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Top 10 Horror Movie Psychos
Over the years there have been many movie characters that have scared the beJesus out of us, haunted our dreams, and gone down in history as having played a great role as the local psycho of some backward town or hideaway.
Now its time to relive the frights once more by counting down the top 10 (okay 11 because I couldn’t decide) movie psychos of all time:
11. Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) – No Country for Old Men, 2007
Set in small town America near the US/Mexico border in West Texas, Javier Bardem plays Anton Chigurh, a hit man following up on a drug deal gone bad in which a passer by, Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson), finds and keeps the cash. Chigurh’s signature weapon is a captive bolt pistol in which he takes immense pleasure in randomly killing people with on his journey to find the man with the his drug money.
Scariest Moment: When Chigurh is hunting down a jumpy Carson Wells who is hiding in a hotel room with a shot gun listening to the footsteps get closer and closer.
10. Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) – Psycho, 1960
An Alfred Hitchcock classic. The unassuming motel owner Norman Bates who becomes infatuated with a secretary, Marian Crane (Janet Leigh) who checks into his motel and is on the run for embezzling her bosses money. Once she checks in, the fun begins.
Scariest Moment: The shower scene. Big knife, vulnerable secretary. Need I say more?
9. The Joker (Heath Ledger) – The Dark Knight, 2008
The latest Batman installment, Heath Ledger does a great job scaring the hell out of us as The Joker by licking those lips and using lines like “kill the Batman!”
Scariest Moment: When The Joker threatens to slice his prisoners mouth from ear to ear, just like what happened to his own.
8. Bob Gray aka Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Tim Curry) – Stephen King’s It, 1990
Stephen King’s film brings every mother and child’s worst nightmare when Pennywise the Dancing Clown terrorizes the town preying on children at every opportunity. The child killing psycho poses as a seemingly loveable clown but, unbeknown to his victims, has a sinister edge.
Scariest Moment: When the “Losers” (A groups of teens on the hunt for It) get separated looking for It in the sewers and one is eaten alive by him.
Pennywise in the Sewer
7. Dr Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) – The Silence of the Lambs, 1991
Anthony Hopkins plays the most exhilarating and psychopathic part of his esteemed career as Dr Hannibal Lecter, a prisoner locked up for numerous murders and cannibalism. He is questioned by a young police officer (Jodie Foster) to help in the capture of a copycat style killer, Buffalo Bill. His mind tricks and insatiable twisting of words drives the young police woman to the edge of her sanity and courage.
Scariest Moment: When Hannibal escapes from his bar less holding cell and goes on the run.
6. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) – The Shining, 1980
Set in an isolated hotel in rural America, Jack Torrence takes a job as a caretaker of the hotel which gets snowed in during the winter with no way of leaving. Bringing his wife and son on the trip, things get scary when ghostly presences are detected around the hotel by Jack”s son Danny. Things go from bad to worse with Jack trying to kill his wife and son in an insane rage courtesy of the unwanted, ghostly guests.
Scariest Moment: One of the great lines in film history; Here’s Johnny! Jack hacks through a bedroom door with an axe in search of his wife and child.
The Shining: Here’s Johnny
5. Damien Thorn (Harvey Stephens) – The Omen, 1976
The scariest kid in film, maybe with the exception of Regan MacNeil from the Exorcist, is Damien Thorn, the son of Satan, switched at birth and unbeknown to his parents. The parents have a hunch that Damien has problems when a succession of weird, psychotic episodes takes place. They are informed by a priest investigating his behaviour that he is in fact the son of Satan.
Scariest Moment: When Damien’s “mother” (Lee Remick) cuts away hair from his scalp revealing the mark of the Devil, 666.
The Omen: Movie Trailer
4. Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) – The Exorcist, 1973
The 1973 American movie adaptation of the novel by William Peter Blatty which was published in 1971, tells the story of Regan MacNeil, a young girl who has been possessed by a demonic force. Father Lankester Merrin is bought in to try and expel the demon by means of an exorcism where he and his assistant encounter more than they bargained for.
Scariest Moment: Regan masturbating with a crucifix and using a demonic voice to make crude remarks to the priest or… In the director’s cut version when Regan comes down the stairs on all fours like an inside out spider.
