View Full Version : Movie villains who spook you.
KarlGauss
10-21-2002, 12:00 PM
I rented The Salton Sea last night and was truly spooked by Vincent D'Onofrio as Pooh-Bear. This got me thinking: Which movie villain would you least like to spend a night with in an abandoned shack in the middle of, say, the Louisiana Bayou.
My list would include:
Pooh-Bear (Vincent D'Onofrio) from The Salton Sea
Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) from Blue Velvet
Max Cady (Robert DeNiro) from Cape Fear
Guinastasia
10-21-2002, 12:05 PM
When I was little, I refused to watch any of the Star Wars movies-Darth Vader scared the living crap out of me.
When I got over it, I never cared then, and didn't see the movies until I was seventeen. Oh, wasted time...
jk1245
10-21-2002, 12:23 PM
the two hillbillies (assume the Beatty position) in 'Deliverance' are an obvious choice.
Also wouldn't want to spend any time alone with Hannibal Lecter (the scary "Silence" Hannibal, not the cartoonish later one)
No Me Ayudes Compadre
10-21-2002, 12:59 PM
The Wicked Witch in Wizard of Oz, particularly the crystal ball close-up scene, is quite terrifying for a child.
Some other creepies:
- Willem Dafoe in Streets of Fire.
- Crispin Glover in The River's Edge.
- Bikers Stanley and Richard in The Ninth Configuration.
- Not exactly a villain, but the carjacker in Grand Canyon gave me serious chills.
Avalonian
10-21-2002, 01:23 PM
This is easy for me... Alan Rickman's character (nameless, as far as I know) in Closet Land gives me chills every time I watch it. Brrr.
Eats_Crayons
10-21-2002, 03:13 PM
The Strangers from Dark City gave me the willies. If you've seen the Buffy episode "Hush," The Gentlemen are an homage/ripoff of The Strangers. The Strangers did not look so skeletal, but they were very, very creepy and had names like Mr. Hand, Mr. Book and Mr. Sleep and one of them looked like a child.
Ol'Gaffer
10-21-2002, 05:35 PM
Gary Oldman's (I know, I know, but he has had some great roles) character in The Professional.
I love the part at the end when Leon and Matilda are in the hotel room and Oldman calls for the police to send him "everyone." One of his guys questions him and Oldman turns around and screams "I said EVERYONE!" I love that part.
Frank Booth is one that I wouldn't like to meet either, although I guess I could always just start singing Candy Coated Clown!
In general, Poltergeist II was a whole sackful of stupid, but Julian Beck played a damned creepy Reverend Henry Kane (http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/8476/).
"God is in his holy tem-ple."
Brrrrr...
Pink Champagne
10-21-2002, 10:18 PM
The unseen truck driver from 'Duel.'
Originally posted by KarlGauss
Max Cady (Robert DeNiro) from Cape Fear
Surely you mean:
Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) from Cape Fear.
Koxinga
10-21-2002, 11:59 PM
Originally posted by Ogre
In general, Poltergeist II was a whole sackful of stupid, but Julian Beck played a damned creepy Reverend Henry Kane (http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/8476/).
"God is in his holy tem-ple."
Brrrrr...
His creepiness on film was probably accentuated by the fact that he was dying of stomach cancer even as he was being filmed.
He was certainly sallow and gaunt enough. I'm sorry to hear that. From what little I've read about him, he seems like a really fascinating person.
Miller
10-22-2002, 12:39 AM
The Wicked Witch in Wizard of Oz, particularly the crystal ball close-up scene, is quite terrifying for a child.
I don't think I've ever actually seen the movie, but when I was a kid, Margaret Hamilton appeared on Seasame Street to show how she used make-up to change from herself to the Wicked Witch. I suppose the idea was to show that the Witch was really just this nice actress lady. Didn't work. My mom describes me watching her wide-eyed, slowly contracting into a ball as she got more and more witchy. Finally, when she put on the hat and suddenly started talking in character, I shrieked and ran out of the room.
