The Best Practical Effects In Horror Ranked

The grisly and grotesque are crucial underpinnings of many truly unnerving horror films. In an age where computer animation and effects (CGI) often attempt to get the job done, without proper care such efforts can appear sloppy at best, cold at worst — distancing viewers from the chills and thrills. Which is why many horror aficionados don't approve heavy CGI use, claiming it weakens the most disturbing, frightening aspects of a film's edginess. Some modern films even go as far as to animate simple blood spatter, rendering a cornerstone of the industry awkwardly intangible. This will sometimes weaken the film's performances, as actors covered in goo and surrounded by monsters are more likely to convincingly interact with their environment than someone on a soundstage, staring at a tennis ball on a stick.

Practical effects have been employed in cinema for ages, long before the advent of computer-aided designs. For decades, make-up, puppetry, animatronics, and artificial gore were the only means of creating something truly terrifying. Even now with technology as advanced as it has become, these methods still stand the test of time, offering some of the most realistic and frightening sequences in horror films. 

Thankfully, some modern horror filmmakers still maintain the use of practical effects to this day — often wearing it as a badge of pride — with films like "Krampus," "Scary Stories to tell in the Dark," and Andy Muschietti's "It" duology, which used a mixture of CGI and practical effects. Below is a sort of unofficial "hall of fame" for the best practical effects in the horror genre; with any luck, they'll scare Hollywood's gatekeepers into encouraging the filmmakers of tomorrow to keep it real. 

Decades later, children of the '80s still harbor fears of ominous-looking trees, creepy clowns and murky swimming pools thanks to the Tobe Hooper-directed, Steven Spielberg-produced (and supposedly, really directed) classic "Poltergeist." 

The haunting tale of a family tormented by spirits of the undead, the Freelings made the unfortunate purchase of a home built upon an old graveyard — and now, it's time to pay the price. One key plot point is the family losing their young daughter Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke) in the chaos of the haunting, whisked away by spirits to another plane. In frantic desperation, the Freelings make every attempt to retrieve the young girl.

At one point in the film, a parapsychologist named Dr. Martha Lesh (Beatrice Straight) brings along her team to give some "expert" advice; one of the crew (played by Martin Casella) experiences a sequence that likely put the real actor in therapy for the rest of his life. 

After a long day's work, Lesh's associate Marty looks for a late-night snack. After witnessing his food coming alive and slithering across the counter, he runs to the bathroom, where he begins picking at a facial abrasion in the mirror. Becoming hysterical, the man begins ripping chunks of flesh off his face, peeling down to the bone like a giant human onion. 

Although the sequence is revealed to be a hallucination by the character, the sequence was no less disturbing for '80s audiences who made the film a cultural phenomenon. Fun fact: The hands that were tearing away chunks of flesh in the mirror belonged to none other than Steven Spielberg himself.

In terms of sheer creepiness, few things can approach a sinister plaything — transformed from an object of love, joy and laughter for children into something evil, terrifying and malevolent. 

Horror maestros have understood this for decades, from 1975's "Trilogy of Terror" Zuni doll to the "Annabelle" films, Billy the puppet from the "Saw" franchise or even Slappy from "Goosebumps." Arguably the most iconic evil doll, however, is Don Macini's Chucky.

Beginning his murderous spree in a series of "Child's Play" slasher films, decades later Chucky has proven himself far more adept at reinvention than many of his knife-wielding contemporaries. Over the years audiences have reimagined their expectations via 1998's "Bride of Chucky," 2004's "Seed of Chucky" and most recently, a hit TV series. While Mancini didn't create the idea of a sinister doll, he definitely popularized it.

While there are moments in "Child's Play" and its sequels that have great practical effects, none is more impressive than Chucky himself. Over the years, the animatronic doll has been infused with tremendous character via a team effort — as evil facial expressions, puppetry, the wicked cackle of actor Brad Dourif and even shots of small actors in costume (running around a set build to be 33 percent larger than normal) are blended together to make movie magic.

With several puppeteers controlling different aspects of the doll, mixed with Ed Gale in costume and creative uses of shadow and light, Chucky has returned to kill again and again. Almost always, this playtime has been practical.

Nothing screams "cult classic" quite like Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead" franchise. The second film in the series evolved from simple horror to darker black comedy, creating a formula that would impact countless films in the decade to come. 

