The movie Jaws was hailed as a thriller masterpiece for its camerawork, using the camera as the shark's perspective, slowly creeping in on the unsuspecting swimmers while the musical score builds up. We never see the shark until near the end, when its head suddenly lifts from the water and is nearly as wide as the boat the protagonists are on.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB6oCVTUEsh
Gaunter O'Dimm in CD Project Red's Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt remains one of my favorite enigmatic villains of all time because he is a terribly powerful being, but he operates on rules that we only ever slightly comprehend. We never get resolution on who or what he is and are left to guess amongst ourselves.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFKAUUjyhW
Every book I've ever read that involves an organization working from the shadows feels like a tremendous threat to the protagonist(s) because I as the reader have no idea just how pervasive the organization is. How long is their reach? What are they capable of? Are the rumors about them true?422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUROFy3oPC
When I first saw the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens (when it first released years ago, before the train-wreck that followed) I was actually rather taken with the villain that was Kylo Renn. He was faceless. Powerful enough to stop a blaster shot. Angry. I had no idea what he was capable of, no clue of his thoughts or emotions, and no idea what to expect from him. Even when we discovered that he was Han Solo's son I still didn't know what to expect.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Ew6F07ByP
Then he took off his mask and my anxiety evaporated.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYSiyYY5lg
I have a friend of mine who I thoroughly enjoy speaking with when it comes to dissecting stories and everything story-related. The other day we were briefly discussing the notion of, 'the monster you know vs. the monster you don't know,' and both came to an agreement that the greatest thrills and horror are felt when it is left up to the audience's imagination. The threat we don't know about is more dangerous than the one we do.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3DIJEu3J3
This left me with a question, though: are there exceptions? Are there villains who are just as compelling as the ones we don't know much about?422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Yn4BYelQh
The first threats that came to mind are beings who act as "forces of nature." We know exactly what these antagonists can and will do, we know that they will never stop coming no matter what the protagonists throw at them, and we know that they demonstrate a coldness and unyielding cruelty. Beings like Darth Vader, Michael Myers, the T-1000, or Thanos (with an honorable mention to Hela from the MCU, she was a great villainess but I can't equate her with the snap.) The episode where Azula and her team from Avatar: the Last Airbender relentlessly hunt down Aang and his friends in a steam-car comes to mind.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJ7ePSnUNU
Listing Darth Vader and Michael Myers is half-cheating, though, because even then they are faceless antagonists that the audience can impose their imagination on. But how would the audience feel about slowly learning the backstory behind a creature like Gaunter O'Dimm? To learning the rules he abides by and the hidden game he plays? To knowing the secrets of the world that he, and no other, seems to understand? Would he be just as threatening?422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7ZF3esM7C
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I would argue that yes, he would be, but he'd be threatening in a different way. He would transition from the mysterious being that he is to the force of nature that we know will never stop coming. A threat to avoid at all costs, or to tread carefully around should we cross paths. For even if the protagonists understand him and how to deal with him, they still have to deal with him. He has his own strengths, his own wiles, his own cruelty, and that doesn't just go away because the protagonists have gained some power.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1BVJFkKhb
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I may toy with this concept in my writing going forward and attempt to create an eldritch character who remains just as threatening when the audience learns of their "rules," or the rules of their world, but at the end of the day it is just so much fun to wonder. To theorize with friends. To sort through the pieces and clues we know in order to assemble the big picture. (Shout out to Dark Souls and Hollow Knight.)422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3aiQoWMiwi
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After all, who wouldn't get chills at this scene? (1:58)422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Gy4D2I4py
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Happy writing,422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpl4DFqXnkv
Chris422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6B2MHKKTvd
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