Underrated Movie Menaces

Darth Vader, Michael Myers and the Joker could learn a thing or two from these guys.

Princess Mombi

Who wouldn't be terrified of a woman who can take off her head and replace it with one from a collection of 30 others? Actually a combination of two characters from the original book series, this Return To Oz villain keeps them in glass cabinets like fashionable accessories and chooses one to "wear" according to mood, instead of changing her clothes. Severed heads are the new black.

Lady Tremaine

Without any magic or evil cohorts to rely on, Cinderella's Wicked Stepmother's scariness comes from her Machiavellian mind, her never-raised, cool, calm voice and those piercing green eyes. And she made Cinderella do all the cleaning - what a bitch.

The Wheelers

Another one from Return to Oz, but man that film was scary. Even now the sound of a squeaky wheel or door will surely bring back freaked-out memories for anyone who remembers watching the film when they were little. And there's always going to be something creepy about a group of men who chase a little girl into a dark alleyway.

Appalachian Mountain Caves

You might think the blind, flesh-eating monsters are the scariest thing in The Descent - think again. Being lost in those dark, narrow, body-squeezing, oxygen-depriving spaces can make even the most hardened adrenaline junkie feel like they can't breath. Reminiscent of being buried alive, which I imagine is, you know, not pleasant.

The Ringmaster

The Hunter in Bambi will always make its way on to lists of "Greatest Movie Villains" (impressive for someone who doesn't appear on screen) but the Ringmaster in Dumbo is a bit of a shit too. Shackling and bitch-slapping Dumbo's mother, he then has her locked away in a tiny trailer - branded dangerous and mad. That scene where she puts her trunk through the bars to cradle a tearful Dumbo will always be a heartbreaker.

Velociraptors

With those eyes, those teeth and those ear-piercing shrieks - the velociraptors in the Jurassic Park films are the stuff of nightmares. Not only will they spill your guts with their razor-sharp, six-inch claws (and then eat you alive), they'll be able to open your front door to get inside to do it.

Death

Plays a fairly prominent part in many films, but doesn't really get the status it should in terms of bad guys. Not quite as scary when it plays Twister in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, or looks like Brad Pitt, but when, in the Final Destination films it's burning teenage girls alive on sun beds, squashing a gymnast like a grape during an uneven bars routine or shooting someone through the face with a nail gun, surely Death is the most underrated movie menace of all..?