10 So-Bad-They’re-Good Killer Reptile & Amphibian Horror Movies

Creepy, crawly reptiles and amphibians top the list of nightmare fodder for quite a few human beings. Alligators, snakes, and even frogs can be terrifying enough on their own, so what happens when these animals are transformed from lake dwellers into extra-aggressive monsters in horror movies?

While a few scaly creature features impress critics, the vast majority of these murky, toothy, and slithering films end up being so bad they’re good. Full of camp, ridiculous special effects, and subpar acting, these scary flicks have secured their own special spot within the horror genre — one charactered by lowbrow vibes and next-level buffoonery.

10 Anaconda (1997)

Anaconda, which follows a National Geographic crew through the Amazon as they are pursued by a giant snake, was a massive box office success when it was released. It stars Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, and Owen Wilson — as well as a record-breaking, computer-animated green anaconda.

This killer snake movie revels in histrionic, over-the-top action sequences. Anaconda maintains a huge cult following, and it was followed up by four just as terrible (but still entertaining) sequels.

9 Killer Crocodile (1989)

Italian slasher vibes merge with monster movie plots in Killer Crocodile. Director Fabrizio De Angelis filmed this film back-t0-back with its sequel in the Dominican Republic.

Killer Crocodile features an American cast, and the actors play environmentalists investigating the dumping of toxic chemicals in a local swamp. Unfortunately for them, a massive and mutated crocodile lurks just below the water’s surface.

8 Frogs (1972)

A one-of-a-kind flick, Frogs is full of croaks, screams, and a panoply of other creatures set upon seeking vengeance against Jason Crockett, a cantankerous old man who loves poisoning the natural habitats around his estate. Frogs lead the charge, inviting snakes, lizards, and even birds to wreak havoc on Crockett and his houseguests. The film also stars a young Sam Elliott, who plays a freelance environmental photographer.

While Frogs tries its best to be a potent eco-horror film, it ultimately lands as a farcical, amphibious romp.

7 Primeval (2007)

Set against strife and mass murder in wartorn Burundi, Primeval attempts to make profound statements about international relations while centering its action around a human-eating crocodile. Instead, the film upholds problematic narratives about African warlords and terrible action movie tropes.

The best part of Primeval, by far, is the 25-foot Nile crocodile named Gustave — based on a real African croc who has consumed as many as 300 people. In the film, Gustave is a computer-generated behemoth that outacts everyone around him.

6 Snakes On A Plane (2006)

Why not make a movie that involves unleashing hundreds of snakes on a passenger airplane en route to Los Angeles? Why not cast Samuel L. Jackson as an FBI agent tasked with protecting the key witness in a trial against a heinous killer?

Snakes on a Plane follows Jackson’s character Neville Flynn as associates of the killer release a horde of scaly, slithery fiends onto Flynn’s flight, hoping to take out the informant before the plane lands. Ultimately an homage to B-movies, Snakes on a Plane features more than 450 real-life serpents, as well as some seriously corny action movie dialogue.

5 Lake Placid (1999)

The best part of Lake Placid is watching Betty White’s character Delores Bickerman casually feed raw meat to the 30-foot saltwater crocodile that somehow made its way to the freshwater lake adjacent to her home. Directed by Friday the 13th‘s Steve Miner, Lake Placid never takes itself too seriously.

The film’s star-studded cast includes Bill Pullman, Oliver Platt, Brendan Gleeson, and Bridget Fonda. They compromise the group of local officials, scientists, and professors who try to figure out how the heck a killer croc ended up in Black Lake, Maine.

4 Crocodile (2000)

Another example of a classic horror director turning their lens toward killer reptiles, Crocodile is helmed by Tobe Hooper. Small-town locals clash with a group of vacationing teens who plan to spend their weekend partying around a remote lake in Southern California.

The teens soon find out the lake is occupied by a massive crocodile named Flat Top, who was brought to the area by a cult-worshipping hotel manager decades earlier. Replete with awful CGI effects and melodramatic subplots about adolescence, Crocodile is one bizarre feature.

3 The Alligator People (1959)

In The Alligator People, Lon Chaney Jr. portrays a mad scientist named Manon who loves playing around with reptilian hormones, believing them capable of regenerating human limbs. These experiments, though, come with some frightening side effects for Manon’s patients — specifically a problem with transforming people into humanoid gators.

Practical effects are at their ’50s best in The Alligator People, which also features dozens of alligators and snakes the cast casually interacts with on the screen. The film also includes an uproarious subplot about an unlucky young woman who marries one of Manon’s reptilians.

2 Eaten Alive (1976)

The second Tobe Hooper flick on this list, Eaten Alive is set in the same crazed Texas seen in Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Eaten Alive stars Neville Branch as an eccentric hotel proprietor who feeds those who cross him to a crocodile that lives in the swamp next to his lodgings.

Nevermind that crocodiles don’t live in Texas; Eaten Alive still manages to be surrealistic, moody, and full of cringe-inducing scares. It also includes a performance from young Robert Englund, who went on to play Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street.

1 Lake Placid Vs. Anaconda (2015)

The fifth film in both franchises, Lake Placid vs. Anaconda is peak low-budget horror kitsch. Its plot doesn’t even really matter, but this SyFy channel production sees these computer-generated reptiles facing off in Black Lake, Maine.

As it goes with movies of this caliber, a group of scantily-clad sorority sisters descends upon the lake. As the number of crocs and anacondas grows, so does the body count.

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