TV and Film’s Most Terrifying Characters

TV and film’s most terrifying characters have stalked our dreams, hidden under our beds and generally caused irreversible damage to our psyches. We look at the serial killers, demons and chocolate manufacturers that have left indelible impressions on our young minds. In honour of Horror Week Trespass’ film teams and guests list their 3 most terrifying TV and/or film characters, giving us an insight into what scares them the most!

GLENN DUNKS

Bob (Frank Silva) from Twin Peaks (1990-91)

and Fire Walk With Me (1992)

Has there ever been a more terrifying character on television than David Lynch’s otherworldly creation of murder and menace, “Bob”? Originally hired as a set decorator of the series’ pilot episode, Frank Silva accidentally ended up in a shot, hiding behind some furniture, and Lynch recognised horrifying potential of this man to scare audiences and cast him as Bob. If you have not experienced Twin Peaks for yourself then I will not spoil its many mysteries, but the recurring visions of Bob throughout are the stuff that nightmares are made of.

Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Just the idea of Leatherface scares me to the very core: a chainsaw-wielding maniac who carves up unlucky tourists travelling Texas’ back roads and serves them for dinner while wearing their skin as a mask. If that wasn’t disturbing enough, Tobe Hooper’s iconic horror film uses a documentary aesthetic to create realism and the film’s unflinching portrayal of these brutal acts is still shocking to this very day.

Ramona Linscott (Fiona Shaw) from The Black Dahlia (2006)

I won’t mince words: Brian De Palma’s telling of the infamous “Black Dahlia” murder mystery from the 1940s is a mess. One might say it is laughably bad, but where one cannot deny its brilliance is in the short but sweet performance of Fiona Shaw as Ramona Linscott, a rich alcoholic whose bitterness, and eventually her insanity, bubble to the surface in truly terrifying ways. This may not be the typical character to find on a list such as this, but she made me drag my knees up to my chest, shake in fright and chant “it’s only a movie… it’s only a movie…”

Runner-Ups: Piper Laurie Carrie’s religious fanatic mother in Carrie (1976), John Jarratt’s sick twist on Crocodile Dundee in Wolf Creek (2005), Michael Myers from Halloween (1978) and Robert Englund’s portrayal of Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) have been watered down by poor sequels, but the originals are still terrifying.

LIN  TAN

Quite frankly, I don’t enjoy paying to have my wits scared to death

Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) from Misery (1990)

A novelist is rescued from a car crash only to find that his saviour is his “number one fan” with a penchant for breaking legs! Talk about good luck turned bad. Kathy Bates played Annie Wilkes the psycho so convincingly I flinched a little when I saw her as Miss Sue in The Blind Side (half expecting her to wield a sledgehammer above her head). I recommend French and Saunders’ Misery spoof instead.

Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) from The Omen (2006)

Damien, the devil incarnate reborn into a wee child is enough to put you off having children forever. Many things scare me about Damien. Firstly, his ability to pop out of nowhere several times in the film, secondly, the way he looks over his shoulder to flash a chilling stare through his intense dark-ringed eyes. And lastly, there’s nothing creepier than a silently deranged young person with the mind power to control nannies.

Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter) from The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

I must confess, I haven’t actually seen this film. I’ve seen some of it, but there’s one particular scene in which Emily Rose is crawling on the floor with her body resembling a mangled mess that made me feel like I had seen enough. The fact that the film is based on a true story takes it to a whole other level of scariness.

SEAN ROM

Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston) from The Witches (1990)

Nicolas Roeg’s excellent adaption of Roald Dahl’s novel features a villain so terrifying that I hid the rented VHS tape in the dark depths of mum’s linen closet. Anjelica Huston’s Grand High Witch is a deliciously monstrous creation. The scene at the witches’ convention where the de-wigged uglies scramble for the child still makes me shiver in mere memory.

Elijah (Samuel L. Jackson) from Unbreakable (2000)

Before ruining his career with the horse manure trilogy- Lady in the Water, The Happening and the Last Airbender- M. Night Shyamalan made some intelligent, frightening thrillers. The character of Elijah (Samuel L. Jackson) begins the film as a benevolent figure but thanks to Shyamalan’s concluding twist, is shown in a shocking, petrifying new light. Who would have thought that a man whose bones shatter like glass could be so terrifying?

The Monkey from Outbreak (1995)

Laugh all you like, but that dirty little monkey who ends up spreading the killer virus scared the crap out of me. Thank god Morgan Freeman was there to sort things out. I believe this film is wholly responsible for the ensuing hand sanitizer craze.

