A hulking behemoth covered in white fur, the wampa appears early in The Empire Strikes Back on the ice planet Hoth; closing in quietly, it quickly kills Luke Skywalker’s tauntaun, incapacitates the young Jedi, and drags them both back to its lair. The simple design of the monster works wonders, as it’s essentially a nightmarish version of a yeti, all claws and teeth. And the fact that it saves its “dinner” by hanging it upside down in its cave, feet frozen to the ceiling? Horrifying and cool at the same time.
