2025 is a banner year for horror, in part because of Weapons, Zach Cregger’s creepy film about a group of children who suddenly disappear in a small Pennsylvania town.
The film’s antagonist, the garish Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan), is already a horror icon.
But is she scary enough to be on a best horror villains list? Watch With Us has curated a list of the most memorable — and scariest — bad guys in cinema history.
From the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface to Death itself, these vile villains all have one thing in common — they’re terrifying as hell.
7. Ghostface
Ghostface is unique in that the Scream villain isn’t just one person — it’s a persona adopted by whoever has an axe to grind, usually with poor Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell). That’s why there have been 14 different killers in the franchise, and there’s sure to be more as long as the Scream movies make money.
Horror movies are always popular, but never more so than during the Halloween season. And while there are a handful of modern classics like Get Out and It, many of the greatest horror flicks are older films. To celebrate the scary season, Watch With Us has assembled the best horror movies of all time, as […]
What makes Ghostface one of horror’s best villains is that you don’t know who it is — or how many of them there are. In the last installment, Scream VI, three people donned the iconic black robe to try to kill Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) and her friends — and the killers were all related! It’s that kind of crazy plot twist that makes Ghostface such an enduring antagonist in pop culture. You never knew who is behind the Edvard Munch-inspired Scream mask, or just how many of them are murdering Woodsboro’s best and brightest.
6. Freddy Krueger
Horror’s unholy trinity of villains includes Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Freddy Krueger. Krueger is probably the least scary of the three, but he’s arguably the biggest star — he headlined his own film franchise and TV show at the same time while making a killing (pun intended) selling all kinds of merch.
Ironically, Freddy only became big when he ceased being really scary. From Freddy’s Revenge to Freddy vs. Jason, he cracked all kinds of bad jokes while stalking his prey. More importantly, his ability to alter his body allowed various filmmakers to experiment using state-of-the-art special effects. In Dream Warriors, Freddy could transform into a giant puppeteer, a snake, a sexy nurse and even a killer TV set. A true chameleon, Freddy was pop culture’s first lethal clown long before Deadpool entered the picture and stole his thunder.
5. Generational Trauma
Florence Pugh in Midsommar A24 / courtesy Everett Collection
Modern horror’s favorite villain isn’t a person at all — it’s mental anguish caused by some terrible incident that occurred in the past. A24 made this trope popular in the 2010s with such hits as Hereditary and Midsommar, but it’s also present in other movies like the Smile franchise, The Lodge, The Invitation, Umma and more.
Some diehard horror fans argue that these movies aren’t really horror movies — they’re just fancy art movies with some barely there bloodshed. But as these films show, some horror movies are more than just high body counts and masked killers. They can also be about spiritual wounds that never heal, which cause people to do some pretty terrible things.
4. Jason Vorhees
The biggest criticism levied at the Friday the 13th franchise is that it’s not particularly scary. Across 12 films, it’s always been more interested in racking up a high kill count rather than actually terrifying viewers. But to have a horror movie villain list without Jason Vorhees wouldn’t seem right. He’s too much of a star to be ignored, and let’s face it, some of his kills are pretty impressive.
Who can forget the death by spear impalement in Friday the 13th Part II? Or the eye popping out of a poor dude’s skull in Part 3? And then there’s that unforgettable moment in Part 7, when Jason grabs a girl in a yellow sleeping bag and smashes her repeatedly against a tree. Brutal? Yes. Scary? No. Entertaining? Hell yeah.
3. Leatherface
Gunnar Hansen as Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Bryanston Distributing Company
It might seem odd that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s chief villain, Leatherface, is so high on this list. Aside from the original, all of the films in the franchise range from bad to unwatchable. In each subsequent sequel, the character’s been weighed down by unnecessary backstory and emotional baggage. In the god-awful Netflix remake, they even made him sympathetic! An anti-hero to root for against greedy Gen Z influencers.
The 1970s were an amazing year for cinema. Many talented emerging directors had untethered creative reign and financial backing to use the medium as their playground. And some of the most beloved, iconic classics of horror cinema came from the ’70s. This includes genre-defining work from directors like John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, William Friedkin and […]
But oh, when he first shows up in 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, he’s utterly terrifying. Wearing the face of another, he’s the cinematic child of Norman Bates and paves the way for another iconic villain, Hannibal Lecter, who also creeped people out. His brutal treatment of the five unlucky strangers who wander into his family’s farm is contrasted with the docile, almost gentle behavior he exhibits toward his cannibal family.
That’s what makes this monster so scary — he’s capable of kindness, even if it’s twisted. Leatherface chooses to treat people like meat, to be carved up and served at his pop’s gas station BBQ, which is what ultimately makes him so memorable — and scary AF.
2. Michael Myers
Of all the horror film icons, Michael Myers is the most enduring — and terrifying. Ever since his debut in 1978’s Halloween, he’s terrorized audiences in numerous sequels, reboots and requels.
He’s so badass that he exists in four separate timelines, which is also a testament to the complicated mythology that’s been created for him over the years. While it confuses people, it actually gives you a choice of which version you prefer — the Curse of Throne timeline, where Michael and final girl Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) are related; the H20 timeline, where they aren’t; the Blumhouse timeline, which incorporates elements of both; and the Rob Zombie remake timeline, which is best ignored.
No matter which Michael you go with, though, he’s cinema’s chief boogeyman, a slow-walking, no-talking living embodiment of pure evil. His rage is immeasurable, and his methods are mysterious — how does he manage to be everywhere all at once? If there are shadows nearby, it’s a safe bet Michael is standing in them, silently ready to strike.
1. Death
Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Chad Donella in Final Destination New Line/courtesy Everett Collection
Perhaps the scariest villain of all is one that actually exists — and there’s no stopping it. While Death seems like a cop-out choice for a horror movie villain list, it makes sense if you really think about it. One of the most successful horror franchises in recent history, Final Destination, uses Death as an antagonist that eventually kills everyone it targets. (Well, with one exception).
You can also throw in zombies here, too, since they represent what happens after you die — your body rots, you lose all contact with your loved ones and you exist only as a reminder of what you once were. In The Return of the Living Dead, one of the most chilling moments in any horror movie comes when a captured zombie is asked why it eats brains: “It makes the pain of being dead go away. […] I can feel myself rot.” That’s pretty scary, not because a zombie wants to eat your brains, but the prospect of an afterlife that is filled only with misery.
What happens after you die? No one knows, and it’s that mystery, and the fear of nothingness or worse, that has been at the heart of horror classics like Night of the Living Dead, The Sixth Sense, The Autopsy of Jane Doe and more. You might not be scared of Jason, Freddy or any others on this list, but I’m 100 percent sure you’re terrified to meet the Grim Reaper.
Led by Senior Editor and experienced critic Jason Struss, Watch With Us’ team of writers and editors sees almost every movie and TV show from the distant past to the present to determine what’s worth your time and money. Our countless hours of multimedia consumption — combined with years of experience in the entertainment industry — help us determine the best movies and TV shows you should be streaming right now.
To be considered “the best,” these films and series can be visually engaging, intellectually stimulating or simply just fun to watch, but the one trait they must have is that they are all, in some way, entertaining. We then check which platform they are streaming on and how you can access them as a subscriber. No algorithm nonsense or paid endorsements here — our recommendations are based purely on our love and interest for the films and shows we love.
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