The Exorcist: Spider Walk video
3. Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) – Misery, 1990
Kathy Bates as you’ve never seen her but could imagine her, plays Annie Wilkes, a obsessive psycho who “saves” her favourite author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) from a car crash in an isolated rural area but then proceeds to never let him go home by mutilating him in different ways.
Scariest Moment: When Annie breaks Paul’s ankle by propping his leg between two blocks of wood and then smashing it with a sledge hammer.
2. The Candyman (Tony Todd) – Candyman, 1990
Say Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman into the mirror. You know you won’t. Even now people are literally scared of uttering these five words into the mirror as a result of this Bloody Mary legend adaptation named The Candyman. A college student studying urban legends stumbles on this myth where the son of an African slave is tortured and killed for his love of a white woman. As a result his spirit brings it back five times worse!
Scariest Moment: Anytime anyone checks whether the legend is actually just a legend and The Candyman brings his iron hooked revenge.
1. Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) – A Nightmare on Elm Street, 1980
Nobody beats the scariest of scary film characters in the form of Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). He hunts you in your dreams and so as a result, none of the teenage characters in the film want to sleep. But when they can resist the solemn slumber no longer, Freddy makes his move and with razor sharp knives attached to his fingers, sleep is your worst nightmare.
Scariest Moment: Whenever anyone experiencing the Freddy Krueger nightmares falls a sleep.
Other film articles by RJ Chamberlain:
30 Comments
nice and very informative
great article… but im not watching horror movies, it scares me to death!
Well done RJ on the work sourcing the pictures. A really good read.
Excellent! Bravo! ..very well-written and very informative article. Must read for cinema lovers. Well done! Thanks for sharing
Sharona
I love scarry movies. This is really great, love the pictures. I love the unexpected.
GREAT article for the writing and the visuals.
great choices,i like hannibal,candyman and freddy
Great choice!
Loved this, slasher films are my favourite! Especially like Jack Nicholson in The Shining and Freddy of course …
Great idea for an article. Yep, these sure do scare the crap out me! I’m not a big fan of Jason from Friday the 13th either! LOL
These are favorite kind of movies. I have never seen No Country for Old Men yet.
I love the Nightmare on Elm street movies. They were all great fun.
Norman was the scariest of all. I had nightmares about him for years. I think Hannibal was next in line but Kathy Bates was a bad one. What the heck, they were all horrible.
Hey guys, I think Pennywise is the scariest but I think the scariest movie was the Exorcist. Thanks for all your input. Was such an issue finding all the pics for this piece. Took me days.
RJ
Those movies sure very scarry!
I am not a horror fan but this is a good list to choose from!
these are scary movies, thanks for sharing.
I’m a horror fan! What about Jason?
Enjoyable read, RJ
Nice job even though I am not into horror movies.
This would have been perfect for Halloween reading. Heheh! Good article!
Excellent stuff, as ever!
Woody Harrelson does not play Carson Wells in “No Country for Old Men.” That would be Josh Brolin. He gave a great performance so I think we should honor him with correct billing.
John,
Woody Harrelson does play Carson Wells. Josh Brolin plays Llewellyn Moss. There is a mistake though. Woody Harrelson is the cop and it is Llewellyn who finds the cash.
Sorry for the misunderstanding.
RJ
Great list. I love horror movies.
Right on in all accounts!!! Although I think Annie Wilkes just made me very angry. And she “wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.” LOL. Very FUN article!
-Doug.
3 thumbs up and this get a Stumble and a Buzz. Awesome article and great pictures. AAA+
What, no Jason Voorhees?
Norman Bates Psycho… was Robbed at #10 but the rest you got it right. The Shining… should have been #10… Psycho should have been #6… other then that, way to go!
Wells isn’t a cop, he’s another hitman hired to retrieve the money from Chigurh.
you got the “No Country for Old Men” info wrong, he’s not chasing Carson Wells hes chasing Llewllyn Moss (josh brolin) and Chigurh doesnt take pleasure in killing thats the scary thing about him – atleast watch the film before writing about it!
Plus Hannibal Lecter should be #1 (in my opinion)