EW's 20 Best/Worst Horror Villians - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

browneyes106 · 09-02-2009, 06:34 PM

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,2024...300293,00.html

The Best

FREDDY KRUEGER
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

It says a lot about our culture that a child-molesting serial killer with poor taste in sweaters has become, over the years, a semi-cuddly, Bond-ian purveyor of quips. But in the original, Wes Craven-directed creepshow, Robert Englund's Freddy is as nasty as anyone could want him to be.

PINHEAD
Hellraiser (1987)

You could kill quite a few of the horror villains on this list by driving a bunch of nails into their heads. But, for Doug Bradley's sado-masochistically-inclined ''Cenobite,'' that would be the equivalent of getting his tips frosted.

MICHAEL MYERS
Halloween (1978)

The eerie mask worn by the teen-slaying Myers in John Carpenter's original movie was a spray-painted facsimile of William Shatner's face. Which seems appropriate given that the slasher icon has proven to be every bit as impossible to kill as the career of the onetime Captain Kirk.

JASON VOORHEES
Friday the 13th (1980)

We could spend all day discussing the Freudian implications of the hockey mask-sporting Jason's penchant for carving up sexually active teens in the Friday the 13th franchise (though, of course, it was actually Ma Voorhees who was responsible for the mayhem in the first movie). Or we could merely quote one witness to his destructive ways in 2003's Freddy vs. Jason: ''Dude, that goalie was pissed!''

COUNT ORLOK
Nosferatu (1922)

Yes, these days, all the popular vampires have great hair. Many really frightening cinematic bloodsuckers, however, have preferred the chrome dome look as pioneered by Max Schreck in F.W. Murneau's horror classic (and subsequently aped by Reggie Nalder in the Salem's Lot miniseries and Klaus Kinski in Werner Herzog's Nosferatu remake).

LEATHERFACE
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

As played by Gunnar Hansen, the monstrous man-child Leatherface takes care of the ''chainsaw'' portion of Tobe Hooper's hugely successful, original Texas Chainsaw Massacre pic. He also takes care of the massacre part. In summation, without him, Hooper's movie would have been called The Texas.

JIGSAW
Saw (2004)

Tobin Bell's highly judgmental killer ''Jigsaw'' likes to say that he never hurts anyone with his fiendish traps, that his so-called ''victims'' merely hurt themselves. Try telling that to Cary Elwes in the first Saw movie! Actually, don't bother, he's making too much noise sawing his own foot off to hear you.

CANDYMAN
Candyman (1992)

Pity Mr. Candyman! In order for this urban legend to cross over into the real world someone must recite his name five times while looking into a mirror. And, given that he's a ticked off ex-slave with a hook for a hand, who would do that? Except, as it turns out, everyone.

ANNIE WILKES
Misery (1990)

In this increasingly dumbed-down world, we have mixed feelings about Kathy Bates' psychotic ex-nurse. Yes, it is true that she will break your ankles with a sledgehammer if you displease her. On the other hand, you can't argue with her bibliophile ways. Well, you could. But she'll probably break your ankles with a sledgehammer.

THE TALL MAN
Phantasm (1979)

Not for Angus Scrimm's The Tall Man the simple pleasures of teen butchery. Nope, he uses electric drill-equipped, flying metal balls to help him turn the human race into miniature zombies so that they can do his bidding in another dimension. Hey, it takes all sorts to make a world! Of terror! In another dimension!

HANNIBAL LECTER
Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Anthony Hopkins' Lecter isn't actually onscreen that long in Silence, yet the character was still memorably scary enough to bag the actor an Oscar. Maybe it's that creepy slicked-back hair. Or maybe it's that story about him chewing someone's face off without his pulse ever rising above 85 bpm.

NORMAN BATES
Psycho (1960)

I don't know why Norman Bates' twitchy motel manager is on this list. It's his mother who's the real villain of the piece. You know, maybe I should watch this movie until the end one day....

SYLVIA GANUSH
Drag Me To Hell (2009)

Not only does old gypsy woman Ganush curse Alison Lohman's unhelpful bank employee with a fate quite literally worse than death in Sam Raimi's horror movie, but she's got really dirty fingernails.

