they were inspired by a nightmare creator Joss Whedon had as a child in which a floating monster approached his bed), they were described as fairy tale creatures in the Season 4 episode “Hush.” Their modus operandi is that they come to a town and steal everyone’s voices, only to steal the hearts of seven unlucky individuals. About 2/3 of the episode had no dialogue, earning the episode an Emmy nomination, and a spot as one of the spookiest of television ever.
What are some fairy tale creatures that scared you as a child (or as an adult)? Let us know in the comments below or shoot me a Tweet!