Space worms, pizza faces, and serpent wizards: A look at the ugliest villains in screen history

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This week we were able to glimpse Harry Potter star Rhys Ifans as Spider-Man's archenemy in Marc Webb's upcoming super hero installment, The Amazing Spider-Man. Ifans will star as The Lizard—or in his human form, Curtis Connors. A brilliant scientist who loses an arm, Connors tries to regrow his lost limb, but the experiment goes awry. He finds himself transformed into a reptilian humanoid—the likes of which we have now gotten to see, in the form of a soon-to-be released Pez dispenser and some new concept art. If the sketches bear any real resemblance to the eccentric Notting Hill actor's costume, then yep: He's a giant, creepy lizard.

We felt inspired to look back at a few of cinema's ugliest screen villains. Movie heroes' hideous enemies have ranged from really repulsive men to vile creatures. Note the amount of horror or sci-fi on our list. Too often films nowadays attempt to make the villain attractive. Click through to see which baddies were beaten with the ugly stick, and renew your appreciation for old-fashioned, unpleasant-looking villains.

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