In most film genres, the protagonist is the most important character, with the most attention focused on. Horror films, on the other hand, are defined by their villains. Sure, there could be awesome characters like Laurie Strode or Tommy Jarvis, but the villains always run the show.
Heck, in some films, the villains are the main characters. When you think of the various horror franchises or horror film characters, you immediately think of villains, and that just shows how important they are. Great horror film villains have been around since the Great Depression, but to narrow it down, you won’t see any public domain characters like Dracula or Frankenstein.
10Leatherface
The Ultimate Chainsaw Wielder In Film History
The chainsaw is such a fascinating weapon in the horror genre because, realistically, it would be a pretty bad murder weapon. Unlike a katana, it rips through human tissue quite slowly, but that’s what makes it so scary. The chainsaw rev noise and the agony of slowly getting dissected scared many people, and nothing showcases this better than the horror villain that brought the chainsaws to the dance, Leatherface.
A mix of monster and man, Leatherface is the muscle of the Sawyer family. A hulking figure that can pick up people and put them on meat hooks as easy as pie, he made chainsaws scary. The jump scare at night in the original film is such aneffective out-of-nowhere scarethat it made you run out of the room when that chainsaw rev was heard.
9Chucky
Friends ‘Till The End
Horror cinema has its share of evil dolls, including Blade from Puppet Master and the Demonic Toys, but you may’t beat Chucky. One of the most iconic slashers of the 80s and even today, Chucky was a personality-driven horror villain and one of the best of its kind.
Voiced by Brad Dourif, he captures the evil, charisma, and humor of the character perfectly. While the series started out simple, everything expanded from Bride of Chucky onwards, adding even more doll characters and lunacy to the world. Some didn’t like this, but it’s exactly what Chucky needed to evolve as a villain.
8Xenomorph
In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream
Out of all the aliens in cinema, the one that has stood the test of time has to be the Xenomorph from the Alien series. Designed by the late great H. R. Giger, the Xenomorph has that perfect level of scary intimidation with its bulking size, along with its gross look. The use of male sexual imagery in its design is on purpose because, for one, the protagonist is usually a female in the series, and two, it’s that human quality that makes it scarier.
The phallic head and mouth remind you of human qualities, but it’s transformed into something truly monstrous. Whether you’re watching the movies orplaying the excellent Alien: Isolation, the Xenomorph is guaranteed to scare the living daylights out of you.
7Jason Voorhees
The Character That Sold Countless Hockey Masks
Jason Voorhees has to be the most iconic 80s horror villain in terms of raw design. Starting with Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3D, Jason started wearing a hockey mask that he got from Shelly. This was the character’s exploding moment, his Austin 3:16, his CM Punk Pipe Bomb when Jason finally got his X factor.
That hockey mask added a menacing look different from Michael Myers, adding to his urban legend appeal. A boy thought to have drowned in Crystal Lake due to negligence continues to roam the area and slaughter people. His relationship with his deceased mother also adds a nice human element to the character, making Jason distinct from other 80s slashers.
6Freddy Krueger
Welcome To His World
While Jason Voorhees was the best silent slasher of the 80s, Freddy Krueger was the best speaking slasher. Portrayed by the legendary Robert Englund, Freddy had that level of evilness and sliminess, but yet had charisma and attitude that you couldn’t help but love.
There’s a reason why his child-predator nature was always hinted at but never fully revealed until the remake because that would destroy the character’s status as a fun, incredibly enjoyable-to-watch bad guy. To be fair, in some films, like the original or New Nightmare, Robert Englund absolutely nails the scare factor and fear the character can bring.
5Art The Clown
The Best Modern Age Horror Villain
Most of the greatest horror villains are from movies way in the past, but there’s one very recent legitimate horror icon. That character would be Art the Clown from the Terrifier films. A mix between a silent slasher and the more personality-driven horror villains, Art the Clown gives you the best of both worlds.
This character could have easily been mishandled, but David Howard Thornton delivers a great performance in these movies, perfectly balancing both styles. Art isn’t the best clown in horror cinema, however.
4It
The Ultimate Stephen King Monster
There was a time when clowns were not scary in the popular consensus, but with characters like Pennywise the Clown, aka It, that very much changed. A true, larger-than-life monster, It is a supernatural entity that can turn into anyone’s worst fear, often resulting in Pennywise the Clown. The 2017 version, specifically, is the scariest clown, maybe in all of media, with its grin and red stripes.
Pennywise is a true horror icon, but to be frank,the book is better. In the original novel, but especially The Dark Tower books, It was greatly fleshed out as more of a Lovecraftian alien figure, which the movies never really sunk into. The best possible film version of It is still yet to come, and that’s saying something when the currently existing one is already fantastic.
3Pinhead
A Villain That Has Such Wonderful Sights To Show You
In the 80s, grandiose theatrical horror villains like Dracula were yesterday’s news, but one man wanted to bring it back: Clive Barker. Villains like Candyman are truly phenomenal, but Pinhead had to be the best. While having a notable role in the original Hellraiser film, it wasn’t until the sequels that Pinhead was more fleshed out and given more importance.
Once again, the person underneath the make-up, Doug Bradley, is the reason Pinhead works. Bradley’s performance commands your attention with each line of dialogue and gives the character this larger-than-life aura. Pinhead’s presence alone is wildly scary, and if a character ever meets him, you know they’re screwed.
2Jigsaw
The best human horror film villain has to be Jigsaw from the Saw franchise. Two things make Jigsaw so captivating as a horror villain. For one, his age. John Kramer’s an old man dying of cancer, yet he’s always in control. In real life, the elderly are one of the most common victims of murder, so the roles are reversed here.
Second, Tobin Bell’s performance. There’s a scene in Saw 5 where Jigsaw talks about the illogical nature of his games. “If you’re good at anticipating the human mind, it leaves nothing to chance.” With any other actor, this line would be absurd, but with Tobin Bell, you bought it because he was realistically the only person with that level of experience and knowledge to predict every outcome.
1Michael Myers
Evil Incarnate
When you think of a horror film villain, many will think of Michael Myers first. His visual look is the most iconic in horror cinema with his blue jumpsuit and terrifying emotionless Halloween mask. Michael Myers was always a figure, The Shape, and that was the beauty of it.
Sure, Michael has a backstory of killing his sister, but realistically, The Shape could be anyone on Halloween night dressed spooky with intent to kill. Nothing shows this better than in the original film when Michael is briefly unmasked, and he looks like an average everyday guy. These people often are the true monsters in reality, and The Shape represents their pure evil.
