Scariest Movie Monsters/Killers

In honor of the ongoing Halloween week horror movie-fest, and since another site decided to do their own Top 28 Horror Movie Villains, here are My Top 10 Horror Movie Monsters/Killers.

Notice I said MY, as in this list is totally my point of view. But, feel free to tell me who scares the beejeezus out of you!


10. 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville (The Amityville Horror)

This house scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. I haven't watched the film in years, that shows you the fear etched into my brain. I remember seeing it at a drive-in one night and being freaked out by the scene where the stairs break and there is blood oozing. Gives me shivers still.


9. Norman Bates (Psycho)

Bates is one that lingers in my mind, because even a quiet mama's boy can be a nut-job, as insane a killer as the flesh-wearing maniac with a chainsaw. Anyone can be the lunatic.


8. The Miner (My Bloody Valentine)

This movie and it's killer had more to do with mystery and atmosphere, to me anyway. Something always seems dark and hidden, waiting to jump out and get you. Just unnerved me enough once to leave a lasting impression in the dark shafts of my mind.


7. Dracula (Dracula)

Even though he has been played by seemingly hundreds of actors over the years, there is still something evil about the Count. I like different takes on the character, for different reasons. Bela Lugosi's Dracula has that "Old World" mystery about him, but Christopher Lee's Dracula has a strange aloofness that can unsettle you. And don't forget Max Schreck's Nosferatu, so bizarre and creepy and weird. Was he playing himself?!?


6. Curt Duncan (When a Stranger Calls)

Not a typical pick, but this guy is so nuts that he stalks the babysitter so he can enjoy the torment he causes. The second half of the film shows more of his insanity. An uncomfortable experience, but I say that in a good way. Really.


5. The Creeper (Jeepers Creepers)

The first film is the better one, showing a really strange creature who is not human, but yet does such human things (driving like an ass, for one). The single scene that clinched this monster as a goosebump inducer is when the siblings drive past him as he dumps the bodies down the pipe. They see him and are justifiably creeped out, but he stops, looks and WATCHES THEM TOO! ack...


4. Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)

I can feel some sympathy for ol' Leatherface, due to his obvious mental problems stemming from whatever the hell happened with his face. But all pity goes out the window when he whacks the kid on the head, drags him into the kitchen and shuts the door. What the hell just happened???


3. Billy/The Prowler (Black Christmas)

I never saw this one as a kid, and that may be a good thing. When I did watch it a few years ago, I realized that Billy is one creepy, scary freak! Not only is he bat-shit insane, he is hiding in the attic! I would never have gotten our Christmas ornaments down from our attic again had I seen this when I was younger. I guess that would have made for 2 "black Christmases."


2. Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th)

Jason, Jason, Jason. Some films in the series are seriously lacking in real scares (A New Beginning and Jason Takes Manhattan the worst, in my opinion), but Jason is so hell-bent determined to just kill, kill, kill that you have to be afraid of ever crossing his path. Relentless, ruthless, patient. How DO people sleep at campgrounds?


1. Michael Myers (Halloween)

The blank white face, the dark eyes, the tilt of his head. The original film does it best, of course. Michael Myers is a human void filled with the need to kill. Is he insane? Immoral? Just plain evil? Who knows and who cares. He is out there, and he wants to stalk and kill. To this day, I still feel uneasy, unsettled when I watch Halloween. It has the power to make me do double-takes at shadows and jump at slight noises. At age 37.


So, there you go, the ten movie monsters and killers that make my heart beat a little faster. But in a good way, as any horror movie fan knows.

Watch one of these flicks this week since "It's Halloween, everyone's entitled to one good scare."