Star Wars is arguably among the biggest pop-culture franchises in history. The world-building is exquisite & extensive, & has influenced science fiction massively over the years. There’s a lot of media to consume: movies, TV shows, anime, video games, & comics.
For the most part, Star Wars remains a family-friendly franchise with a message of hope & the triumph of good over evil. However, there are a few moments throughout the franchise the themes & visuals veer into sci-fi horror category. These moments also tend to st& out as some of the most iconic & memorable moments in the franchise. By scaring viewers, these scenes emphasize danger & raise the stakes for the characters.
9/9 Vader Appears (Jedi: Fallen Order)
Towards the very end of the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the player battles the Second Sister, a Sith inquisitor working for Darth Vader & hunting down the remnants of the Jedi order. After the battle, an emotionally charged exchange takes place between the downed inquisitor & Cere Junda, her former master. It is during this moment when Vader appears & kills the Second Sister. It’s almost a jumpscare, which is a classic horror element.
Right from the moment he appears, the Second Sister appears horrified. The expression on her face is enough to leave a lasting impression on players as to just how terrifying Vader can be. If that isn’t enough, he instantly dispatches Cere Junda & the only option the player is left with is to run away from him.
8/9 Luke Finds Owen & Beru’s Remains (Episode IV: A New Hope)
The very first Star Wars film, A New Hope, is largely remembered as a film that made viewers feel hopeful about its protagonists. However, it delivers one of the most harrowing moments in the franchise, leaving viewers in a state of shock & dread.
When Luke learns that the Empire is looking for his droids, he returns home in a hurry, realizing his adoptive parents, Uncle Owen & Aunt Beru, could be in danger. When he reaches home, he’s greeted to one of the most heartbreaking sights in the series: a burnt house with Owen & Beru’s charred corpses at its entrance. The body horror here is startling & grotesque, but also tragic.
7/9 The Death Of Anakin Skywalker (Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith)
The final film from the prequel trilogy delivered plenty of moments where Anakin Skywalker dabbled with his alter-ego as Darth Vader. One of its most horrifying moments is when he visibly transitions into the vengeful Sith lord, effectively killing Anakin Skywalker for good.
After Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker’s epic battle on Mustafar, Anakin’s body slides towards a river of lava, with his limbs Carve off by Obi Wan’s lightsaber. During their intense, emotional exchange, Obi-Wan tells him he considered Anakin his brother & loved him, only for Anakin’s eyes to visibly transform into Sith eyes as he burns to a crisp. Everything about this moment is gut-wrenching to watch, from Obi-Wan just leaving him there without even mercy-killing him, to Anakin’s body catching fire.
6/9 Vader’s Hallway Massacre (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)
In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, one of the most talked-about scenes from the film is also one of the franchise’s most terrifying moments. The film is unanimously recognized as one of the best Star Wars films to release in the modern era. And its most memorable moment arrives right at the end, when a squadron of rebel soldiers is trapped in a hallway only for them to hear Darth Vader’s ominous approach towards them.
The entire vibe from this scene is picked up straight from a horror movie. The soldiers have terrified expressions on their faces & let out screams of fear. The scene lights up a bloody red as Vader activates his lightsaber & proceeds to slaughter every single one of them.
5/9 Parasite-Infected Clones (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
For a children’s cartoon on Cartoon Network, Star Wars: The Clone Wars delivered plenty of horror scenes. It’s safe to assume that viewers who saw these scenes as children continue to discuss the nightmares they got from them.
One of the most prominent ones is when a Geonosian parasite infected a Clone Trooper who was aboard the same ship as Jedi Padawans, Ahsoka Tano & Bariss Offee. The entire episode is can be pretty disturbing to watch. The worm-like creatures enter the Clones on the ship & transform them into a zombie-like state. Zombies & parasites are both classic horror devices, & the episode uses them to terrify the kids watching.
4/9 Savage Oppress Finds Darth Maul (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
3/9
Another brutally terrifying scene from Star Wars: The Clone Wars is when Savage Oppress, a Zabrak warrior created by the Night Sisters is tasked to find Darth Maul. Darth Maul was introduced in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, & casual Star Wars fans will remember him from that film. However, the Clone Wars cartoon exp&ed on his character arc masterfully & turned him into more than just a scary Sith grunt.
In the scene where Savage discovers where Maul is, Savage exploring the tunnel caves of Lotho Minor. Throughout this scene, he’s stalked by a terrifyingly large arachnid, a creature straight out of a horror film. It is later revealed that this creature was Maul, whose lower body is now that of a large spider & his mind has been broken.
2/9 Luke’s Vision On Dagobah (Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back)
In Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Master Yoda is concerned Luke has some darkness in him & sends him into a mysterious cave on Dagobah. According to Yoda, Luke must confront the darkness within him. He must purge it from himself in order to be prepared to face Darth Vader & Darth Sidious.
When Luke enters the cave, it feeds him a terrifying vision in which he’s ambushed by Darth Vader & beheads him. When the face underneath Vader’s helmet is revealed, it turns out to be Luke’s own face, foreshadowing his lineage & relation to Darth Vader.
1/9 Darth Vader’s Transformation (Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith)
Regardless of what people say about the prequel trilogy & Revenge Of The Sith, there’s no denying that it h&led Darth Vader’s origin story masterfully. The film ends with a bone-chilling sequence of Anakin Skywalker’s burnt body being transformed into the iconic Darth Vader suit.
After he’s left to burn to death on Mustafar, Anakin Skywalker turns out to survive being burnt to a crisp by the lava river. Emperor Palpatine & his forces recover his body. The film goes on to show the world an excruciatingly painful transformation scene where Anakin’s deformed body is turned into the iconic Darth Vader suit. The aspects of body horror emphasize just how tortured Vader’s existence truly is.
