10 Film & TV Serial Killers We Can't Help But Love
2. Anton Chigurh - No Country For Old Men
Anton Chigurh is so unique because he doesn't actually feel like a character, as much as he does a force of nature. He seems to embody the nature of fate itself in the slow, methodical drama No Country for Old Men. Chigurh is a nearly emotionless hitman, executing people ruthlessly and without sentiment. Except sometimes, he offers them a chance to live: with the mere flip of a coin, he lets them decide their own fate. There's this element of randomness that enters into the equation, then -- not only is the coin making a random decision, he is as well, when he chooses which people he kills outright and which he even offers the chance at a coin flip. With most serial killers, there's a lot of effort in the film devoted to figuring out how they tick, what made them the monsters that they are today. Chigurh is an ineffable figure, textbook enigmatic at its best. He is frightening and engaging precisely because we the audience have no idea what's going on inside his head.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.