10 Strongest Horror Movie Villains

Though the extraterrestrial shape-shifter known only as The Thing made its debut in 1951's The Thing from Another World, the creature didn't stake its claim as one of the most potent and terrifyingly sly horror movie villains until John Carpenter's 1982 remake.

What makes The Thing so inherently terrifying is its ability - its need, even - to find a host, assimilate it and imitate its form, allowing it to effortlessly infiltrate groups and sew paranoia-infused discord throughout.

Better still, The Thing can easily assimilate a wide variety of lifeforms, and even if you do manage to fend it off with fire and explosives, it's extremely difficult to ascertain whether it's actually been entirely wiped out - hence the brilliantly bleak ending of the 1982 film.

Best case scenario, you can hope to escape with your life in tact, as given how ambiguous the creature's physiology is, and how it's estimated to be at least 100,000 years old, it's clearly an expert at survival and propagation.

Though The Thing is limited by the activity of the living things around it, without which it's forced into hibernation, its ability to divide and conquer groups makes it an incredible threat.