20 Greatest Ever Horror Movie Villains

Rather than living in the shadows, most horror characters seem to prefer spending time in the limelight. Give them a sliver of attention and before you know it, you€™ve got a franchise on your hands. Take Dr Hannibal Lecter who, after 4 books, 5 movies and 3 seasons of a TV show, is starting to look more shop-worn than terrifying. He doesn€™t need a reboot, just a retirement party. The same goes for Jason, Leatherface, Freddy and all the other characters that, several decades after their respective debuts, exist only to prove that familiarity breeds contempt. Nothing personal, guys, but once you€™ve done a movie for Michael Bay, you€™re off the artistic roll call forever. Besides, there are plenty of other psychos out there, some of them unsung, most with credits you can count on one hand. They understand that less is more, and realize that when you€™re appearing on magazine covers, in music videos and on children€™s lunch boxes your days of being sinister are well and truly behind you. A good horror villain should be able to mingle with their prey, to gain their trust and build up camaraderie. When their mask finally slips, they don€™t need to shout or resort to threats in order to intimidate. The best villains can dominate a room just by entering it.

20. Robert Rusk (Barry Foster) - Frenzy (1972)

Robert Rusk is a far more brutal character than Norman Bates, Alfred Hitchcock€™s previous psychopathic killer. Known as €œThe Neck Tie Murderer€, he doesn€™t switch personalities (and genders) at the drop of a hat, he just allows his mask of sanity to fall away as his victim watches. Needless to say, the film€™s most disturbing moment comes early on when Rusk reveals his true identity to a female character and, instead of cutting away, Hitchcock€™s camera keeps rolling. It€™s a scene unlike anything else in the Hitchcock canon €“ stark, unstylized and powerful enough to offend the unwary. Unlike Norman, he even lines up the perfect fall guy for his crimes, a down on his luck barman whose girlfriend (Anna Massey, who was in the similarly disturbing Peeping Tom) also becomes a victim. In a blackly comic moment, Rusk attempts to prise a clue to his identity from her dead hand, but rigor mortis causes him to struggle with her corpse.