A Comprehensive List of Gastro Creature Feature Films and Shorts

By Sarah Stubbs

Creature Features are one of the most popular sub-genres of horror. Paul Wegener’s The Golem is generally considered the first Creature Feature though I’d argue that J. Searle Dawley’s Frankenstein from 1910 should be taken into consideration despite its shorter run time. Creature Features have seen many types of creatures but it wasn’t until 1976 when the short version of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes was released that we were introduced to a gastro-based creature. One might argue that Ebirah from Ebirah, Horror of the Deep was a giant lobster-type creature created by nuclear run-off but there is never an implication that he would have been edible, so for our purposes, it doesn’t count.  

Since Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, we have been gifted (some of which we probably would love to regift or return) with a variety of sentient foods. Some are barely sentient like the goo in The Stuff while others are fully conversational like The Gingerdead Man from Full Moon Features’ Gingerdead Man franchise. Gastro Horror Creature Features are still being made to this day with Haunted House of Pancakes currently in its festival run and the independently made The Evil Bread (2024) being presented on YouTube. 

Below is a fairly comprehensive list of Gastro Creature Features including short films. 

The Films

• Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Franchise- The Killer Tomatoes franchise, which revolves around killer tomatoes and later the evil Dr. Gangrene (John Astin), is probably the most mainstream of the Gastro Creature Features. The first entry was a short in 1976 and the last feature film entry in 1992. There was also a cartoon that aired from 1990-1991 with re-airings in 1992, and 1996, as well as from 1998-2000. Other forms of media such as video games and comics have featured the sentient fruits. Most recently Encyclopocalypse Publications released a novelization of the first movie by author Jeff Strand. 

• The Stuff (1985)- The Stuff directed by Larry Cohen features a sentient goo that is harvested and sold as a low-calorie dessert. In turn, The Stuff turns those who consume it into mindless zombies. The film features great commentary on not only the consumer culture of the ‘80s but also the fatphobic diet culture of the time as well. Compared to some of the other Gastro Creature Features it takes itself a bit more seriously, but not overly so. 

• The Gingerdead Man Franchise- Created from sugar and spice and nothing nice (also known as the ashes of a serial killer), The Gingerdead Man comes to us from Full Moon Features. True to the Full Moon style of films, this franchise ranges from mildly humorous to mildly offensive. The 3 films made between 2005 and 2011 are fairly inconsistent in terms of quality, though they do canonically acknowledge each other pretty well. If I’m going to be honest, the first one is really the only one worth viewing. The Gingerdead Man himself is also featured in several of Full Moon’s Evil Bong series as well as his own comic. 

• Thankskilling Duology- The ThanksKilling Duology is a pair of films featuring a killer Thanksgiving turkey. In ThanksKilling (2008), Turkie spends the film wreaking havoc over Thanksgiving. ThanksKilling 3 (2012) once again follows Turkie, who is looking for the last copy of ThanksKilling 2, which was never made. This series of films feels its age and while some find these movies humorous, I find their language and some of the scenes highly offensive due to bigoted language. 

• Dead Sushi (2012)- Dead Sushi is the first of two Gastro Horror Creature Features to come out of Japan. The film’s catalyst for turning the sushi into deadly creatures is a Re-Animator-inspired serum. It stars Rina Takeda, a well-known martial arts actress. The film is over the top and loads of fun. I guarantee you’ll never look at eggs the same after this one. 

• Yoga Hosers (2016)- In my opinion, Yoga Hosers is the most underrated film on this list. Part of Kevin Smith’s True North Trilogy with Tusk and the un-made film Moose Jaws, Yoga Hosers features the adventures of the Colleens and their fight against Old Man Arcane’s Bratzis (anthropomorphized bratwursts full of concentrated sauerkraut). This film is not your typical Kevin Smith film which is what makes it fun. The Hockey Golem is also a fun tribute to the beginning of Creature Features. 

• Attack of the Killer Donuts (2016)- In Attack of the Killer Donuts, the titular donuts are turned into killers by a Re-Animator-style serum. This seems to be a recurring theme in Gastro Creature Features. I wouldn’t say this film was breaking any new ground by the time it was made but the donuts are pretty cute and it’s worth watching. 

