7. Max Schreck (Nosferatu)
Speaking of skeletal looking characters, none come as shocking or frightening than the original vampire Nosferatu. Based on the classic story of Dracula (quite loosely), the German Expressionist film is one to behold in the horror genre. The birth of horrific, iconic cinematography really started here with this film and its almost infamous star, Max Schreck. The character itself is only seen for less than nine minutes throughout the film's total running time, but Schreck, who director F.W Murnau found 'strikingly ugly' in real life, really encapsulates a role which caused the film to be banned in many countries upon release. Schreck and the picture have since been derived into other films about its production and his obsessive nature - Werner Herzog's 'Nosferatu the Vampyre' and E. Elias Merhiges' 'Shadow of the Vampire' - which both largely portrayed Schreck as big a monster as the role itself. The performance ran so deep, that in the days of 1922 (the film's release) the legend told that Schrek was indeed a vampire, reasoning for his ability to act so well in the part. In a pre-scientific world, Schrek's performance alone was one that created so much controversy that people believed whole heartily in his supposed immortality.