Horror films often make use of villains as primary antagonists. Some such characters have become iconic in their own right due to their roles in film.
Name | Film | Actor(s) | Description | Refs. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Anguirus | Godzilla Raids Again |
| A dinosaur-like kaiju and enemy of Godzilla. | [1] |
Art the Clown |
|
| A demonic evil clown. | [2] [3] |
Ash | Alien | An android science officer on the Nostromo. | [4] | |
Baragon | Frankenstein vs. Baragon | A dinosaur-like kaiju and enemy of Frankenstein. | [5] | |
Patrick Bateman | American Psycho | A psychopathic and homicidal yuppie and investment banker. | [6] [7] | |
Norma Bates | Psycho franchise | The abusive mother of Norman Bates. | [8] [9] | |
Norman Bates | Psycho franchise | A man with dissociative identity disorder and a murderous alter that takes the form of his mother. | [10] [11] | |
Billy | Black Christmas franchise |
| A mysterious murderer that taunts and kills a group of students during the Christmas season. | [12] |
Billy the Puppet | Saw franchise | A puppet used by Jigsaw. | [13] | |
Biollante | Godzilla vs. Biollante |
| A plant-like hybrid kaiju and enemy of Godzilla. | [14] [15] |
Seth Brundle | The Fly | A scientist that turns into a fly-human hybrid monster due to an accident. | [16] [17] | |
Max Cady | Cape Fear | A criminal with an obsessive grudge against an attorney named Sam Bowden. | [18] [19] | |
Candyman | Candyman franchise |
| The vengeful ghost of an African American man murdered for an interracial love affair. | [20] [21] |
Billy Chapman | Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise |
| A toy store employee that embarks on a murder spree on Christmas Eve. | [22] [23] |
Chop Top | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 | A cannibalistic Vietnam veteran. | [24] [25] | |
Chucky | Child's Play franchise |
| An evil possessed toy doll. | [26] [27] [28] |
Clover | Cloverfield | — | A giant infant kaiju . | [29] [30] |
Daimajin | Daimajin | A giant warrior god kaiju . | [31] [32] | |
Jerry Dandrige | Fright Night | A murderous vampire. | [33] [34] | |
Death Angels | A Quiet Place franchise | — | A blind alien species that hunts by sound. | [35] [36] |
Francis Dolarhyde | Manhunter and Red Dragon | A serial killer that murders entire families every full moon. | [37] [38] | |
Count Dracula | Various |
| An archetypal vampire inspired by Vlad the Impaler. | [39] [40] |
Ebirah | Ebirah, Horror of the Deep |
| A giant lobster kaiju . | [41] [42] |
Frankenstein's monster | Universal Monsters franchise | An undead monster created by the mad doctor Victor Frankenstein. | [43] [44] [45] | |
Angela Franklin | Night of the Demons series | A young woman possessed by a demon. | [46] [47] | |
Gamera | Gamera, the Giant Monster |
| A giant turtle-like alien kaiju . | [48] [49] |
Ghostface | Scream franchise |
| An identity used by multiple killers. | [50] [51] [52] |
Gigan | Godzilla vs. Gigan | A cyborg alien kaiju and enemy of Godzilla | [53] | |
Godzilla | Godzilla franchise |
| A giant dinosaur-like kaiju . | [54] [55] [56] |
Jame Gumb | The Silence of the Lambs | A serial killer that murders women to wear their skin. | [57] [58] | |
Hedorah | Godzilla vs. Hedorah | A kaiju made of sludge. | [59] [60] | |
Mark Hoffman | Saw franchise | An apprentice and successor of Jigsaw. | [61] [62] | |
Igor | Universal Monsters franchise | The laboratory assistant of Victor Frankenstein. | [63] | |
Imhotep | The Mummy | An undead Egyptian mummy. | [64] [65] | |
Kharis | The Mummy's Hand | An undead Egyptian mummy. | [66] [67] | |
King Ghidorah | Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster |
| A three-headed alien kaiju and enemy of Godzilla. | [68] [69] [70] |
King Kong | King Kong franchise |
| A giant ape. | [71] [72] |
John Kramer | Saw franchise | A serial killer that tortures victims in elaborate traps. | [73] [74] | |
Freddy Krueger | A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise | The evil spirit of a child killer that haunts nightmares. | [75] [76] | |
Leatherface | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise | A cannibal that wears the faces of his victims. | [77] [78] | |
Hannibal Lecter | Hannibal Lecter franchise | A brilliant forensic psychologist and cannibalistic serial killer. | [79] [80] [81] | |
Mechagodzilla | Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla |
| A robot version of Godzilla. | [53] [82] |
Megaguirus | Godzilla vs. Megaguirus | A giant dragonfly-like kaiju and enemy of Godzilla. | ||
Megalon | Godzilla vs. Megalon |
| A giant beetle-like kaiju and enemy of Godzilla. | [83] |
Mothra | Mothra | A giant moth-like kaiju . | [84] [85] [86] | |
MUTO | Monsterverse franchise | — | A giant bug-like species of kaiju . | [87] [88] |
Michael Myers | Halloween franchise | A mute murderer that kills teenagers on Halloween night. | [89] [90] | |
Count Orlok | Nosferatu | A vampire based on Count Dracula. | [91] [92] [93] | |