• Monster Seafood Wars (2020)- Our other entry from Japan comes to us by way of Monster Seafood Wars. This time, we not only get a Gastro Creature Feature but also Gastro Kaiju! The three monsters Takolla, Ikalla, and Kanilla, are created when their normal forms are dropped into the Sumida River. I don’t want to spoil the entire plot (which only sort of makes sense) but just know that the monsters are fought with vinegar! It’s as silly and fun as it sounds and in my opinion, another that is grossly underrated. 

• Pastacolypse (2023)– Pastacolypse is the only feature-length animated feature on this list. The film is about a celebrity chef who falls into a vat and is turned into a man-pasta hybrid. He also unleashes pasta creatures to do his bidding. The film is middle of the road with a few cringe-inducing jokes. 

• Haunted House of Pancakes (2025)- Brought to you by the writers of Attack of the Killer Donuts, we return to Shady Grove for a whole new evil! I have it on good authority from one of the writers, Paul Newton, that “they aren’t planning an Avengers-like crossover or anything at the moment.” It’s more of an if you know you know type of situation. In Haunted House of Pancakes, a haunted waffle maker causes the diner’s food to attack and kill the patrons. This film is still in its festival run, but I can assure you that it is a good time and Toasty the Waffle Ball is absolutely adorable. 

Shorts

• Night of the Living Bread (1990)- Night of the Living Bread is a Night of the Living Dead spoof with bread in place of zombies. The director also directed a short called Loaf which was a spoof of the chest burster scene from Alien using a loaf of bread in place of the xenomorph. I didn’t include it in this list because I couldn’t actually find it anywhere. The short was released on a couple of the releases of Night of the Living Dead with the most recent being the 2002 Millenium edition.

• The Evil Bread (2012)- This 4-minute short about a killer baguette has surprisingly high production value. The baguette puppet is quite good! I wish the filmmakers had done more gastro-horror because I think they have a talent for it. 

• The Night of the Naporitan (2014)- This melancholy animated short will definitely leave you thinking. In it, a naporitan (a Japanese pasta dish that has a sauce made from ketchup and additionally is served with sausage) consumes 3 people who try to help it. Both my husband and I couldn’t stop talk about this one after we watched it. 

• Attack of the Thanksgiving Squash (2014)- I stumbled across this film featuring the aforementioned murderous squash in 2021 and discovered the director made it when she was 13. She was even kind enough to make me a physical copy so I could archive it. The short is silly and maybe a bit darker than what you’d expect from a 13 year old but it has a lot of charm. 

• I Could’ve Been Sweet (2018)– Short and sweet at only 2 minutes long, I Could’ve Been Sweet was released as part of the 2018 Creepy Christmas Film Festival hosted by Glass Eye Pix. It features a sentient gingerbread man bent on revenge. It was most recently featured in Paper Street Pictures’ Rad Chad Recommends YouTube series. 

• Yeast (2021)- Remember how I said Frankenstein (1910) could be perhaps considered one of the earliest Creature Features? Well, we’ve come full circle. In Yeast, we basically see a yeasty, doughy version of Frankenstein’s Monster created. As much as I enjoy Frankenstein retellings this one gets a little too Full Moon Features meets Rob Zombie and not in a good way. 

• The Evil Bread (2024)- The Evil Bread (2024) is one of my most recent discoveries. This is basically a gastro spoof and love letter to The Evil Dead and it is so charming and dare I say, adorable! Given Sam Raimi’s early student film featuring the Hamburger Helper Hand and the nearly impossible-to-find short he did with the Pillsbury Dough Man, this is a worthy addition to the pantheon and one I highly recommend! 

The interesting part about comprising this list is when I wrote my essay for Creepy Bitches and included what I called at the time Foodie Features, I didn’t realize how many more Gastro Creature Features were out there and how many more would be made. Gastro horror in general is seeing a rise in popularity with films like The Menu and House of Spoils. We can only hope that more continue to be released, especially Creature Features.