creature movie review rating

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Creature Poster Image

  • Common Sense Says
  • Parents Say 0 Reviews
  • Kids Say 3 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Derivative horror movie is violent and depraved.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this horror film about a group of young adults who visit a creepy old house where a hideous man-monster is supposed to have lived has a high body count. There's lots of blood and gore, and much of the violence comes from humans threatening and/or attacking one another with weapons. One…

Why Age 18+?

The movie opens with a scene of full-frontal nudity as a woman goes swimming in

Language includes frequent use of words like "f--k," "s--t,"

Perhaps the most disturbing sequence takes place during a flashback, when a man

Young people (possibly of age, possibly not) drink beer and wine and smoke pot a

One scene takes place in a store, and some brand names are visible in the backgr

Any Positive Content?

Most of the movie is about terrible behavior. The movie seems fascinated by all

The majority of the characters behave badly, enabling the creature, killing each

Parents need to know that this horror film about a group of young adults who visit a creepy old house where a hideous man-monster is supposed to have lived has a high body count. There's lots of blood and gore, and much of the violence comes from humans threatening and/or attacking one another with weapons. One scene shows a person eating human body parts. There's full-frontal nudity as well as some perverse sexual situations, including a relationship between a brother and sister. The main characters (who may be of age but may not) drink beer and wine and smoke pot. Language includes multiple uses of "f--k" and "s--t."

To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Sex, Romance & Nudity

The movie opens with a scene of full-frontal nudity as a woman goes swimming in the swamp. Two more women are seen topless. In a flashback, a man is shown to be in a romantic relationship with his young teen sister. In perhaps the most shocking scene, a teen girl manually stimulates a boy (the "action" is out of frame). The same teen boy tries to seduce another teen girl, but fails (though they kiss). Another couple has sex in the woods, though entirely off screen; viewers only see the foreplay. Additional kissing and some innuendo.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Language includes frequent use of words like "f--k," "s--t," "damn," "ass," "hell," "goddamn," and "Jesus" (as an exclamation). Characters give each other the middle finger.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Perhaps the most disturbing sequence takes place during a flashback, when a man kills a giant gator and begins eating the discarded human body parts nearby. Lots of monster attacks, as well as a surprising number of incidents with humans threatening, attacking, and thrashing upon one another. A few severed body parts, and lots of spurting blood.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Young people (possibly of age, possibly not) drink beer and wine and smoke pot around a campfire. A couple of hillbillies drink beer -- and some kind of homemade liquor -- until they're stumbling drunk.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

One scene takes place in a store, and some brand names are visible in the background.

Positive Messages

Most of the movie is about terrible behavior. The movie seems fascinated by all this creepy, depraved stuff, and the voices of reason are eventually drowned out.

Positive Role Models

The majority of the characters behave badly, enabling the creature, killing each other, and otherwise engaging in debauchery. Only one character shows some bravery, but he also resorts to brutal violence, and his efforts don't add up to much.

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

creature movie review rating

Parent and Kid Reviews

  • Parents say
  • Kids say (3)

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

Six (presumably) college-age kids -- who don't seem to like each other much -- drive through Louisiana on their way to a fun getaway. Stopping for gas, they meet some creepy backwoods locals and learn about the legend of a man-monster supposedly living in a swamp. They decide to see the creature's home and wind up spending the night in the woods. Soon, the monster comes out of hiding and begins to attack. Unfortunately, the monster is looking for more than a meal: It's looking for a bride. What's more, it has some unexpected help.

Is It Any Good?

This monster movie is about as bad as they come. Its amazingly low-budget "effects" include an actual latex monster rather than the now-more-typical CGI. The creature isn't at all scary, but some of the behavior of the human characters can be disturbing; some of the behavior on display here includes incest and cannibalism.

On a pure storytelling level, the filmmakers steal from dozens of typical teen-road-trip horror movies, plus the old evil-hillbilly chestnut, and throw in a few depraved ideas from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre . And most of the characters are simply flat-out annoying. It's all so numbingly routine that it's not clear whether the filmmakers thought they were paying homage, making a parody, or just doing an outright rip-off. The casting of legendary character actor Sid Haig -- and a subtle mention of Haig's best movie, Spider Baby (1964) -- suggests some genre knowledge, but there's no inspiration in the cheap, lazy CREATURE. It's dead on arrival.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the movie's violence . How does it compare to other horror movies you've seen?

Is the movie scary ? Do you think the goal is to scare, shock, or both?

How does the movie portray sex ? Why do you think so many horror movies mix sex and violence?

Movie Details

  • In theaters : September 9, 2011
  • On DVD or streaming : March 20, 2012
  • Cast : Mehcad Brooks , Serinda Swan , Sid Haig
  • Director : Fred Andrews
  • Inclusion Information : Black actors, Female actors
  • Studio : The Bubble Factory
  • Genre : Horror
  • Run time : 95 minutes
  • MPAA rating : R
  • MPAA explanation : bloody violence and grisly images, some sexual content, graphic nudity, language and brief drug use
  • Last updated : February 25, 2022

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

  • Cast & crew

User reviews

Creature (1985)

Take your time why don't ya!

  • ElijahCSkuggs
  • Jan 16, 2009

You don't have to be original to amuse.

  • lost-in-limbo
  • Nov 6, 2008

Space-Cheese !!!

  • Aug 20, 2003

A bit more genre than the usual Alien/Aliens rip off

  • Feb 9, 2007

Enjoyable ALIEN clone from William Malone

  • Jul 12, 2011

In space, no one can hear you scream for a bigger budget.

  • quadbastard
  • Oct 15, 2006

In Space No one can see you... or anything else.

  • Aug 23, 2019

Good ideas, mostly too bland or imitative in execution

  • I_Ailurophile
  • Oct 8, 2022

Bad visuals and poor lighting hardly makes this worth watching.

  • paulclaassen
  • Apr 2, 2022

What hides beneath the nitrogen clouds of Titan

  • Mar 6, 2011

Okay Alien knock off

  • Red-Barracuda
  • Sep 12, 2021

Much Better Than You Might Think

  • Ultimex_Varptuner
  • Aug 28, 2008

A low budget alien gore fest delivering some good sci fi value

  • jbhitson-396-912299
  • Sep 1, 2012

Yet another 80s alien movie; falls in about the middle of the pack.

  • Aug 17, 2014

'80s sleazefest lovers rejoice!

  • Dragoneyed363
  • Sep 23, 2020

It's not awful, it's just boring

  • breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com
  • Jan 7, 2013

A blatant Alien rip-off, not bad for what it is I suppose.

  • poolandrews
  • Dec 20, 2012

Wow, words don't usually fail me... Here goes:

  • screwluce48
  • Jul 31, 2011

Creature: So badly wants to be Alien (1979)

  • Platypuschow
  • Dec 5, 2017

Actually not bad for an Alien clone

  • Rocketeer_Raccoon
  • Feb 3, 2017

Not bad.....

  • Oct 16, 2000

It lags far behind the sci-fi abilities

  • Sep 16, 2016

Suspenseful Monster Attack Nightmare in Outer Space!

  • Feb 9, 2014

In space, no one can hear your arse being felt by Klaus Kinski

  • Nov 9, 2014

Typical Alien rip-off with a lot of blood , gore and guts

  • Oct 15, 2021

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