Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur is no stranger to high-stakes survival stories and he’s returning to theaters with another one in the form of Beast, starring Idris Elba and Sharlto Copley. With both Everest (2015) and Adrift (2018), what makes Kormákur’s work stand out is his focus on telling terrifying stories that are grounded and pull at realistic fears that one could face in the real world. In the past, these have been blizzard storms and horrific hurricanes. He’s turning again to another naturalistic fear, and this time, it’s the king of the jungle.

Beast tells the story of Dr. Nate Samuels, who returns to South Africa with his grieving children following the loss of their mother, but their journey in the wildlife takes a turn for the worse when a hungry, man-eating lion steps into their path. At its simplest, it’s Idris Elba versus a lion, and the lion has home field advantage in the sweltering heat of the African savanna. Only, both opponents view the other as a threat. The lion has suffered its own loss: loss of its pride at the hands of encroaching poachers, and it is intent on surviving this new human threat. Even though the lion is made with CGI technology, the predator isn’t larger than life, nor is it designed to be a spectacle. It’s raw, it’s realistic, and it could even be hunting you – if you ever find yourself stranded amongst African wildlife. Only one king can rule.

Beast roars into theaters everywhere on August 19. Run fast and get tickets now. If your heart isn’t already racing, you can check out some of our other favorite movies featuring formidable animal predators.

King Kong (1933)

Since Hollywood’s early days, audiences have loved big spectacles, and even more if they can get us screaming and crying in terror. So Hollywood went about as big as it could go with groundbreaking special effects and new camera tricks to create one very big gorilla for what would become the first monster movie of many to come. Ironically, to create such a big movie, filmmakers utilized highly skilled techniques on the small scale. To bring the 18-feet-tall Kong to life, models of just 18 inches high were made for the film. This miniature scale model technique became a Hollywood staple for creating some of the most beloved blockbusters, including Star Wars (1977), Alien (1979), and Blade Runner (1982). While in more modern films, CGI has all but replaced the need for miniatures, King Kong paved the way for creative solutions to larger-than-life filmmaking that kept audiences on the edges of their seats.

Godzilla (1954)

Starring another monstrous creature, the Godzilla franchise is currently the longest-running film franchise, spanning nearly 70 years. That makes for a lot of nightmares revolving around a gigantic, radioactive sea creature. Originating in Japanese kaiju culture, there’s no shortage of films and content for Godzilla fans either, with currently 36 films starring the monster, along with additional television shows, video games, and books. Unlike Kong, the role of Godzilla was portrayed by an actor in a suit – a suit that weighed over 200 pounds at one point. The suit was so heavy that actor Haruo Nakajima could only be in it for a few minutes at a time before passing out. Even more impressive is that he carried the Godzilla torch for nearly 20 years.

The Birds (1963)

Leave it to the Master of Suspense to make every moviegoer afraid of something so simple: birds. What’s worse? The movie is based on actual events of birds attacking a seaside town while crashing into cars and coughing up fish everywhere. So at least any fears of seagulls are legitimate. Though Alfred Hitchcock, of course, takes the horror several levels further. Birds of all kinds wreak havoc on Bodega Bay: seagulls, sparrows, crows. The Birds even used mostly all live birds to film its horrific scenes of swarming homes, telephone booths, and restaurants. The creatures show no mercy, even pecking and attacking children. It’s eerie, ominous, and you’ll never look at a flock of birds perched together the same way ever again.

Jaws (1975)

Jaws is the reason so many of us are afraid of sharks, or even the whole ocean. Before there was Shark Week, Steven Spielberg instilled a fear in every beachgoer about what might be lurking just beneath the surface of the water, waiting to strike and chomp down on an unsuspecting swimmer. The massive 25-foot-long great white shark that preys on the town of Amity Island – swimming along to the most suspenseful theme that has ever graced the big screen – is the reason we jump ten feet in the air when a harmless piece of seaweed brushes against our leg. But in the summer of 1975, Jaws wasn’t just hungry for the local townsfolk. It was hungry for a big box-office hit. And boy, it sure got it. Say what you will about the design of the mechanical shark (whose name was Bruce), but as the first big movie to be shot on the ocean, Jaws delivered a spectacle that would define the summer blockbuster movie for all of Hollywood: thrilling, easy-to-follow action that jumped right off the screen.