Anyway, moving on to movies I've actually seen, well, I seem to be drawing a total blank. I can think of really good performances and great writing, but for visceral, lasting dread... The closest I can come is The Blob. It's a really bad movie, but something about the blob always freaked me out. You can't get away from it. It'll come under the door, out of the heating ducts, up the drain, and if it touches you, even a little bit, it starts turning you into more of it. I literally shudder thinking of it just now.
I am Sparticus
10-22-2002, 01:31 AM
Kate, East of Eden.
stylize
10-22-2002, 01:35 AM
The one-armed man from The Fugitive. Creepy.
The blonde guy from The Bodyguard (I know the movie sucks but he was scary)
An obscure one: The brown haired killer from the Stallone classic Cobra. When he's in the hospital.......I was a kid when I saw that crap on cable and it still freaks me out.
I'm scared of "actual killers" instead of freaks.
Cholo
10-22-2002, 02:11 AM
I was always creeped out by "The Dane" in "Miller's Crossing". He was just so cold hearted that he made me shudder.
I would like to be trapped with Salma Hayek's vampire as in 'From Dusk till Dawn'. :D
When she stares into her victim's eyes, places a (shapely) foot on their body and sneers something like 'You're my dog', I can only think 'Woof!' :eek:
Alice
10-22-2002, 07:10 AM
Billy Zane's character in Dead Calm.
<shudder>
Profane
10-22-2002, 08:55 AM
The child catcher from Chitty Chitty Band Bang. Thw worst ia when he's trying to tempt them "...all free today..." eek.
As an adult, I'd have to say Kevin Spacey as John Doe in Se7en. My best friend and I were still holding on to ech other for dear life when the lights came up in the theatre. I still have to watch it with someone else.
NYR407
10-22-2002, 12:08 PM
LunaSea, while reading the post I said to myself "I can't believe no said that guy from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". I was all set to add it to the list but you beat me to it.
That guy creeped me out when I was a kid.
gardencat
10-22-2002, 12:47 PM
Jack Palance in Oklahoma Crude was one evil S.O.B. As you recall George C. Scott's character peed on Palance's character in one scene. Jack had it comming in my opinion.
Any villian played by Christopher Walken (hell, even non-villians played by Walken are a bit creepy). Same deal for Steve Buscemi.
"Mr. Joshua" from Lethal Weapon--he's a cold son of a bitch.
Miller
10-23-2002, 12:32 AM
Edward Norton in American History X.
Dr. Rieux
10-23-2002, 01:04 AM
Martin Sheen in The Dead Zone.
Klaus Maria Brandaur in Never Say Never Again.
Robert Shaw in From Russia With Love.
Giselle
10-24-2002, 09:34 PM
The creepy children-catcher-guy from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang scared the hell out of me when I was younger. I don't know whether it has the same effect now, as I've not watched the film in several years, but still . . . *shudder*
And Jude Law in Road to Perdition. Dear god.
racinchikki
10-24-2002, 11:06 PM
I second Jude Law's "Maguire" in Road to Perdition. An utter psycho. How creepy, in that conversation in the diner?
Munch
10-25-2002, 10:04 AM
Whoever that bad guy was in Time Bandits - he scared the living crap out of me as a 7 year old.
mlerose
10-25-2002, 03:36 PM
The scary clown-looking guy in Lost Highway. I was 20ish when I saw that movie and I still had nightmares.
Oh, and Gollum from the animated The Hobbit. I was afraid for years.
scarred for life,
mle
Proudest Monkey
10-25-2002, 05:02 PM
The killer in the original Dirty Harry was scary and crazy. I knew the actor's name at one point in my life, but my long-term memory retrieval skills are not what they once were. Some Doper out there is sure to fill in that blank. Anyhoo...he appeared in other TV and movie roles, but I could never see him without flashing on that maniacal cackling insanity.
