Editorials
6 Genetically-Engineered Monsters to Give You Nightmares
From Frankenstein to the Island of Doctor Moreau, genre writers have thoroughly explored the horrors that can result from scientists playing God. However, as real life science continues to evolve, it makes sense that our bogeymen have also changed in order to adapt to modern fears.
I was reminded of this while watching Jurassic World: Rebirth; regardless of the film’s overall quality, the misshapen D-Rex marks a return to the genetically-engineered terror of Michael Crichton’s original novel – a sci-fi/horror trope that I think is in dire need of a comeback. And in honor of the test tube scares of yesteryear, we’ve decided to come up with a list celebrating six of the scariest genetically engineered monstrosities in film!
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be defining “genetic engineering” as the intentional manipulation of DNA with the goal of creating a new lifeform. This means that we won’t be including accidental mutations like Brundlefly or even Godzilla.
As usual, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite genetic freaks if you think we missed a particularly scary one.
With that out of the way, onto the list…
6. Indoraptor – Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom may not be a particularly great film, but it does feature the franchise’s scariest genetic monstrosity to date. The hybrid predator known as the Indoraptor may not look too different from its predecessors on the outside, but it’s the creature’s mannerisms that make it scary.
Previous films may have depicted dinosaurs as unpredictable animals reacting to an unfamiliar environment, but the Indoraptor is the first instance of one of these clones being intentionally bred to act like a sadistic killer. In fact, I don’t think I’m alone in wishing that the Lockwood Manor sequence had been the focus of the entire film, as a dinosaur-based slasher seems much more interesting than every other idea present in this convoluted sequel.
5. Sil – Species (1995)
Species may not rank among the best creature features of the ’90s (which may have something to do with the fact that the original script went through a whopping eight drafts before it was finally ready for filming), but it’s hard to argue against a monster movie featuring designs by H.R. Giger! And while some fans accused Sil of being a Xenomorph knock-off, I think that her design is a continuation of the same psychosexual ideas that fueled the original Alien.
A human/extraterrestrial hybrid developed by scientists working off of a mysterious transmission sent to them by an alien civilization, Sil initially looks like a human woman (played exceptionally well by model-turned actress Natasha Henstridge), but her “true” appearance is a classic – not to mention terrifying – example of Giger’s fascination with biomechanical organs and uncomfortable sexuality.
4. Biollante – Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
I’ve never really been frightened by Kaiju. While I imagine that it would be horrifying to actually be caught in the middle of a giant monster attack, I’ve always found these movies to be more thrilling than scary. The only real exceptions would be Shin Godzilla (which I’ve already written about here), and 1989’s surprisingly tragic Godzilla vs. Biollante.
An unholy union of human DNA with plant matter and cells recovered from Godzilla himself, Biollante is one of the largest and most unique creatures to ever face the King of the Monsters. Of course, it’s the context behind Biollante’s creation that makes it such a disturbing antagonist, as the monster’s human genes actually came from the daughter of the scientist who created it – with Erika Shiragami’s consciousness becoming trapped in the hybrid’s body.
3. Dren – Splice (2009)
One of several genetic freaks on this list that feature an uncomfortable sexual aspect in their design, the high-tech chimera featured in Splice stands out due to how it can *almost* pass as human. While the filmmakers owe a huge debt to Delphine Chanéac for her unsettling performance as a hybrid lifeform that wants to escape its overprotective “parents,” I’d argue that the subtly inhuman proportions of Dren’s face are what really make her such a scary presence – not to mention the fact that she reminds me of a certain nightmarish PlayStation commercial from 1999.
The movie is well aware of Dren’s unsettling appearance, especially when it explores the quasi-incestuous relationship that she develops with Adrien Brody as her “father.” That’s why Dren earns a spot on this list, as Splice’s main antagonist manages to disturb viewers through a unique combination of her warped humanity and her traditionally monstrous antics.
2. Judas Breed – Mimic (1997)
Leave it to Guillermo del Toro to take a concept as silly as giant killer cockroaches disguised as humans and turn it into a legitimately thrilling monster movie about nature’s endless capacity for adaptation. And while the Judas Breed’s “Human” form is scary enough, with their gigantic wings and segmented carapaces having mutated in order to look like the rough silhouette of a man in a trench-coat, it’s their disgusting true form that turns them into nightmare material.
I don’t know about you, but I feel that the Breed’s combination of anthropomorphic proportions with the repulsive texture of a trash-eating arthropod make them even more disgusting than a real-life cockroach – especially in the film’s Director’s Cut!