MINNIE CASTEVET
Rosemary's Baby (1968)

In Roman Polanski's demonic yarn, Ruth Gordon's incessantly babbling New Yorker has ''doomed comic relief'' written all over. Until, that is, she replaces that writing with ''utterly evil handmaiden of Satan.'' To be fair, even then, she still serves a nice cup of Lipton's tea.

browneyes106 · 09-02-2009, 06:35 PM

Continued list

CHUCKY
Child's Play (1988)

You know how a doll can be kind of creepy? And you now how Brad Dourif's voice can be kind of creepy? And you know how killing many, many, people can be kind of creepy? Well...

The Worst

PUMPKINHEAD
Pumpkinhead (1988)

There are lots of things you could put on a head to make it scary. Even Pinhead gets the job done, and those are merely pins. Also acceptable: swords, sharks, rancid pineapples. But pumpkins? Not only are they not scary, but the name itself is kind of lightweight for a vengeance demon. —Marc Bernardin

DR. GIGGLES
Dr. Giggles (1992)

The tag lines said it all: ''The doctor is in...sane! The doctor is out...of his mind!'' Plus, he was played by Larry Drake. Excellent actor, to be sure — he won a pair of Emmys for playing Benny on L.A. Law — but not entirely horrifying.

GINGERDEAD MAN
Gingerdead Man (2005)

Sometimes, a barely serviceable albeit delicious pun does not a believable killer make.

LEPRECHAUN
Leprechaun (1993)

Hey, Warwick Davis has got to work, right? Ewok movies ain't growing on trees.

AUDREY II
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

It's a plant with lipstick. Named Audrey. I know this film/musical/romance/horticultural odyssey is supposed to, technically, be a comedy...but come on.

JamesG · 09-02-2009, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by browneyes106

GINGERDEAD MAN
Gingerdead Man (2005)

Sometimes, a barely serviceable albeit delicious pun does not a believable killer make.

Ok, why is this one even mentioned?

I know it was horrible, and boy it was, but it should have went to something that attempted to be frightening as this was a joke. Were we supposed to take this one seriously? I don't know why I seriously bothered to watch this.

To top it off the voice of "The Gingerdead Man" was Gary Busey.

They also made a sequel "The Gingerdead Man 2: The Passion of the Crust" and there is a third one currently in the works called "The Gingerdead Man 3: Saturday Night Cleaver".

catlover79 · 09-02-2009, 09:10 PM

What? No Darth Vader??

JamesG · 09-02-2009, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

What? No Darth Vader??

He's not horror.

catlover79 · 09-02-2009, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

What? No Darth Vader??

My mistake - I didn't see the "Horror Villains" part - I thought it was just movie villains in general. OOOPS.

Number 9 Dream · 09-02-2009, 09:32 PM

Don't forget Clint Howard's "Ice Cream Man" in the movie (with the same title) as worst villain

Why wasn't that included?

catlover79 · 09-02-2009, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Number 9 Dream

Don't forget Clint Howard's "Ice Cream Man" in the movie (with the same title) as worst villain

Why wasn't that included?

Wasn't Andrea Evans (One Life to Live, Passions) in that movie?

Retro4Life · 09-02-2009, 09:35 PM

But...no Dracula? No Invisible Man? No Frankenstein's Monster? Heavy sigh.

Once again, aside from the Nosferatu reference, we seem to be dealing with people who either have never seen many films made before 1960, or just have no taste!

And how can you leave these guys out of a list of "worst" horror villains?

JamesG · 09-02-2009, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

Wasn't Andrea Evans (One Life to Live, Passions) in that movie?

Yes.

As well as Olivia Hussey (Romeo and Juliet) and David Warner (Titanic).

JamesG · 09-02-2009, 09:44 PM

Here's another worst...

Retro4Life · 09-02-2009, 09:47 PM

You know what's REALLY sad? I've seen all of these "worst"s!

catlover79 · 09-02-2009, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesG

Yes.