Gatopescado
10-25-2002, 06:12 PM
Clarence Bodiker from Robocop. He was just plain mean.
Good call on the child-catcher dude from Chitty Chitty.
LurkMeister
10-25-2002, 08:43 PM
Originally posted by Proudest Monkey
The killer in the original Dirty Harry was scary and crazy. I knew the actor's name at one point in my life, but my long-term memory retrieval skills are not what they once were. Some Doper out there is sure to fill in that blank. Anyhoo...he appeared in other TV and movie roles, but I could never see him without flashing on that maniacal cackling insanity.
That was Andrew Robinson (http://us.imdb.com/Name?Robinson,%20Andrew) in what was apparently his his first movie role. Most well known to me as Garak in ST: DS9. BTW, you're not the only one who was impressed by his portrayal of Scorpio:Robinson's portrayal of the chilling Scorpio Killer in Dirty Harry led to him receiving serious death threats via telephone after the film's release.
Laughing Lagomorph
10-25-2002, 09:08 PM
I was thinking the other day that the Michael Palin character from the movie Brazil is one of the most terrifying villains in any movie I've ever seen. Absolute run-screaming-from-the-room type. I also second "Mr. Joshua" (Gary Busey) from Lethal Weapon, and fifth or sixth or whatever we are up to now the Kid Catcher from Chitty Chitty.
Not sure if they are really villains in the classic sense, but the Aliens in the second Alien flick still give me the heebie-jeebies.
Vincent Price without his "mask" in The House of Wax (okay, I was a kid...)
Alan Arkin in Wait Until Dark
The birds on the playground in The Birds
Estilicon
10-26-2002, 03:51 PM
James Mason is the best villain ever. I am talking of course of North by North-West. Polished, elegant, educated and yet cold and evil. He steals a great movie (not a minor achievement).
Incidentally I don't think Edward Norton was the villain of America X.
Avalonian
10-26-2002, 05:21 PM
Originally posted by Munch
Whoever that bad guy was in Time Bandits - he scared the living crap out of me as a 7 year old.
That would be David Warner, if memory serves. He's a great villain in any film. Especially awesome as the Cardassian who tortured Picard in one of the better Star Trek episodes.
Oh, and I agree with Gary Oldman's cop character in Leon/The Professional completely. The scene that gets me is when he's talking to the sleazy father about the effect Beethoven has on him, just before he goes ballistic. You can see the madness, boiling underneath the skin.
And the guy from Poltergeist II... "God is in... his holy temple!" Yeesh.
And Spacey in Se7en as well. What a great character.
DarkWriter
10-26-2002, 06:14 PM
The clown from IT.
And I so agree with the Childcatcher.
ninevah
10-27-2002, 02:47 AM
Originally posted by rjk
Surely you mean:
Max Cady (Robert Mitchum) from Cape Fear.
KarlGauss was referring to the 1991 version of the movie, and rjk, you're referring to the 1962 version.
Jareth the Goblin King in The Labyrinth always freaked me out. He came across as paedophillic.
SPOOFE
10-27-2002, 05:10 AM
Y'know who gave me the absolute willies? The Cowboy, from Mulholland Drive. It was just... Oy?!? Wha...?!? Why...?!? STOP BEING SO CALM!!!
And in The Frighteners, the villain ghost (I forget the name) was creepy as all hell when he still had the nasty cloak on...
musicguy
10-27-2002, 04:19 PM
Originally posted by DarkWriter
The clown from IT.
That would be Tim Curry and he seriously freaked me out in that movie.
Miller
10-27-2002, 05:06 PM
Originally posted by Estillicon
Incidentally I don't think Edward Norton was the villain of America X.
He's not the villain of the movie, in the sense of being the movie's antagonist. But for the bulk of the movie, is most emphatically a very, very bad guy. Far more than most other traditional movie villains.
Speaker for the Dead
10-27-2002, 11:01 PM
The girl from The Ring :eek:
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