1. The Newborn – Alien Resurrection (1997)
I’ve always been an Alien Resurrection apologist. Jean-Pierre Jeunet is an undeniably talented director, and the wild shift in tone when compared to the previous sequel is actually in line with the variety that makes this franchise so versatile. Sure, some fans criticize Resurrection for being too light-hearted, but I’d argue that its mad science elements more than makes up for the flick’s over-the-top characters and jokey dialogue. If you need proof, just take one look at the gruesome Newborn – a misshapen clone of both Ripley and the Chestburster Xenomorph she was carrying in Alien³.
A psychosexual monstrosity that’s still human enough for viewers to have some amount of empathy towards the creature, this bizarre creation benefits from one of the scariest designs in the entire franchise. Not only that, but the idea of a Xeno hybrid with uncanny human elements is so disturbing that Alien Romulus would do the same thing again in its disturbing final act!
Five decades ago, Stephen King published the story of a bullied girl with telekinetic powers and forever changed the world of horror.
Carrie follows a high school misfit who seeks revenge for a hideous prank by psychically destroying her senior prom. The name Carrie White has become synonymous with the concept of a formal dance thanks to a flawless adaptation from Brian De Palma. Now fifty years after the film’s release, Mike Flanagan is putting his own stamp on the troubling story.
Rather than a feature film, the writer/director will expand King’s relatively slim debut novel into an eight-episode miniseries for Amazon Prime set to premiere on October 7.
Flanagan is no stranger to the world of Stephen King. A long-time Constant Reader, he first made waves with his daring adaptation of Gerald’s Game (2017), a novel many fans considered un-filmable. His underrated Doctor Sleep merges the disparate plot of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining with King’s original source material, and his 2024 genre-bending tearjerker The Life of Chuck faithfully executes one of the author’s most metaphysical novellas.
He’s currently mired in pre-production for an expansive adaptation of The Dark Tower series, keystone to King’s connected universe, and Warner Bros. recently announced that Flanagan will helm a new version of The Mist, King’s 1980 novella which sees a small Maine town overrun by otherworldly monsters.
Considering the vast array of the author’s previously unadapted material, an obvious question arises. Why reimagine Carrie in 2026? Noting the timeless nature of the content, Flanagan expressed his desire to bring the story of a bullied girl into modern times, mirroring his approach to Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher. He explained, “The only way to approach it was to build something new out of the ingredients of Carrie. Otherwise, there’s really no purpose in trying to retread ground that’s been so beautifully walked before.”
His miniseries will maintain the novel’s bloody bookends while delivering “big surprises” along the way.
A New Prom Night Nightmare
The roughly 60-second teaser introduces Summer H. Howell as Carrie White just before the moment of catastrophe. Standing in a prom dress, she smiles at her applauding classmates with an ominous crown perched upon her head. Moments later, Carrie unleashes a rage-filled scream into the night air while promgoers rush for the exit doors. But careful examination of this scene shows Carrie wearing a different, albeit dirty dress as she seems to telekinetically punish her peers.
In an exclusive first look with Entertainment Weekly, Flanagan explains that in his version of the story, “the events of that prom are going to be completely different.” An open trunk emitting a crimson glow does hint at the pig’s blood dumped on Carrie’s head, but it’s likely Flanagan’s formal dance will be a different kind of horror altogether. Despite these changes, the series may end with the widespread destruction outlined in the source material. Unlike any previous adaptations, King’s novel ends with the near-total destruction of Chamberlain, Maine. A flaming street in Flanagan’s trailer promises similar carnage no matter what prank sparks Carrie’s deadly revenge.
The Monstrous Addition of Social Media
On the opposite end of this fiery conclusion is an extreme act of bullying that brings together the story’s main cast. King’s novel begins as Carrie gets her first period while showering in the girls’ locker room. Completely unaware of the concept of menstruation, the sheltered girl thinks she’s bleeding to death. Her classmates respond with vitriolic rage. Led by ultra-mean girl Chris Hargensen (Alison Thornton), they mock the terrified teen while pelting her with tampons. Glimpses of this disturbing event reveal that Flanagan has excised the scene’s nudity while adding a seismic update. As Carrie sobs in the shower stall, Chris and her friends film the breakdown with their phones.
Other scenes note the presence of social media, bringing King’s fifty-year-old story into the digital age.
Flanagan’s adaptation promises to explore the destructive power of social media, an often invisible entity with a potential for harm rivaling Carrie’s own powers. While King’s tormented heroine suffers in front of a small group of girls, Flanagan’s version of the incident will likely become a viral video, potentially circling the globe on social media. Similar to Katt Shea’s criminally underrated The Rage: Carrie 2, which includes elements of revenge porn exploitation, Flanagan’s modern retelling will distinguish itself by exploring the nebulous cruelty of online bullying, a force ten times more powerful than the irl pranks King first envisioned.
