15 Greatest Ever Horror Movie Villains

Enemies. Antagonists. Bad guys. They’re at the heart of every good story, working their hardest to make our heroes prove their worth in various tests of moralistic endurance, and none so more than the horror movie baddie. Wielding weapons that make your eyes water, coupled with sadistic intentions enough to make even the bravest of us hide behind our sofas, no one does it quite like horror.

They're designed to be the stuff of nightmares and to push characters to their very limits, making these villains some of the most well-thought out and terrifying of all when it comes to cinema. Because without an interesting representation of evil, there’s really no horror to be spoken of.

Time and time again, we come back to horror films for their most twisted and depraved visions of reality. From homicidal maniacs and demonic television spirits, to intergalactic monsters and dream-stalking entities, the most frightening, the most captivating, and often the most original villains are born from this bloody genre.

But there’s only a handful that have cemented their place in film history, and will make their mark on audiences for years to come...

The killer on Crystal Lake and most well-known hockey enthusiast of 1980, Jason Voorhees has been terrifying audiences for over 30 years, hacking and slashing his way into the nightmares of generations of audiences.

An icon in pop culture and a continued force of nature, rising from his grave at every available opportunity, the unstoppable Mr Voorhees wasn't even a villain originally, instead acting as a motive for his mother to wipe out ignorant campers in the wake of his first tragic death.

Taking a leaf out of his ma's book and picking up the machete, the legend of Jason has been firmly etched into history an impressive 12 movies later as one of the original slasher villains, and has served as inspiration for countless other films since.