10 Awesome Horror Movie Villains (With Surprisingly Low Kill Counts)
Some horror icons aren't quite as deadly as you remember.
What makes a great horror movie villain? A unique design, terrifying presentation, and an impressive kill count perhaps? Well maybe not, as it's not all about kills. Granted most of those recognisable icons are responsible for a fair amount of death, but there is also a large number of them who aren't, and are still just as awesome.
The horror genre is also unfortunately known for its obsession with endless sequels, and in a lot of cases, the kill count of a movie villain is increased significantly over the course of those sequels. Freddy Krueger, for example, has killed thirty-five people over the course of eight films. Likewise, Michael Myers is responsible for the ridiculous amount of one-hundred and twenty deaths over his ten outings.
Quite often though, it is easy to misremember just how deadly a horror villain really was and grossly over exaggerate their reputation for murder. With that being said, let's take a look at some of those awesome horror movie villains with a kill count on the surprisingly low side. In order from the most kills to least.
10. The Shark (Jaws)
In an age where there are films such as The Meg - in which a prehistoric giant shark emerges and promptly kills over fifty people - are being made, the original killer shark seems to somewhat pale in comparison. 'Affectionately' nicknamed Bruce, after Steven Spielberg's attorney, the shark from Jaws wreaks havoc on the citizens of Amity Island and its popular beaches.
Jaws isn't quite the bloodbath of a film that perhaps some people remember it as, and admittedly its terrible sequels did add a number of deaths while the quality of each film decreased rapidly. What makes the film special of course is what you don't see, rather than what you do, making it a perfect example for this list.
Though the reputation of "Bruce" still precedes him today, the kill count of the shark comes in at a surprisingly low five (with one of those being completely off-screen). Despite this relatively low number, the film terrified audiences for generations and still continues to keep people out of the water. Poor sharks have had their reputation damaged ever since.
The lesson here? Quality over quantity.
KILL COUNT: 5