Here is a list of some of the most popular villains in films of the horror genre:
The Shark (Bruce)
From Jaws - 1975
Bruce was a large man-eating great white shark that attacked and terrorized beach-goers on a fictional New England summer resort town, Amity Island. The fact Bruce didn't look like an ordinary great white shark added to the horror of the film as the shark was instead shown as a mutated beast. Nevertheless, the image and view of sharks changed rapidly after the first of the three Jaws films. People became more nervous and terrified of sharks after watching the actions by Bruce, that even influenced people to mention great white sharks amongst their worst fears.
Charles Lee Ray
From Child's Play - 1988
Charles Lee Ray, the human form of Chucky, is a fictional character seen as one of the most iconic horror movie villains of all time. Chucky is a doll that became possessed by the means of voodoo magic powered by the serial killer and it's human form, Charles Lee Ray. Even as a doll, Chucky had many human qualities; notable qualities he had were that he could bleed, procreate and even had organs inside of him compared to other dolls that are filled with stuffing and wiring etc.
I believe that one of the main reasons Chucky was such an iconic character was that dolls have always been unnerving but it developed a real scare factor around dolls that is on-going, even now, 27 years after the first film instalment.
Ghostface
From Scream - 1996
Ghostface is a fictional character also known as one of the most iconic villains, the character was voiced by the same actor regardless of the person behind the mask which makes it even more effective. The inspiration behind the mask is from the famous painting by Edvard Munch. The character is used to disguise and mask the true identities of each antagonist of each film. Something that adds to the greatness of this character is the fact it stays and even becomes more scarier as more and more instalments are added to the film series. What tends to happen with other characters is that they don't have the same effect as they did in their first appearance.
Jigsaw
From Saw - 2004
Jigsaw is a fictional character that differs from other movie villains as he didn't directly kill his victims yet instead he relies on various lethal traps placed on his victims. As it's so unique, it became refreshing for the audience to witness a different kind of villain. One of the most notable features of this particular character is his frequent use of the words 'Game Over'.
Pinhead
From Hellraiser - 1987
Hannibal Lecter
Hannibal Lecter is known as one of the most iconic movie villains of all time purely because of his characteristics that make him differ from the stereotypes. Lecter is a forensic psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer in which does not fit in any known psychological profile but is referred to as a pure sociopath at times. Not only because of his decision to consume his victims rather than dispose them, he's a character that's too intriguing to watch and just forget about with his charisma and intelligence adding to the mysteriousness surrounding his character.
Bruce was a large man-eating great white shark that attacked and terrorized beach-goers on a fictional New England summer resort town, Amity Island. The fact Bruce didn't look like an ordinary great white shark added to the horror of the film as the shark was instead shown as a mutated beast. Nevertheless, the image and view of sharks changed rapidly after the first of the three Jaws films. People became more nervous and terrified of sharks after watching the actions by Bruce, that even influenced people to mention great white sharks amongst their worst fears.
Charles Lee Ray
From Child's Play - 1988
Charles Lee Ray, the human form of Chucky, is a fictional character seen as one of the most iconic horror movie villains of all time. Chucky is a doll that became possessed by the means of voodoo magic powered by the serial killer and it's human form, Charles Lee Ray. Even as a doll, Chucky had many human qualities; notable qualities he had were that he could bleed, procreate and even had organs inside of him compared to other dolls that are filled with stuffing and wiring etc.
I believe that one of the main reasons Chucky was such an iconic character was that dolls have always been unnerving but it developed a real scare factor around dolls that is on-going, even now, 27 years after the first film instalment.
Ghostface
From Scream - 1996
Ghostface is a fictional character also known as one of the most iconic villains, the character was voiced by the same actor regardless of the person behind the mask which makes it even more effective. The inspiration behind the mask is from the famous painting by Edvard Munch. The character is used to disguise and mask the true identities of each antagonist of each film. Something that adds to the greatness of this character is the fact it stays and even becomes more scarier as more and more instalments are added to the film series. What tends to happen with other characters is that they don't have the same effect as they did in their first appearance.
Jigsaw
From Saw - 2004
Jigsaw is a fictional character that differs from other movie villains as he didn't directly kill his victims yet instead he relies on various lethal traps placed on his victims. As it's so unique, it became refreshing for the audience to witness a different kind of villain. One of the most notable features of this particular character is his frequent use of the words 'Game Over'.
Pinhead
From Hellraiser - 1987
Pinhead is a fictional character known to be such an iconic movie villain, he is one of the leaders of the Cenobites, humans turned creatures that travel to earth through a puzzle box called the 'Lament Configuration' on a mission to harvest human souls. The character's appearance kick started a whole new depiction for horror movie villains as Pinhead was quiet, articulate and intelligent; very different to the general stereotypical villains before 1987.
Norman Bates
From Psycho - 1960
Norman Bates is a fictional character in which suffered emotional abuse as a child from his mother; this resulted in Bates murdering his mother and her lover. His character was inspired and loosely based on the real-life murderer Ed Gein. Bates is presented as mid-20s, tall, slender, handsome, 'boy next door' type which added to the shock when his dark side is shown. One of his most iconic actions is when he brutally stabbed the female lead in Psycho with a kitchen knife as she was in the shower, whilst dressed as his dead mother. The fact he looks like a normal and ordinary man in his 20s yet is actually a serial killer is a very effective and notable feature of the film.
Norman Bates is a fictional character in which suffered emotional abuse as a child from his mother; this resulted in Bates murdering his mother and her lover. His character was inspired and loosely based on the real-life murderer Ed Gein. Bates is presented as mid-20s, tall, slender, handsome, 'boy next door' type which added to the shock when his dark side is shown. One of his most iconic actions is when he brutally stabbed the female lead in Psycho with a kitchen knife as she was in the shower, whilst dressed as his dead mother. The fact he looks like a normal and ordinary man in his 20s yet is actually a serial killer is a very effective and notable feature of the film.
Hannibal Lecter
From The Silence of Lambs - 1991
Hannibal Lecter is known as one of the most iconic movie villains of all time purely because of his characteristics that make him differ from the stereotypes. Lecter is a forensic psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer in which does not fit in any known psychological profile but is referred to as a pure sociopath at times. Not only because of his decision to consume his victims rather than dispose them, he's a character that's too intriguing to watch and just forget about with his charisma and intelligence adding to the mysteriousness surrounding his character.
Freddy Krueger
From Nightmare on Elm Street -1984
Freddy Krueger is a burnt serial killer who uses a glove armed with razors to torture and murder his victims in their dreams, resulting in the death in reality as well. He's a powerful and easily recognisable character with normal human vulnerabilities when in the real world. Krueger is a vengeful ghost with a memorable look; the red and green striped jumper, burned a disfigured face and the iconic metal glove armed with razors. His character represents subconscious fears through his actions throughout all of the film series.
Freddy Krueger is a burnt serial killer who uses a glove armed with razors to torture and murder his victims in their dreams, resulting in the death in reality as well. He's a powerful and easily recognisable character with normal human vulnerabilities when in the real world. Krueger is a vengeful ghost with a memorable look; the red and green striped jumper, burned a disfigured face and the iconic metal glove armed with razors. His character represents subconscious fears through his actions throughout all of the film series.
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