MATTHEW PEJKOVIC -mattsmoviereviews

Pinhead (Doug Bradley) from Hellraiser (1987)

Based on the dark writings of horror maestro Clive Barker, Hellraiser features a villain so methodically evil, his mere presence chills the soul. Pinhead’s penchant for ripping souls apart with sadistic pleasure not only brings on the gory, it also represents a warped version of the kinky since he gets off on inflicting pain that would make the minions of Hell wince. His face lodged with nails and leather attire strapped tight, Pinhead is a walking nightmare: impenetrable, incorruptible, and without mercy.

Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Tobe Hopper’s grizzled and utterly insane slasher flick The Texas Chain Saw Massacre represented the great American nightmare, as a group of friends are ambushed and murdered by a family of backwoods cannibals in the Deep South. Amongst this brood stood tall Leatherface, a creature of unflinching power and not an iota of moral compassion, wearing a mask made of human skin, and carrying around his Chainsaw as if it were an extension of himself. Hopper’s introduction of Leatherface still stands as one of the most memorable and horrific.

Pazuzu from The Exorcist (1973)

Better known as the demon who possessed Linda Blair in The Exorcist, Pazuzu stands apart from other horror villains since it can only manifest itself through its victims, and in 12 year old Regan McNeill (Blair) it picked a symbol of purity which it begins to defile with extreme prejudice, scaring the bejesus out of horror fans for over three decades. Subsequent sequels offer a back story filled with mythological twaddle, yet Pazuzu’s first appearance is still the most effective.

BETH WILSON

Bob (Frank Silva) from Twin Peaks (1990-1991) and Fire Walk with Me (1992)

Bob is undoubtedly one of the most disturbing TV characters of all time. A demonic entity, Bob gains strength and pleasure from the fear and suffering of his victims. With the ability to possess humans who do his bidding, Bob’s character represented both the abstract notion of pure evil and also the idea of the evil within the human character. Bob’s status as a terrifying character is not only credit to the surreal visuals of the show’s creators- David Lynch and Mark Frost but also linked to the ambiguity of the character, was he real or imaginary- the catalyst for violence or the excuse?

David Lynch explaining how Frank Silva was cast as Bob.

Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Tim Curry) from It (1990)

The TV miniseries It can be blamed for many a person’s fear of clowns. Adapted from Stephen King’s horror novel, the title refers to a creature that can take on many different forms, often using its victims’ worst fears and phobias to hunt and kill them. With a taste for children, It most often appears as Pennywise, a playfully sadistic dancing clown, who attack his victims with fang-like teeth and claws. Watching It at a young age, the character of Pennywise has stayed in my psyche, and I often find myself irrationally crossing the road when I came to a drain- The clip below illustrates why.

Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) from Psycho (1960)

I can’t count the numbers of time I’ve been spooked by a ‘movement’ behind the shower curtain. Perhaps I’m just a nervous bather, or maybe it is the indelible mark of Hitchcock‘s horror classic Psycho and its infamous murderer- Norman Bates that is the cause. A man with some seriously scary mother issues, Bates is all the more terrifying because he doesn’t look like a monster, in fact he looks like your average Joe.

JIM MITCHELL

Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) from The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Anthony Hopkins mesmerises as one the most hauntingly iconic monsters in cinematic history in this classic 1991 chiller (he reprised the role a decade later in Hannibal and the following year in Red Dragon). As the glass encased, wry guide and mentor to Jodie Foster’s fledgling F.B.I agent Clarice Starling in her race against time to find a serial killer, Hopkins effortlessly embodies the menace, charm and cunning of this psychiatrist and cannibalistic killer, often only with a devilish glint of the eye. Chillingly charismatic and manipulative, the doctor’s whip smart intellect and mind games get under the skin (pardon the pun) with Hopkins making an indelible impression in his scant sixteen minutes of screen time, winning an Oscar for his troubles. Lecter is truly abhorrent and revels in it. In one of his most famous lines preceding a truly unsettling snake-like hiss he gloats; “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.” Deliciously disturbing.