A Completely Reimagined White Family
In addition to modernizing these canon events, Flanagan hints at updates to Carrie’s oppressive upbringing at the hands of her mother, Margaret White (Samantha Sloyan). Dead before the novel begins, we never meet Carrie’s domineering father Ralph, known to carry a bible alongside his gun. Flanagan’s White household will be an altogether different beast. In his version of the story, Carrie and her mother have been hidden away in the unassuming home, forced out of hiding by Ralph’s unexpected death. Perhaps we will finally meet this elusive man whose shadow hangs over his wife and child. Considering the White family’s fundamentalist lifestyle, this reimagining hints at tradwife culture and a home ruled by staunch patriarchal control.
Whereas King’s Carrie has been tormented by her classmates since Kindergarten, Flanagan’s Carrie will be a wide-eyed newcomer to public school, eager to make friends and engage with her peers. We glimpse Carrie cozying up to Chris and the equally popular Sue Snell (Siena Agudong) as she navigates a new social scene. Of course, we know this kindness is part of an elaborate plot designed to lull Carrie into a false sense of camaraderie, setting up an atrocious act of public humiliation. These brief moments of feigned compassion put Sue’s own complicity into question. Will Flanagan’s version of the character find the courage to defend Carrie from vicious bullies or will she succumb to peer pressure and join in the mob mentality?
Perhaps the biggest deviation from King’s original text is the relationship between Carrie and her mother. King’s Margaret White is a horrifically abusive religious zealot whose worldview has been hardened by internalized misogyny. She shames Carrie for menstruating, locks her in a closet to “pray,” and regrets not killing her child in infancy. She’s also responsible for Carrie’s social ostracization. Known to berate her neighbors for their “sins,” Margaret forces her daughter to live by an extreme code of conduct and disallows any potential friends lest they corrupt the girl with their worldly ways.
Flanagan’s version of the character is perhaps just as much a victim as Carrie herself. Also trapped inside her home, his Margaret is overly vigilant, her own trauma manifesting as strict control. Describing a more sympathetic depiction of the iconic villain, Flanagan explains, “Our Margaret White is a woman who fiercely loves her daughter and wants to protect her from this world … [She] doesn’t know how to do that and thinks the way to protect her is to close her off; not punitively, but to create this private utopia.”
Despite this potential softening, Sloyan’s Margaret may still have a sharp edge. Though she has appeared in many Flanagan projects, from Hush (2016) to The Fall of the House of Usher (2023), she is best known for her role as the abhorrent Bev Keane in the poignant saga Midnight Mass (2021). Perhaps inspired by King’s Margaret White, Bev is pious and sadistic, willing to punish anyone who does not adhere to her warped approximation of Catholicism.
Flanagan specifically wrote Margaret with Sloyan in mind, likely remembering the actress’s eerie ability to create deceptive empathy and shift our allegiances on a dime.
Expanding Stephen King’s Telekinetic Universe
While most of King’s story deals with an unthinkable prom night in Chamberlain, Maine, large sections of the semi-epistolary novel see experts debating the nature of telekinesis. Do Carrie’s frightening abilities represent a new phase in human evolution or is the prom night carnage merely a fluke? King settles the debate with a shocking denouement in which a young mother recounts her infant daughter’s ability to dangle her crib toys in midair. We’re left to wonder if she will become another tormented girl who surprises the world with metaphysical strength.
Flanagan plans to build out this brief scene while amplifying themes of female empowerment. After introducing our main cast of characters, episode two will open with an unrelated story in which we meet another girl with the TK gene. Each subsequent chapter will expand this world, building out a roster of telekinetic young women. Considering King’s fondness for stories about powerful kids, often described as possessing “the shining,” Constant Readers will no doubt have their eyes peeled for various Easter Eggs nodding to the author’s vast catalogue.
Giving Carrie Her Own Voice
Perhaps the most striking distinction in Flanagan’s new trailer is the extent to which we hear Carrie’s voice. The sneak peek is fully narrated by the titular prom queen as she demands accountability. “I want to know why,” she explains while detailing Chris’ elaborate plan. Aside from the aforementioned coda, King’s book essentially ends with the aftermath of the prom night tragedy, leaving little time for Carrie to reflect. His shifting narrative does bring the reader into her fragile mind, though not before she’s been cowed by relentless cruelty. We watch Carrie sink into bloodthirsty revenge, but never hear a considered desire for justice or repair.
Flanagan’s original monologue allows Carrie to voice her pain and mourn the life she could have had. We’re also treated to a mug shot-style photo of Chris with a bruised and bandaged face, implying that the mean girl will have to answer for her senseless sadism.
Flanagan is known for filling his series adaptations with heartwrenching speeches that cut to the heart of his thematic intentions, and this teaser seems to follow suit. After years of fans, critics, and scholars analyzing Carrie’s pain, perhaps his modern retelling will offer the titular anti-hero a chance to finally speak for herself.
You must be logged in to post a comment.