5. The Trash Compactor
With their backs against the wall, Han, Luke, and Chewie face their oblivion. Then, some quick thinking from Leia and the crew jump down the Death Star’s garbage shoot. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Before the walls close in on them, some slippery, slimy thing below the sewage swims between their legs. We see an eye on a stalk pop up, and it’s a bit of a shock, but then the tentacles come out and wrap themselves around Luke’s legs, yanking him below putrid waters. Han blasts wildly, and we’re left to wonder if we’ll ever see the farm boy again. This scary creature is only released when maintenance starts its garbage process, and it’s pancake time for the Star Wars Scooby gang. This entire sequence breeds tremendous anxiety, right up to C-3PO misinterpreting their screams of joy for those of squishing annihilation.
4. The Wampa
The Rancor is a pretty scary Star Wars creature, but the Wampa is pure nightmare fuel. His initial strike against Luke’s Tauntaun comes outta nowhere, his claws tearing into the helpless creature’s jaws and dragging him to a snowy demise. Then he swipes for Luke and drags his limp, unconscious body back to his ice cave. That first pop-up surprise still gets me to this day. Once inside the cave, we know what we’re dealing with; it’s still scary, but it’s not jump-inducing. The Wampa design is merely a white Teddy bear with a screaming, toothy maw, but Ben Burtt‘s sound design pushes the monster into all-timer scary territory, combining the sounds of zoo elephants and sea lions. An unnatural beast that should never be.
3. The Dagobah Cave
In Empire, Luke is still very much the petulant child. Despite any evidence, he knows he’s the best. He’s worthy of Yoda’s tutelage, but he needs the Jedi master to be quick about it. Yoda wants the kid to slow his roll. The war Luke’s about to wage on the Empire is costly, and if he’s not careful, he’ll tumble into the same evil he claims to oppose. Looking to prove a point, Yoda lets the youngblood wander into the Dagobah cave. The darkness within calls to Luke, and the wannabe believes he’s ready to face whatever evil resides inside. He’s so damn wrong.
First, he meets Vader, and they cross swords. Luke comes out the victor, lobbing the Sith’s head from his shoulders, but when he looks down and Vader’s head explodes, Luke sees his own face looking upward. Listen to Nietzsche, kids, “Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster…for when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.”
2. The Emperor
This god damn ghoul. The Emperor is a deliciously evil and malignant presence throughout Star Wars. His body is a shriveled raisin, perverted by the poisonous power flowing through his veins. Ian McDiarmid wears the performance like a Halloween costume. Every line of dialogue is masticated with malevolence; McDiarmid is doing theater, shouting the character’s villainous nature to the cheap seats way out there in the back. You can have fun with the Emperor; you can even observe him with a comical eye, but again, return to your first youthful watch. This goblin on his thrown holds Vader’s strings, and he pulls them with unwavering, absolute command. In his eyes rests pure hate, and I always shivered when those crosshairs fell upon me.
1. Uncle Owen and Aunt Skeleton
A New Hope is all fun and games until this shot. As he’s sorting Jawa corpses with Ben Kenobi, C-3PO, and R2-D2, Luke realizes that their killers may visit his family’s farm next. He races back in his speeder only to discover the homestead a smoking ruin. He cries out, and that’s when he sees them, the charred remains of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. The shot is short but repulsive. Their skeletons are strewn in terror, one thrown on their back, facing skyward. What were their last thoughts? Were they thinking of Luke as their life blinked out?
The sequence is pure horror. No joy here. No frightful fun. Star Wars is a galaxy far, far away, where your actions can lead to your family being snuffed out. Luke’s call to adventure comes at a most punishing price. There is no future for the two that took him in and raised him as their own when no one else would. No other moment in Star Wars is scarier or more upsetting.
Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales is now available on Disney+.
Related Topics: Star Wars Explained