The Fly (1986)

Have you ever wondered what a hybrid between a human and a common housefly would look like? No? Well, Jeff Goldblum answered that question for us in The Fly, anyway. The result is nothing but pure fuel for nightmares everywhere. While “Brundlefly” is not a full insect, after a science experiment gone wrong, Goldblum’s Seth slowly deteriorates into a creature that is less and less human – physically, mentally, and emotionally – terrifying his friends and harming those that try to put a stop to his insectile impulses. On paper, the concept seems ridiculous. Who would be afraid of a harmless little fly? Well, this human-insect hybrid is certainly one to fear. In the gruesome process as the fly’s genes take over his body, Seth loses his hair, teeth, and fingernails, and his skin becomes distorted into something completely monstrous and stomach-churning. And if that image alone isn’t enough, Brundlefly’s corrosive spit is more than enough to send everyone running in the other direction, if they can manage to dodge it.

Jurassic Park (1993)

Every kid loves dinosaurs. Some kids love dinosaurs so much that they grow up to become scientists that bring them back to life to create a cool, yet traumatizing theme park. It’s a concept that should remain exactly that: a concept. Because while fun in theory, in reality, of course, it’s doomed for chaotic destruction and a whole bunch of lawsuits. Things start out fun in Jurassic Park with beautiful, idyllic displays of a Brachiosaurus, and quickly turn dark and suspenseful once the power goes out and Tyrannosaurs and Velociraptors are free to roam. But it did lead to some of the most iconic shots in movies. Never has the “objects in mirror are closer than they appear” inscription on a car window been so well utilized.

Jumanji (1995)

There’s not just one threat to be on the lookout for in Jumanji, but a whole jungle full of them. Bats, giant mosquitoes, monkeys, lions, pelicans, alligators, and even a whole stampede. The quiet town of New Hampshire is quite literally turned into a chaotic zoo full of hungry animals that destroy everything in sight, and all just from a board game. But as terrifying as that sounds, the movie is just simply fun to watch. It’s not horrific and gross, and it doesn’t leave you completely traumatized. Despite the fear of being eaten by a lion or turning into a monkey-human hybrid, it’s a fantastical adventure that you’ll want to rewatch so much, you’ll end up breaking your VHS copy. Or maybe that’s just us. Bonus points, of course, for Robin Williams.

Snakes on a Plane (2006)

Flights can already be stressful situations. You’re crammed into a small space for hours – possibly even squeezed between two complete strangers if you’ve acquired the dreaded middle seat – the food is awful, your headphones have either been forgotten or you realize too late that they’re broken, the bathrooms are a joke, it’s impossible to fall asleep, there’s always a baby crying, and those neck pillows can only bring the illusion of comfort. It couldn’t get worse, right? It definitely could with one simple addition: venomous snakes, as Snakes on a Plane proves. Just from the title alone, an Internet fanbase exploded with blog posts, parodies, videos, art, and more – one of the earliest examples of Internet frenzy over a movie, and how fan involvement can alter the movie’s production. So much buzz was generated about the film on the Internet, and about Samuel L. Jackson’s involvement, that the rating had even been changed from PG-13 to R, resulting in that oh-so-famous quote that we all know and love.

The Meg (2018)

As is typical of blockbuster movies, they just keep getting bigger and bigger. If you were afraid of the 25-foot great white shark in Jaws, wait until you meet its extinct relative: the 75-foot megalodon shark in The Meg. While the great white terrified beach swimmers on the surface, the Meg lurks around the dark ocean floor of the Mariana Trench. If you ask us, big, creepy sea creatures that live that far below the surface can stay right there where they’re comfortable. We’re perfectly fine staying up on the land, far away from them and blissfully unaware of their existence. But there will always be marine scientists that want to poke around in the deep, dark waters. As luck would have it, though, where there is one big shark, you can always count on there being another, bigger shark hiding right behind it, waiting.