The Gmork in The NeverEnding Story
The death of Atreyu’s beloved horse in the accurately named “Swamps of Sadness” wrecked many a childhood, but in terms of sheer terror ladled out by this 1984 fantasy film, it’s hard to beat the Gmork—a massive black wolf as articulate as he is toothy and malevolent—calmly threatening to literally wipe out all of humanity’s hopes and dreams because “people who have no hope are easy to control, and whoever has the control has the power.” That declaration of doom is so scary even the fight to the death that immediately follows feels anticlimactic. – Cheryl Eddy
