10 Horror Movies That Really Needed A Better Villain

Above all else, horror movies are generally defined by their villains, who can either elevate the film to iconic status or leave it flailing in the wind.

Creating an antagonist who truly terrifies audiences sure isn't easy, especially in a genre so wildly oversaturated and full of me-too knock-offs.

And so it's little surprise that so many filmmakers struggle to give their movies the villain they need to truly strike a chord with audiences, as is absolutely the case with these 10 horror films.

Each of these movies, for all of their merits (or not) otherwise, fell far short of the mark with their antagonist, ensuring viewers were left shrugging with indifference by the time the end credits rolled.

From horribly designed supernatural entities to flesh-and-blood human antagonists we couldn't take seriously, to twist villains that went down like a lead balloon, these movies all desperately needed a better enemy.

As a result, without a compelling villain to keep audiences engaged, these films all ended up falling at least a little flat - if not outright flopping with even the most die-hard genre fans...

Even if you can ignore how fundamentally silly a name the Bye Bye Man is - enough that the moniker itself became a popular Internet meme - it's tough to see him as anything more than a thoroughly naff rip-off of both Freddy Krueger and Candyman.

A generic boogeyman in a ratty hooded outfit who can be summoned by those who merely think of or speak his name aloud, The Bye Bye Man is the sort of horror movie villain we'd probably dismiss as AI-created were the movie released today.

It doesn't help at all that the guy's companion is a howlingly unconvincing CGI dog, either.

The Pee Pee Poo Poo Man - sorry, the Bye Bye Man - is a horror movie villain who invites laughter in every aspect of his design and execution. At least if he looked cool and didn't seem so derivative, people might've gotten over the daft name.