Rustin Parr | Blair Witch franchise |
| A serial killer that murdered seven children on instructions from the Blair Witch. | [94] |
Pearl | X series | A psychopathic killer. | [95] | |
Rhoda Penmark | The Bad Seed |
| A child serial killer and psychopath. | [96] |
Pinhead | Hellraiser franchise |
| An extradimensional leader of the demonic Cenobites. | [97] [98] |
David Powers | The Lost Boys | The head of a gang of vampires. | [99] [100] | |
Predator | Predator franchise |
| An alien species that trophy hunts other species for sport. | [101] [102] |
Rodan | Rodan |
| A giant pterosaur-like kaiju . | [103] |
Kayako Saeki | Ju-On franchise | The vengeful ghost of a woman killed by her husband. | [104] [105] | |
Toshio Saeki | Ju-On franchise |
| The son of Kayako Saeki, a vengeful ghost. | [104] |
Slappy the Dummy | Goosebumps | An evil ventriloquy dummy. | [106] [107] | |
Slender Man | A tall supernatural being with no face. | [108] [109] | ||
Captain Spaulding | House of 1000 Corpses | A vulgar and murderous clown. | [110] [111] | |
T-1000 | Terminator franchise | A time-travelling robot assassin. | [112] | |
Larry Talbot | The Wolf Man franchise | A werewolf. | [113] [114] | |
The Thing |
| A shapeshifting alien that mimics its prey. | [115] [116] | |
Damien Thorn | The Omen franchise | The Antichrist. | [117] [118] | |
Sweeney Todd | A barber that kills his customers with a straight razor before giving their flesh to his partner Mrs. Lovett to bake into pies. | [119] [120] | ||
Jack Torrance | A writer that goes insane and tries to kill his wife and son. | [121] [122] | ||
Tall Man | Phantasm franchise | An extradimensional being posing as a mortician. | [123] [124] | |
Judge Turpin | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) | A cruel and corrupt judge. | [125] | |
Terminator | Terminator franchise | A time-travelling robot assassin. | [126] [127] | |
Tiffany Valentine | Child's Play franchise | An evil possessed toy doll. | [128] [129] [130] | |
Varan | Varan the Unbelievable | A giant gliding dinosaur-like kaiju . | [131] [132] | |
Mason Verger | Hannibal | A wealthy, sadistic pedophile disfigured by Hannibal Lecter. | [133] [134] | |
Jason Voorhees | Friday the 13th franchise |
| An immortal, undead murderer. | [135] [136] [137] |
Pamela Voorhees | Friday the 13th franchise | The murderous mother of Jason Voorhees. | [138] [139] | |
Harry Warden | My Bloody Valentine |
| A miner that kills people on Valentine's Day. | [140] |
Annie Wilkes | Misery | A nurse and serial killer. | [141] [142] | |
Xenomorph | Alien franchise | An endoparasitoid species of alien. | [143] [144] | |
Sadako Yamamura | The Ring franchise | The vengeful ghost of a young psychic that was murdered and thrown down a well. | [145] [146] | |
Yonggary | Yongary, Monster from the Deep |
| A large dinosaur-like kaiju . | [147] [148] |
Amanda Young | Saw franchise | A victim and apprentice of Jigsaw. | [149] [150] [151] | |
Zilla | Godzilla franchise |
| A large dinosaur-like kaiju . | [152] [153] |
A scream queen is an actress who is prominent and influential in horror films, either through a notable appearance or recurring roles. A scream king is the male equivalent. Notable female examples include Barbara Steele, Sandra Peabody, Linda Blair, Felissa Rose, Olivia Hussey, Marilyn Burns, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Neve Campbell, Daria Nicolodi, Dee Wallace, Isabelle Adjani, Sarah Paulson, Vera Farmiga, Jamie Lee Curtis, Taissa Farmiga, Maika Monroe, Anya Taylor-Joy, Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Samara Weaving, Heather Langenkamp, Shawnee Smith, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Melissa Barrera, Debbie Rochon, Tiffany Shepis, Brinke Stevens, Michelle Bauer, Katharine Isabelle, and Linnea Quigley.
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Chucky is an American horror comedy television series created by Don Mancini based on the Child's Play franchise. It serves as a direct sequel to Cult of Chucky (2017), the seventh film in the franchise, and stars Brad Dourif reprising his role as the voice of the title character, alongside Zackary Arthur, Björgvin Arnarson, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Teo Briones, and Devon Sawa. The cast also includes Fiona Dourif, Alex Vincent, Christine Elise, Jennifer Tilly, and Billy Boyd reprising their roles from previous films.
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Abigail is a 2024 American vampire horror comedy film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and written by Stephen Shields and Guy Busick. It stars Alisha Weir as the title character alongside Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, and Giancarlo Esposito. The film follows a group of kidnappers who capture the daughter of a powerful underworld figure and demand $50 million for her release, unaware of something sinister.
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