monsters underground, 1902 to 2018
20 films on two axes
Twenty films about monsters that live underground, charted from laughs to horror and from natural monsters to ones people made. They run from A Trip to the Moon (1902) to Tumbbad (2018) and come from France, the US, the UK, Japan, India, Australia and elsewhere.
TremorsThe people of a small town learn that a creature living underground is picking them off.tap again to open
The Lair of the White WormA missing person's watch turns up in a legendary worm's cavern as more people disappear.tap again to open
At the Earth's CoreA Victorian earth-boring machine ends up in a cavern ruled by oversized prehistoric birds.tap again to open
The Mole PeopleArchaeologists find a lost underground world whose high priest wants them eliminated.tap again to open
A Trip to the MoonAstronomers who fly to the Moon in a cannon-fired rocket face perils hidden in its caves.tap again to open
Superman and the Mole MenA deep oil well drills into the home of small, furry, glowing people, who come up at night.tap again to open
The Time MachineA time traveler describes a future of subterranean Morlocks and surface-dwelling Eloi.tap again to open
AlligatorFlushed down a toilet, a baby alligator grows huge in the sewers on lab animals from hormone tests.tap again to open
Frankenstein Conquers the WorldHiroshima radiation grows Dr. Frankenstein's heart into a giant, then a reptilian monster rampages.tap again to open
Graveyard ShiftA huge creature beneath a rat-infested textile mill is threatening the workers.tap again to open
The CaveDivers in a flooded Carpathian cave are trapped and hunted by a predator species.tap again to open
The BurrowersMen looking for a vanished family of settlers learn that the real enemy stalks them from below.tap again to open
TumbbadIn 1920s Tumbbad, a family builds a temple to Hastar, who curses people and grants gold coins.tap again to open
The TunnelChasing a cover-up into abandoned tunnels beneath Sydney, a journalist and her crew are hunted.tap again to open
The DescentFriends on a caving trip are trapped by a rockfall in a cave with savage creatures.tap again to open
Creep (2004)Kate wakes up locked in the London Underground, with an unseen creature in the tunnels stalking her.tap again to open
Them!Atomic testing mutates ants into giants, and two queens start a colony in LA's flood tunnels.tap again to open
Death LinePeople are disappearing in the Tube tunnels between Holborn and Russell Square.tap again to open
C.H.U.D.Murders in New York point to grotesquely deformed vagrants living in the sewers.tap again to open
MimicBred to kill roaches, a mutant insect survives and evolves into a monster that mimics people.tap again to open
every film, listed
😂 more laughs × 🌿 more natural
Tremors
The people of a small town learn that a creature living underground is picking them off.
The Lair of the White Worm
A missing person's watch turns up in a legendary worm's cavern as more people disappear.
At the Earth's Core
A Victorian earth-boring machine ends up in a cavern ruled by oversized prehistoric birds.
The Mole People
Archaeologists find a lost underground world whose high priest wants them eliminated.
A Trip to the Moon
Astronomers who fly to the Moon in a cannon-fired rocket face perils hidden in its caves.
Superman and the Mole Men
A deep oil well drills into the home of small, furry, glowing people, who come up at night.
The Time Machine
A time traveler describes a future of subterranean Morlocks and surface-dwelling Eloi.
😂 more laughs × ☢️ more man-made
😱 more horror × 🌿 more natural
Graveyard Shift
A huge creature beneath a rat-infested textile mill is threatening the workers.
The Cave
Divers in a flooded Carpathian cave are trapped and hunted by a predator species.
The Burrowers
Men looking for a vanished family of settlers learn that the real enemy stalks them from below.
Tumbbad
In 1920s Tumbbad, a family builds a temple to Hastar, who curses people and grants gold coins.
The Tunnel
Chasing a cover-up into abandoned tunnels beneath Sydney, a journalist and her crew are hunted.
The Descent
Friends on a caving trip are trapped by a rockfall in a cave with savage creatures.
Creep (2004)
Kate wakes up locked in the London Underground, with an unseen creature in the tunnels stalking her.
😱 more horror × ☢️ more man-made
Them!
Atomic testing mutates ants into giants, and two queens start a colony in LA's flood tunnels.
Death Line
People are disappearing in the Tube tunnels between Holborn and Russell Square.
C.H.U.D.
Murders in New York point to grotesquely deformed vagrants living in the sewers.
Mimic
Bred to kill roaches, a mutant insect survives and evolves into a monster that mimics people.