Plant Monsters in Movies & Television start in the 1930s and go to the present day with The Last of Us. We all enjoy watching People Getting Eaten in Movies but the best ones are the plant monsters. Who can resist Audrey Two gulping down a cowering victim? (That being said, some of these YouTube clips are not for kids.) I’d like to acknowledge James McCaffrey’s Top Ten Picks. His Honorable Mentions are wonderfully obscure.
I’ve added some late additions thanks to Mark Paczkowski and his sharp eye. Thanks, Mark.
Ninety years of creepy crawlers from Hollywood and around the world…
1930s
The Fighting Trees The Wizard of Oz (1939)
1940s
Tarzan’s Desert Mystery (1943) For more on the mysterious vine, go here.
The Spider Woman Strikes Back (1946)
1950s
The Thing From Another World (1951)
“The Fatal Flower” Tales of Tomorrow (1952)
The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters (1954)
The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
The Land Unknown (1957) For more on this film, go here.
1960s
The Day of the Triffids (1962)
Invasion of the Star Creatures (1962)
Matango (or Invasion of the Mushroom People (1962)
“Rappaccini’s Daughter” Twice-Told Tales (1963)
Medusa Against the Son of Hercules (1963)
“The Keys Of Marinus” Episode 3 “The Screaming Jungle” Doctor Who, April 25, 1964
“The Price of Doom” Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (October 12, 1964)
“The Gruesomes” The Flintstones (November 12, 1964)
“Art and the Addams Family” The Addams Family December 18, 1964
“Counterweight” The Outer Limits (December 26, 1964)
“The Creeping Vine” Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965)
“Welcome Stranger” Lost in Space, October 20, 1965
“The Raft” Lost in Space, December 1, 1965
“Attack of the Monster Plants” Lost in Space (December 15, 1965)
The Navy Vs The Night Monsters (1966)
“Mammoth Flower” Ultra Q (January 23, 1966)
“Secret of Miloganda” Ultraman (July 14, 1966)
“The Lawless Monster” Ultraman (September 4, 1966)
“Pass the Vegetables, Please” Gilligan’s Island (September 26, 1966)
“The Plant Man” Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (December 4, 1966)
Man-Eater of Hydra (aka Island of the Doomed) (1967)
“The Creature” Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, January 1, 1967
Star Trek “This Side of Paradise” (March 2, 1967)
“Max, Respond!” Ultraseven (October 22, 1967)
“Terror” Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, November 26, 1967
Voyage to the Planet of the Prehistoric Women (1968)
“The Flaming Planet” Lost in Space, February 21, 1968
“The Great Vegetable Rebellion” Lost in Space (February 28, 1968)
“Savage Jungle” Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, February 28, 1968
The Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1969)
“The Seeds of Death” Doctor Who (January 25-March 1, 1969)
1970s
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970)
“Green Fingers” Night Gallery (January 5, 1972)
“The Red Flower of a Vicious Cacus” Ultraman Ace (June 23, 1972)
“Mel” Tales That Witness Madness (1973)
“Like the Sun, Mother of Ultra” Ultraman Taro (April 6, 1973)
Seeds of Evil (aka The Gardener) (1974)
“The Spanish Moss Murders” Kolchak The Night Stalker (December 6, 1974)
“The Seeds of Doom” Doctor Who (January 31-March 6, 1976)
“Rules of Luton” Space 1999 (October 23, 1976)
Adela Jest Nevecevela (aka Dinner For Adele) (1978)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978)
Wolfweeds “The Creature From the Pit” Doctor Who, October 27-November 17, 1979
1980s
“Poison Ivy” The Muppet Show, November 2, 1980
The Day of the Triffids (1981)
Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988)
“The Mandrake Root” Monsters (December 1, 1989)
The Return of Swamp Thing (1989)
1990s
Swamp Thing (Cartoon) (1990-1991)
Killer Tomatoes Strike Back (1991)
Killer Tomatoes Eat France (1992)
Mom and Dad Save the World (1992)
“Firewalker” The X-Files, November 18, 1994
“The Greenhouse Effect” PSI Factor (February 15, 1997)
“Eternal Life” Ultraman Tiga (July 12, 1997)
2000s
“The Guardian” The Lost World, February 17, 2001
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) (Whomping Willow)
The Two Towers (2002) (Huorns)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) (Mandrakes)
“Flora or Fauna” Tremors (April 18, 2003)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Trees 2: The Root of All Evil (2004)
“The End of the World” Doctor Who (April 2, 2005)
“When in Dome” That’s So Raven (June 9, 2005)
Invasion of the Pod People (2007)
“Lonely Paradise” Ultraman Mebius (January 20, 2007)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)
The Day of the Triffids (2009)
2010s
Malificent (2014) (Forest Dragon)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
“Plant Monster” Be Cool, Scooby Doo (2015)
The Girl With All the Gifts (2016)
The Shannara Chronicles (2016)
“For the Girl Who Has Everything “ Supergirl Season 1 (February 8, 2016)
“Home Again” Ash Vs The Evil Dead (December 4, 2016)
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017)
King Kong: Skull Island (2017)
“Tree People” Grimm (March 3, 2017)
“Knock Knock” Doctor Who (May 6, 2017)
“Defeating the Plant Monsters” Duck Tales (2017)
“Cop Circles” Wellington Paranormal, July 18, 2018
The Witcher Season 2 Episode 2 (2019)
“Copy Cops” Wellington Paranormal, November 6, 2019
“Plant Food” Tom & Jerry (2019)
“Don’t Go Into the Woods” Supernatural (March 21, 2019)
2020s
“The Hot Hot Dog” Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? (October 1, 2020)
“Mums” Creepshow, September 23, 2021
Man-Thing in Werewolf By Night (2022)
Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special (2022)
“Light and Darkness Again” Ultraman Decker (September 3, 2022)
“Treasure Hunting Game” Kamen Rider Geats (September 11, 2022)
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (2023)
Godzilla X King Kong: The New Empire (2024)
Conclusion
Plant Monsters in Movies & Television vary a lot when it comes to screen time. Short and largely unimportant, like in At the Earth’s Core, to central to the plot in The Last of Us, green invaders can be as small as seeds to as large as a giant Cthulhu-sized krynoid. Some come in peace, or are half-human like the aliens on Doctor Who or Farscape, while others are alien, evil and lurking, like in The Ruins. I am sure I haven’t found them all, so feel free to let me know what I should add to this list.