As well as Olivia Hussey (Romeo and Juliet) and David Warner (Titanic).

I think it's sad that Olivia Hussey went from Romeo & Juliet to something as low as Ice Cream Man.

browneyes106 · 09-02-2009, 11:40 PM

I've seen all the worst ones too and I have also seen Pinicchio's Revenge. Here's another worst horror movie villian.

JamesG · 09-04-2009, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by browneyes106

I've seen all the worst ones too and I have also seen Pinicchio's Revenge. Here's another worst horror movie villian.

You saw Pinocchio's Revenge?? I guess I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw this s*it.

Whenever I used to bring up the name people thought I was making it up.

09-02-2009, 06:34 PM	#1
browneyes106 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 01, 2008 Posts: 6,094	EW's 20 Best/Worst Horror Villians http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,2024...300293,00.html The Best FREDDY KRUEGER A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) It says a lot about our culture that a child-molesting serial killer with poor taste in sweaters has become, over the years, a semi-cuddly, Bond-ian purveyor of quips. But in the original, Wes Craven-directed creepshow, Robert Englund's Freddy is as nasty as anyone could want him to be. PINHEAD Hellraiser (1987) You could kill quite a few of the horror villains on this list by driving a bunch of nails into their heads. But, for Doug Bradley's sado-masochistically-inclined ''Cenobite,'' that would be the equivalent of getting his tips frosted. MICHAEL MYERS Halloween (1978) The eerie mask worn by the teen-slaying Myers in John Carpenter's original movie was a spray-painted facsimile of William Shatner's face. Which seems appropriate given that the slasher icon has proven to be every bit as impossible to kill as the career of the onetime Captain Kirk. JASON VOORHEES Friday the 13th (1980) We could spend all day discussing the Freudian implications of the hockey mask-sporting Jason's penchant for carving up sexually active teens in the Friday the 13th franchise (though, of course, it was actually Ma Voorhees who was responsible for the mayhem in the first movie). Or we could merely quote one witness to his destructive ways in 2003's Freddy vs. Jason: ''Dude, that goalie was pissed!'' COUNT ORLOK Nosferatu (1922) Yes, these days, all the popular vampires have great hair. Many really frightening cinematic bloodsuckers, however, have preferred the chrome dome look as pioneered by Max Schreck in F.W. Murneau's horror classic (and subsequently aped by Reggie Nalder in the Salem's Lot miniseries and Klaus Kinski in Werner Herzog's Nosferatu remake). LEATHERFACE The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) As played by Gunnar Hansen, the monstrous man-child Leatherface takes care of the ''chainsaw'' portion of Tobe Hooper's hugely successful, original Texas Chainsaw Massacre pic. He also takes care of the massacre part. In summation, without him, Hooper's movie would have been called The Texas. JIGSAW Saw (2004) Tobin Bell's highly judgmental killer ''Jigsaw'' likes to say that he never hurts anyone with his fiendish traps, that his so-called ''victims'' merely hurt themselves. Try telling that to Cary Elwes in the first Saw movie! Actually, don't bother, he's making too much noise sawing his own foot off to hear you. CANDYMAN Candyman (1992) Pity Mr. Candyman! In order for this urban legend to cross over into the real world someone must recite his name five times while looking into a mirror. And, given that he's a ticked off ex-slave with a hook for a hand, who would do that? Except, as it turns out, everyone. ANNIE WILKES Misery (1990) In this increasingly dumbed-down world, we have mixed feelings about Kathy Bates' psychotic ex-nurse. Yes, it is true that she will break your ankles with a sledgehammer if you displease her. On the other hand, you can't argue with her bibliophile ways. Well, you could. But she'll probably break your ankles with a sledgehammer. THE TALL MAN Phantasm (1979) Not for Angus Scrimm's The Tall Man the simple pleasures of teen butchery. Nope, he uses electric drill-equipped, flying metal balls to help him turn the human race into miniature zombies so that they can do his bidding in another dimension. Hey, it takes all sorts to make a world! Of terror! In another dimension! HANNIBAL LECTER Silence of the Lambs (1991) Anthony Hopkins' Lecter isn't actually onscreen that long in Silence, yet the character was still memorably scary enough to bag the actor an Oscar. Maybe it's that creepy slicked-back hair. Or maybe it's that story about him chewing someone's face off without his pulse ever rising above 85 bpm. NORMAN BATES Psycho (1960) I don't know why Norman Bates' twitchy motel manager is on this list. It's his mother who's the real villain of the piece. You know, maybe I should watch this movie until the end one day.... SYLVIA GANUSH Drag Me To Hell (2009) Not only does old gypsy woman Ganush curse Alison Lohman's unhelpful bank employee with a fate quite literally worse than death in Sam Raimi's horror movie, but she's got really dirty fingernails. MINNIE CASTEVET Rosemary's Baby (1968) In Roman Polanski's demonic yarn, Ruth Gordon's incessantly babbling New Yorker has ''doomed comic relief'' written all over. Until, that is, she replaces that writing with ''utterly evil handmaiden of Satan.'' To be fair, even then, she still serves a nice cup of Lipton's tea.