Dubbed "splatstick," this "Evil Dead 2" aesthetic proved to be the perfect tone for the film, which sees the hero Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) tormented by an evil demonic force. If that doesn't sound funny to you, just wait. Ash's hand becomes corrupted and attacks him in a twisted game of "stop of hitting yourself," a mounted deer head taunts the goofy one-liner spewing hero, and there are numerous other creepy, cackling-good moments. The film is overflowing with blood, gore and special effects make-up for the demonically possessed. 

In one memorable scene, a decapitated corpse assaults Ash with a chainsaw. The detailed props used to create the grisly assailant effectively calibrates off-the-wall expectations for the level of monstrosities Ash will soon encounter. To get the shot, Ted Raimi (the director's younger brother) wore a full-body latex suit to embody the demonic realization of the historian's wife, Henrietta, who is locked in the cellar. Raimi would later reprise his role as Henrietta in the Starz series "Ash vs. Evil Dead," donning the hefty deadite suit once again. She's absolutely hideous and her ramblings will make your skin crawl, but she is wildly iconic to the franchise at large. The popularity of "Evil Dead 2" among horror fans and its enduring legacy have helped the franchise achieve immortality.

Let's add a dash of Halloween to our festive Christmas season, as we witness the horror that ensues when you make Santa's naughty list. No, he's not going to bring a lump of coal. Instead, his demonic counterpart, Krampus, may come to enact unspeakable horrors upon you before whisking you away to the depths of hell. 

That's the game writer/director Michael Dougherty is playing with his cast of characters in "Krampus," inspired by a pagan Germanic folktale that scares children into behaving. This film visualizes an obnoxious family who loses the spirit of Christmas — and the Krampus who arrives as a result.

The Krampus demon has a wide variety of vicious toys, trinkets, and pastries that hail from the darkest corners of the underworld. These twisted beings include a rabid teddy bear, a child-devouring jack-in-the-box, murderous angels and demonic imps. They're all realized in Dougherty's film through practical effects. In fact, the only creatures in the entire film that are CGI-animated are the mischievous gingerbread men. Everything else is a painstaking creation of the famous Weta Workshop studio. 

Whether puppets or costumes, each remarkable detail-infused character brings horrifying personality to the film. The titular monster was a massive costume designed in full by Dougherty and team. Make no mistake, the horrific monsters of the film are the true stars of this particular production.

Ask any fan of the horror genre where you can find the best werewolf transformation sequence, and they will inevitably invoke the 1981 John Landis film "An American Werewolf in London." 

Following a pair of American backpackers named David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne), as they hike across Yorkshire encountering odd receptions from the locals, they are ambushed in the black of night by a creature who kills Jack. David awakens in a hospital and learns of his friend's death. Throughout the film, his friend appears to him as a ghostly visage, explaining to him that he is about to turn into a werewolf on the next full moon and will slaughter many innocents. David doesn't believe him — but as predicted, he transforms into a werewolf of beastly proportions.

The transformation scene is one of the most iconic moments in horror history. Legendary make-up effects designer Rick Baker won an Academy Award for his work on this film. According to Bloody Disgusting, Baker and crew created several deformed limbs and werewolf heads to use during David's transformation. The scene took months to plan and a full week to shoot. Often, the actor would be positioned sticking out of a hole in the floor, so prop legs could be applied. 

As Landis endeavored to depict a transformation both realistic and grisly, it brought vivid detail to the pain experienced by the character. This resulted in an unforgettable moment in horror, greater empathy for the character, and ultimately a moment unlike anything seen before or since.

In perhaps one of the goriest films to ever be made, "Dead Alive" from Peter Jackson ("The Lord of the Rings trilogy") plays the blood and guts for laughs. The level of absurdity in its bloody imagery is meant to provide a sense of levity by its over-the-top nature. The results are ... well ... you'll never be able to forget it, that's for sure.

The film follows a young man (Timothy Balme) who takes his insufferable mother to the zoo, where she is bitten by a strange creature known as the Sumatran rat-monkey. The woman eventually falls apart and zombifies in a disgusting sequence, but she also infects others who similarly zombify and munch on unsuspecting souls. At one point, the chaos becomes so absurd that baby zombies are ripping through people's faces and an entire pile of gore is reanimating itself to attack the living.

The film obviously employed heavy make-up and practical gore effects. Jackson also utilized stop-motion animation and puppeteering during more wild sequences, like the reanimated gore pile or Lionel's monstrous mother at the end of the film. It's a true delight for lovers of gory practical effects in horror. But be warned, it's also rife with gross, gag-worthy scenes that might affect those with weaker stomachs. In short: don't watch this on a first date.