From Ghostface to Chucky, there are many unforgettable horror movie villains who have been appearing on movie screens for several decades. Pinhead has a strange appearance that definitely can't be forgotten about, and fans get to see this famous villain once again in the recent Hellraiser film. While some villains are campy and fun, others are downright chilling to watch, with Norman Bates from Psycho and Annie Wilkes from Misery falling into the latter category.
Even though horror fans are familiar with several villains who they would never want to encounter IRL, there are a few evil characters from popular films who don't measure up in terms of scares, place in the genre, and character development.
Updated on October 29, 2022, by Aya Tsintziras: When talking about the worst horror movie characters, villains are top of mind, as fans want to be impressed by the terrifying figures in their favorite films. Slender Man (2018) isn't particularly remarkable and there are several other horror villains that fans often forget about. Whether revisiting older horror movies or checking out a new film that promises an intriguing villain, it's clear that some killers aren't as well-crafted as others. The Jeepers Creepers backstory is fairly thin and not as terrifying as it's meant to be, and whether fans think about the first film or Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017), this monster doesn't leave the best impression.
8 The Creeper (Jeepers Creepers Franchise, 2001-2022)
There should be no Jeepers Creepers reboot because of the director's terrible actions, and the 2001 movie has a horrible villain. Trish (Gina Philips) and Darry Jenner (Justin Long) are siblings on a road trip and they find The Creeper, who goes after them.
While there are many monster movies, The Creeper doesn't feel like the most fully formed horror movie villain. The main characters hear the backstory behind his killing sprees: The Creeper comes out in spring every 23 years and he kills people for 23 days so he can use their body parts. This might be disgusting to hear about, and the end scene of The Creeper tormenting Darry is definitely unforgettable. But compared to other villains, no one really remembers The Creeper or talks about him as much as Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise.
7 Slender Man (2018)
-Cropped.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
The 2018 movie Slender Man takes the Creepypasta story of this character and tells a tale about a group of teenage girls who come across this mysterious and horrible figure. The movie not only has a depressing ending and not much development of the plot or characters, as it feels very generic, but the villain itself is not that interesting.
Whether audiences are familiar with the Slender Man myth or not, this character falls flat when compared to others, from Ghostface to Michael Myers. Slender Man looks like a shadow, or even a drawing of a shadow, which isn't really that scary. Horror fans can shrug at the idea that he comes for people who keep writing and talking about him as he doesn't feel as powerful or significant as other villains.
6 The Miner (My Bloody Valentine, 2009)
The Miner is the villain in the 1981 and 2009 My Bloody Valentine movies. In the 1981 film, Harry Warden is the first Miner as he gets stuck in the mines during a Valentine's Day dance. He becomes cannibalistic and then goes on a killing spree when he gets out. Axel Palmer then takes on the persona of the Miner, wearing a mining uniform and committing murder. In the 2009 film, Tom Hanniger is the villain, as Harry hurt him, and he wants revenge.
The 2009 My Bloody Valentine is one of the worst horror movie remakes and also has one of the least well-developed or interesting villains. Unlike the terrifying villain Freddy Krueger, who is very detailed in each movie in A Nightmare On Elm Street, horror fans might not be all that scared of The Miner. He feels like a generic horror movie bad guy.
5 Jeremy Melton/Adam Carr/Cupid (Valentine, 2001)
While the fun and cheesy 2000s slasher Valentine is entertaining, and a reason is given for why the villain is killing people, Jeremy Melton/Cupid doesn't seem that thrilling when compared to others in the genre.
Jeremy wants revenge for the girls who teased and tormented him when they were younger, and it soon becomes clear that Adam Carr (David Boreanaz) is actually Jeremy. Although there is a good explanation for why he did the horrible things that he did, Adam isn't all that compelling as a horror movie villain. This is because many others have killed while wanting to right some childhood wrongs. Since Valentine doesn't have a sequel and it's not as popular as some other scary films, that makes the villain feel less horrifying as well.
4 Fraternity Members (Black Christmas, 2019)
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
When looking at the 2006 and 2019 remakes of Black Christmas, the 2019 version changes the villain from Billy to a cult of young adult men who want to take control of the women on their college campus. The characters feel superficial and one note.
The members of the fraternity Delta Kappa Omicron are murdering their fellow students, and while the movie is meant as a statement about feminism and sexism, it doesn't work that well. The villain in the other two Black Christmas films was Billy, who targeted the sorority sisters living in a house together. While Billy wasn't a strong villain, the decision to make an entire frat the villains doesn't work very well. At least Billy had a backstory that was explained to audiences and that made him seem even creepier.
3 Krug Stillo (Last House On The Left, 1972)
Krug Stillo (David Hess) from Wes Craven's Last House On The Left is a horrible horror movie villain for a few different reasons. He's a terrible person who kidnaps and assaults Mari Collingwood (Sandra Peabody), but he also says some cruel, vile things throughout the film, complaining about rich people and talking about what he's going to do.
When compared to other Wes Craven horror movies, this one is definitely darker, and Krug is as far from the Ghostface killers in Scream as possible. Solid horror villains have motives that can be explained, but Krug just wants to cause pain, and audiences don't know much about him besides the awful intentions that he has. He isn't as well-drawn as some other villains in the genre, and since this movie is so distressing, it's hard to praise him as a villain who should be remembered. He falls into the category of villains who just want to cause harm, like the masked figures in The Strangers or the people knocking on the door of a family's vacation home in Funny Games.
2 Pamela Vorhees (Friday The 13th, 1980)
While it's easy to think that Jason Voorhees is the killer in the first Friday the 13th film, it's actually his mom Pamela Voorhees (Betsey Palmer), making this a slasher movie with a female villain. Pamela wants to get revenge on the people who made fun of her son for looking different from them. At the beginning of Scream, which will forever be thought of as a favorite opening scene in a horror movie, the killer asks Drew Barrymore's character Casey Becker who the killer in Friday the 13th is and she gets it wrong, as she thinks that it's Jason.
Jason is a stronger villain than Pamela since if a villain is motivated by revenge, it works better for the person who has been hurt to go on a killing spree. Pamela isn't very memorable, and the fact that people still get mixed up about who is actually committing murders in this '80s slasher film says it all. Pamela could be written in a more interesting manner.
1 Grimcutty (2022)
Creepypasta adaptations are difficult to make and Slender Man from 2018 is a disappointing film. The 2022 film Grimcutty features a similar monster from a popular meme who comes to life. Amir (Usman Ally) and Leah (Shannyn Sossamon) are parents to two children, Asha (Sara Wolfkind) and Kamran (Callan Farris). The parents find out that Grimcutty forces teenagers to self-harm, which is definitely disturbing.
Unlike must-see teen horror comedies or underrated teen supernatural horror movies, Grimcutty doesn't add anything new to discussions of teenage life. The characters use smartphones and love spending time online, but that is true of high school characters in every horror film. Critics didn't love this film and most of all, Grimcutty himself isn't a memorable monster. He looks creepy, but not much more can be said about him as he feels as unremarkable as Slender Man.