There are a lot of memorable movie killers out there. A lot, a lot. But whereas many of them are incredibly memorable, only a solid few handfuls can crack into the list of ones who actually make your skin crawl. There's a vast difference between a simple killer or slasher and a methodical maniac who will stop any nothing to fulfill some twisted, insane plot to murder as many people as possible because they feel there's more to it than just "KILL!" These are the best of the best because they haunt us days after the credits of their films have rolled. They're the ones who stay in our dreams, who we think we see standing in the corner of our bedroom in the dark, who remind us that out in the real world people like them actually do exist. If that doesn't make you want to lock your doors and stay inside I don't know what will.
10. The Zodiac Killer - Zodiac
When we think about "skin-crawlingly" scary killers the Zodiac killer may not jump onto the top ten lists of most people. A lot of us think Pinhead or Jason or Michael Myers, but the wonderfully terrifying thing about the Zodiac killer is: HE'S REAL! Oh, also, THEY NEVER CAUGHT HIM! Nothing gets me more than wondering whether or not that scary guy everyone knows might still be alive and living somewhere...close. How do you think folks felt when they didn't catch Jack the Ripper? People don't want to leave their homes, don't want to go out after dark, don't know when and where this guy may strike. Though fictional killers may still make us look over our shoulder on our walk home, we still know that when we do they're not going to be there. This guy, at least circa the 70's, just may have been there. And to think of all the people who encountered him and never knew it. That thought gives me chills. Fincher's film is a great adaptation of the true story and presents it much as he does Se7en despite the Zodiac killer not having a true persona like Kevin Spacey did. But it's quite a feat to accomplish the blood boiling this film does without even giving a face to its killer. Suspense reigns supreme, much as it always should.