10 Great Sci-Fi Movie Villains Who Only Appeared Once
6. The Bear - Annihilation
Come on—we had to include the most impressive creation
from Ex Machina helmer Alex Garland’s strange sci-fi action horror from 2018. The film itself may be more uneven than many
of its admirers are willing to admit (we’re not forgiving that cliché ending or
the pointless infidelity subplot any time soon), but when it works, this
vaguely ecological unsettling adventure really can thrill.
And no sequence in the film epitomizes this success better than the bear attack, an unbearably (sorry, we couldn’t resist) tense sequence wherein a strange monster besieges the cast at the worst possible moment—right after one of their number has lost it and tied up her colleagues.
What follows is a terrifying scene which sees a blind, mutated bear with the distorted skull (and screams) of a human stalking through the group and searching for its prey, with the horrific creature design guaranteed to remain indelibly seared into the brains of audience members long after the credits roll.
However despite the fact that Annihilation’s source material boasts a series of sequels, lack of interest upon release means this cult offering is likely the first and last we’ll see of this undeniably original monstrosity.