The best horror film character/villian?

[scifisam]

It says "character/villain" in the title, so may I add two from the same film?

Grandpa and Michael Emerson from The Lost Boys.

Grandpa is the gentle loving elderly relative that we all relate to until we find out he's the big bad.

And Michael is the older brother of one of the films main characters which elicits one of the best lines in film history.... "Look at your reflection in the mirror. You're a creature of the night Michael, just like out of a comic book! You're a vampire Michael! My own brother, a goddamn, shit-sucking vampire. You wait 'till mom finds out, buddy!"

And we all know there's a load more amazing lines in it. I might watch it again now. (also has a top soundtrack)

You really do need to rewatch it if you think Grandpa was the big bad.

 

[AverageJoe]

I was going to and then found out it's not on for free

(he was a monster though in the end wasn't he? Wasn't he?)

 

[AverageJoe]

Just wiki'd it. I was wrong.

Still maintain it has some of the best horror film characters though

 

[Marty1]

Recently watched all 5 Phantasm films and The Tall Man often gets forgotten among ongoing horror villains. Better than the similar Freddy Krüger, he never turned into a clown. Also, he’s got balls !

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I looked that up on IMDB - the trailer looks good and it’s been remastered too.

How do the sequels fare out compared to the original?

 

[Reno]

Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder really ruin it. They just look constantly look apologetic for being cast in such an ambitious film. I totally understand why people don't like Gary Oldman when he camps it up as a villain, it's not good on an intelligent level, I just find it really fun, like The Fast Show or something, I won't defend it, but I like it

I never liked reconceiving Dracula as a romantic anti-hero who looks for his reincarnated love, a cliche nicked from the Mummy films, which had already been done in the Frank Langella version a few years before. It has no place in Dracula, especially in a film which announced itself as a faithful adaptation of the novel. But even if you do that, Oldman was the wrong actor. Daniel Day Lewis was the original choice and at least I can see him in as a romantic lead. Coppola was up his arse with all sorts of stylistic tricks, which didn't really enhance the story. The film lacks scares or menace, I think it's a self-indulgent snooze. I wouldn't put this on Reeves or Ryder. Reeves is horribly miscast, which is Coppola's fault and Ryder was trying her best in a poorly written role.

 

[Reno]

I looked that up on IMDB - the trailer looks good and it’s been remastered too.

How do the sequels fare out compared to the original?

They all are loopy WTF fun, only the last one is a little inept, being basically a fan made movie. Coscarelli wrote all of the films and directed the first four. 2 & 3 got made because of the success of A Nightmare on Elm Street and they are a little more slick than the original, they feel more like Elm Street films and loose a little of the unpredictability of the first film. 4 is the best of the sequels, recapturing some of the weirdness and pop surrealism if the original.

 

[freakydave]

I never liked reconceiving Dracula as a romantic anti-hero who looks for his reincarnated love, a plot point nicked from the Mummy films, which had already been done in the Frank Langella version. But if you do that, Oldman was the wrong actor. Daniel Day Lewis was the original choice and at least I can see him in as a romantic lead. Coppola was up his arse with all sorts of stylistic tricks, which didn't really enhance the story. The film lacks scares or menace, I think it's a self-indulgent snooze. I wouldn't put this on Reeves or Ryder. Reeves is horribly miscast, which is Coppola's fault and Ryder was trying her best in a poorly written role.

Those are all fair points, the fact that it isn't scary is it's biggest failure. You are a bigger film geek than me, so you know to accuse Coppola of showboating is a bit like accusing Spielberg of senitmentalism

It is interesting in the book how it isn't that romantic but that film reinvented it. The book was more about Van Helsing than Dracula,

 

[Humberto]

Probably the Sherrif of Nottingham..

 

[Reno]

Those are all fair points, the fact that it isn't scary is it's biggest failure. You are a bigger film geek than me, so you know to accuse Coppola of showboating is a bit like accusing Spielberg of senitmentalism

It is interesting in the book how it isn't that romantic but that film reinvented it. The book was more about Van Helsing than Dracula,

Some of the films make Van Helsing the lead character, especially the Hammer ones but he isn't as central in the book where he doesn't enter the story till half way in and doesn't even get to kill Dracula. One thing where Coppola is more faithful to the novel than most, is that he includes the characters who usually get left out of the adaptations. Dracula is about a team of vampire hunters who all do their part, rather than about a single hero. Dracula is very much what the book is about but there isn't anything romantic about him, he is pure evil and devoid of "feelz"

 

[strung out]

For me, Scarlett Johansson's character in Under the Skin was the most terrifying villain of films I've seen in the last few years

 

[weltweit]

Fu Manchu.

Always used to terrify me anyhow ..

Fu Manchu, was so evil he caused a diplomatic incident between China and the UK. The Chinese IIRC embassy didn't like the stereotype from the TV series.

 

[Orang Utan]

 

[Sprocket.]

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100%

 

[D'wards]

The Thing is a great horror villain. But as it is literally amorphous its hard to quantify what exactly it is.

 

[Orang Utan]

The Thing is a great horror villain. But as it is literally amorphous its hard to quantify what exactly it is.

deffo a villain though as it is a lethal threat to the entire population of the planet

 

[Reno]

Vincent Price in Theatre of Blood and nearly every other horror film he appeared in.

 

[Kaka Tim]

 

[D'wards]

What about Hannibal Lecter? Are those horror films?

 

[Nine Bob Note]

Good to see my boy, Pinhead, in the lead. I even liked those not really Hellraiser straight-to-DVDs that he was in (when played by Doug Bradley, I'll have nothing to do with the replacement)

 

[T & P]

The one who scared me the most in the last 20 years is the girl on the top floor in [REC]

Spoiler

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Oh yeah! La Niña Medeiros. You never forget the first time you see that scene. One of the most effective horror films of recent times.

 

[D'wards]

Good to see my boy, Pinhead, in the lead. I even liked those not really Hellraiser straight-to-DVDs that he was in (when played by Doug Bradley, I'll have nothing to do with the replacement)

I've downloaded the 10 Hellraiser films and am making my way through them, only just having done the first, even though I'm well familiar with it.

I think I've seen the first 3 before. I understand after that they are not so hot with the odd ok one. I think it was one of those deals where the company had to keep making them or lose the copyright, so rushed one every few years.

Barker is a fantastic author. His stuff has a sexuality to it that doesn't seem gratuitous like Herbert or, shudder, Hutson.

 

[T & P]

I voted for Leatherface because of the raw, animal-like rage he conveys. He is human but might well be a xenomorph or rabid beast- there is no reasoning with him and no reason for his deeds. Seeing him wearing a jacket and tie while trying to chop you to pieces with a chainsaw only adds to the madness.

 

[AverageJoe]

We've all forgotten the best horror film character (as per the title)



Groovy

 

[D'wards]

Obvs not a legendary horror character but I do have a soft spot for Tarman