The “American Idols” for the Disturbed Community

Vincent Price once said, “Playing a villain is fun, because you finally get to portray that darker side of you that is kept hidden from the world, and yet it’s a connection we all have to each other.” Any fan of the horror movie genre must find it difficult to disagree with that statement. Simply because when you look at the countless examples of sinister and hideous characters that we have come to either loath and love, we find that there is something we connect with in each of them. Regardless of how disgusting that may sound to some people, we like these characters because there is some tiny (or large) part of us that relates to their desires.

The List:

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1.   Pinhead (Hellraiser) — The leader of the Cenobites (demons). His voice is the sound of nightmares, and his appearance can send shivers down your spine. And yet, the way he talks about torture and pain sounds like a love poem.

2.   Michael Myers (Halloween) — That silent (except for the heavy breathing) figure that stands quietly in the darkness, watching, lurking, waiting for the right moment to make his move. The truest form of Evil personified.

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3.   Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs) — Sir Anthony Hopkins brought to life a hideous beast disguised in human skin, with a vast knowledge of intellect, and a forbidden taste of human flesh. He makes our skin crawl, and yet we encourage his mocking behavior throughout the film.

4.   Annie Wilkes (Misery) — The epitome of a psychologically distraught fan. What celebrity doesn’t have nightmares of their own version of this woman, in which they are helpless, and at the mercy of someone who is willing to kill themselves to prove their love and admiration…after of course, they kill their idol.

5.   Pennywise, The Clown (Stephen King’s IT) — What child hasn’t been scared by this colorful monster? Thanks to Tim Curry’s performance, most of us are scared to death of clowns, for fear that if we get too close, they eat us alive and screaming!

6.   Candyman (Candyman) — Who has the guts to actually stand in front of the mirror and say his name, without that slight possibility of seeing him? That voice, and that hook…need I say more?

7.   Captain Howdy(Dee Snyder’s Stangeland) – This was the movie that first caused alarmed about instant messaging and meeting people online. The mutilating talents of Captain Howdy brought to life one of the deepest fears we have as humans…naively inviting danger into our lives.

8.   Curt Duncan (When A Stranger Calls) – If you want to stare into the face of a seriously deranged man, than look no further than this character. From the moment his voice is spoken in the movie, we are dropped headfirst into a sick and ominous land, which is the borderline between sanity and utterly perverse insanity. And who can forget…”Have you checked the children?”

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9.   Ed Gein(Ed Gein) – The most disturbing fact about this “monster” is that he was an actual person. Although the movie focused more on the true events of his life in the style of a drama, this man possessed all the right ingredients for nightmares. In fact, he has been the inspiration for Norman Bates, Hannibal Lecter, and Leatherface. Cannibalism, necrophilia, and his seriously unnatural relationship with his mother led this monster down a path of sadistic murders and mayhem.

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10. Jack Torrance (The Shining) – This character best displays the fears that many of us have, only it is portrayed by one man: The fear of failure, neglect, isolation, insanity, danger to one’s loved ones, losing one’s consciousness, and harming one’s child intentionally. These fears are deeply rooted into the minds of many people, and for them, Jack Torrance has became the mind’s poster-image of these fears in action. He shows just how easily we can fall victim to those fears, until they have completely possessed our minds.