The Joker (Heath Ledger) from The Dark Knight (2008)

The late Heath Ledger sent shivers down the spine and took madness to new heights as this truly believable, amoral psychopath and nemesis to Batman, blowing his considerably creepy predecessor Jack Nicholson clear out of the water. With this new, infinitely more terrifying incarnation, the famous villain and Ledger brilliantly and tragically merged. With The Joker’s off-kilter demeanor, grimy green hair and ghoulish makeup highlighting his scarred scarlet grin, one smack of the lips and one roll of the eyes was all it took to convey that this was one disturbing madman who meant business. Give him a knife and the menacing prankster is in full flight. The Joker is both darkly amusing and seriously deranged, his signature maniacal laugh all the more haunting in Ledger’s passing.

Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) from Damages (2007-)

She may not be the most obvious of terrors but rest assured this two faced queen bee litigator of the acclaimed legal thriller Damages could incinerate you with her death stare. What’s more, as played by Glenn Close – whose bunny boiler in Fatal Attraction (1987) proved she knows how to do scary all too well – the steely New York power broker and prime contender for “Scariest Boss of the Century” is terrifying for what she’s capable of. When you’re indispensible to her Hewes will protect you, when you’re not, she becomes a dangerous smiling assassin; from blackmail to murder, nothing’s out of the question. Uncompromisingly ruthless, stealthy and duplicitous, Hewes is a true manicured ball breaker and a master of manipulation. Yet, she’s also incredibly complex in her fallibility, vulnerability and inherent humanity. In Close’s capable hands you feel empathy for Patty Hewes – perhaps that’s the character’s most dangerous weapon.

MELISSA WELLHAM

Dear reader, I am not a fan of horror films – I just don’t have the nerves for them.  Usually within the opening credits I am reduced to rocking backwards and forwards in a corner, curled in the foetal position.  As such, my list of creepy characters is somewhat restricted to the villains of childhood films and TV.

Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder) in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Sometime last year for Trespass, I listed Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as one of the scariest films of all time.  At the risk of sounding repetitive, I now name Willy Wonka as one of the scariest characters of all time.  (As Kanye West would say for extra emphasis: OF ALL TIME.)  Wilder’s nuanced performance is by turns charismatic and creepy, and all the more scary because you don’t know when he’s going to turn from genial chocolate factory proprietor to a tortured, blank-eyed inhuman individual, who will deny you a prize just because you partook of some magical soft-drink so you could fly.  Jeez.

The Master (Mark Metcalf) in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season One (1997)

The Master was Buffy Summers’ first “Big Bad” – an ancient vampire who had grown old enough to be rid of the curse of human features.  His age made him herder, better, faster and stronger than other vampires.  (I seem to be quoting Kanye West a lot in this article.)  I found him terrifying when a youth, mostly because of his appearance.  He had demonic glowing eyes.  He had a wrinkled, puckered mouth, permanently stained with human blood.  Then again, maybe he was just scary because he was old, and he wore skin-tight leather.  Also a possibility.

Hugo (Bart’s not-so-evil twin brother) in The Simpsons (Halloween Special, Treehouse of Horror VII)

Sure, at the end of this Simpsons Halloween special it is revealed that Hugo’s not actually evil – Bart is “the evil twin,” instead – but there is still something terrifying about him.  Like, I don’t know, the fact that he experimented on pigeons and rats in the attic, creating a pigeon/rat hybrid!  For years after watching this episode of The Simpsons, I was too scared to venture down my family house’s hallway during the night.  That would have involved walking beneath the entrance to the attic.  Not a risk I was willing to take.

SHITIKA ANAND

The Oompa-Loompas from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

They have white eyebrows, green hair and orange skin. They are child-sized but have ridiculous wrinkles on their face. Can there be anything scarier than that? I watched the Johnny Depp remake before the Gene Wilder original and I was convinced that this is more than just ‘PG’ material. The psychedelic boat ride through the disco-lit tunnel with two orange midgets churning the wheel – HORROR!

The Shark from Jaws (1975)

My trips to the beach are not the same anymore, thanks to my fear of the hungry sharks in the ocean. That creepy circling fin in the blood-red water still gives me goosebumps. Every time I dip my feet in the swimming pool, the chilling background music echoes in my ears, da-dum-da-dum. Even 35 years later, who had imagined that sea creatures could leave such an impact on mankind.

Chucky (Brad Dourif) from Child’s Play (1988)

This red-haired doll is two-feet tall, made out of plastic and has a pretty good sense of fashion. Chucky’s naïve exterior tricked a lot of kids and gave a whole new meaning to “toys”. A toy with the soul of a serial killer (quite literally), Chucky was the doll from hell and he made me throw out every “doll” I had in my collection. He didn’t even need a battery to work… eek!

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