09-02-2009, 09:10 PM	#4
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,382	What? No Darth Vader??
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

09-02-2009, 09:32 PM	#7
Number 9 Dream That '70s Girl Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 18, 2005 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 5,875	Don't forget Clint Howard's "Ice Cream Man" in the movie (with the same title) as worst villain Why wasn't that included?
	__________________ Live a little be a gypsy get around http://www.librarything.com/profile/skelterhelter http://retrogirl82.dvdaf.com/owned formerly Retrogirl82

09-02-2009, 09:35 PM	#9
Retro4Life Accept No Substitutes Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 04, 2009 Location: IL Posts: 6,708	But...no Dracula? No Invisible Man? No Frankenstein's Monster? Heavy sigh. Once again, aside from the Nosferatu reference, we seem to be dealing with people who either have never seen many films made before 1960, or just have no taste! And how can you leave these guys out of a list of "worst" horror villains? Attached Images
	__________________ Alex Reiger :[Trying to convince Louie not to antagonize Bobby] "It's not hard to make people feel bad about their lives. What's hard is making people feel good about their lives."

09-02-2009, 09:44 PM	#11
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,136	Here's another worst... Attached Images

09-02-2009, 06:35 PM	#2
browneyes106 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 01, 2008 Posts: 6,094	Continued list CHUCKY Child's Play (1988) You know how a doll can be kind of creepy? And you now how Brad Dourif's voice can be kind of creepy? And you know how killing many, many, people can be kind of creepy? Well... The Worst PUMPKINHEAD Pumpkinhead (1988) There are lots of things you could put on a head to make it scary. Even Pinhead gets the job done, and those are merely pins. Also acceptable: swords, sharks, rancid pineapples. But pumpkins? Not only are they not scary, but the name itself is kind of lightweight for a vengeance demon. —Marc Bernardin DR. GIGGLES Dr. Giggles (1992) The tag lines said it all: ''The doctor is in...sane! The doctor is out...of his mind!'' Plus, he was played by Larry Drake. Excellent actor, to be sure — he won a pair of Emmys for playing Benny on L.A. Law — but not entirely horrifying. GINGERDEAD MAN Gingerdead Man (2005) Sometimes, a barely serviceable albeit delicious pun does not a believable killer make. LEPRECHAUN Leprechaun (1993) Hey, Warwick Davis has got to work, right? Ewok movies ain't growing on trees. AUDREY II Little Shop of Horrors (1986) It's a plant with lipstick. Named Audrey. I know this film/musical/romance/horticultural odyssey is supposed to, technically, be a comedy...but come on.

09-02-2009, 09:47 PM	#12
Retro4Life Accept No Substitutes Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 04, 2009 Location: IL Posts: 6,708	You know what's REALLY sad? I've seen all of these "worst"s!

09-02-2009, 11:40 PM	#14
browneyes106 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 01, 2008 Posts: 6,094	I've seen all the worst ones too and I have also seen Pinicchio's Revenge. Here's another worst horror movie villian.