Icons of Terror: The Top 10 Horror Film Villains of the 2010's (So Far)

Since the early days of the genre, the staple of many a great horror film is the inclusion of an equally great villain. From early movie monsters such as Dracula and Imhotep, the mummy, to more recent silver screen slashers such as Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers, the history of horror is paved with iconic movie villains. Recent years have been no different, as each year horror cinema manages to conjure up new creatures and killers to further tap into our deepest and darkest fears. Be they demonic nuns, evil entities, or just simple serial killers, the past eight years have granted us some truly terrifying antagonists. While the decade is still far from over, I thought I'd take the time to go through my pick for the ten scariest horror movie villains of the 2010's (so far). So prepare yourselves for a menagerie of the most disturbing and depraved antagonists of the past decade (as of August 2018). Also, possible SPOILERS inbound to tread with care.

10. Doom Head (31)

Okay, so 31 is by no means a good film, even as a Rob Zombie fan myself I found it left a lot to be desired. However, the one standout of the entire film was the sadistic Doom Head (Richard Brake), one of the numerous 'heads' who stalk out protagonists for the duration of the film. From his white-painted face to his self-inflicted bloody mouth, Doom Head is eerie enough to look at, and despite his clownish appearance he is definitely no clown. Doom Head loves inflicting pain and has a lot of fun while doing so, yet he considers himself something of an artist and takes his job quite seriously as well. As unnerving as he is unhinged, Doom Head is not the type of man you want to mess with.

9. Annabelle (The Conjuring franchise)

Based on the real life possessed doll investigated by Ed and Lorraine Warren, this onscreen version of Annabelle made her debut in The Conjuring and subsequently shot off into stardom. Unlike other scary dolls like Chucky or Toulon's puppets, Annabelle is a lot more subtle with her slaying. She forever remains motionless, instead using her demonic abilities to manipulate the world around her from the comfort of her own chair. Since her creation in the 1940's, Annabelle has caused chaos wherever she goes and looks unlikely to stop anytime soon. While her first solo outing proved to be a bit lacklustre, she soon regained her scare-factor with last years Annabelle: Creation, and I for one cannot wait to see what the little doll does next.

8. Bughuul (Sinister franchise)

Much like Doom Head, Bughuul is a great villain in a bad film, or films in this case. Bughuul, or 'Mr. Boogie' to his friends, is the main antagonist of the Sinister franchise, who uses video tapes to manipulate children into murdering their families. As an ancient pagan deity, Bughuul uses these murders as sacrifices and appears to adopt his ghostly children after using them for his ritual murders. Tall, pale, and featureless, Bughuul is chilling to look at and almost resembles a potential member of Slipknot, but it's his M.O. that really makes him a formidable foe. His ability to turn children against their very own families is a terrifying concept, and while the Sinister films may not have reached their full potential yet, it's safe to say that there is at least some potential once Bughuul is kept around.

7. Rose Armitage (Get Out)

Any member of the Armitage clan could have made this list, but there's just something about Rose (Allison Williams) that makes her even more formidable than the rest. Initially Rose comes across as a kind and generous young woman, unaware of her families suspicious activities. However, as we reach the final act we realise that she had been playing our protagonist Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) all along. Cunning, ruthless, and an impeccable actress, Rose is capable of taking on any persona she pleases in order to get what she wants, using her skills of deception to lure in new victims for the sinister Coagula. In another life, Rose could have been an incredible special agent, but instead she uses her talents to kidnap black people for her family business. The scariest thing of all though? The way she eats cereal with her milk in a separate glass. Ew.

6. Black Philip (The Witch)

Friendly goat or the devil himself? Black Phillip was an omnipresent character in The Witch who acted as one of the families farm animals with whom the children would often play. However, something always seemed off about Black Phillip, and in the final act of the film our suspicions were more or less confirmed. The jet black goat is merely one of the forms of a powerful demon, as he later takes on a more human appearance when summoned by young Thomasin (Anya Taylor Joy). He appears to be capable of granting supernatural abilities to his followers, in return for unconditional worship and sacrifice. While we may never know, it's quite possible that it was Black Phillip who was pulling the strings the entire time. Give in to Black Phillip and thou shalt live deliciously.

5. The Entity (It Follows)

Quite possibly the most unique villain on this list, this nameless entity has one goal and one goal only: to follow. Well, also to kill, but that comes after the following. This shapeshifting entity only makes itself visible to those who carry the curse, which is spread through sexual contact. If you are cursed, you must pass it onto somebody else so that the entity will follow them instead, and so on. While the forms taken by the entity generally look like random bystanders, at times it seems as though it can almost get inside your head to take on the form of a loved one. For example, at one point it takes on the appearance of a characters mother, making their ultimate gruesome fate even more disturbing. The most terrifying thing however, is that it's unclear if you can even kill the entity, the best you can hope for is to simply pass on the curse and hope that the next person will do the same.

4. Pennywise (IT)

While Pennywise was already something of a horror icon after Tim Curry famously brought him to life in the IT miniseries, Bill Skarsgard breathed new life into the vicious clown in the more recent adaptation of Stephen Kings novel. Pennywise the dancing clown is the most prominent form of the creature known as IT, a malevolent entity who resides under Derry, Maine, emerging every 27 years to feed on childrens fears. While he initially comes across as friendly, Pennywise is a terrifying being with the ability to tear young children limb from limb. Skarsgard managed to make the character even more unnerving, with his unusual voice and rolling eyeballs, he managed to bring this horrific being back to terrorise a new generation of horror fans.

3. Valak (The Conjuring franchise)

How could James Wan possibly top the evil doll Annabelle I hear you ask? Well, with a nun of course! Valak (Bonnie Aarons) is a demonic entity who takes on the guise of a grotesque nun, its own means of blaspheming against the church. Tall, pale, and with the blackest eyes, Valaks appearance is absolutely chilling, but their actions are what make them truly terrifying. Along with possibly manipulating the events at Amityville in 1974, Valak also conjured up the Enfield poltergeist several years later in order to terrorise the Hodgson family. The demon also paid particular attention to Lorraine Warren herself, appearing to her in visions and haunting her dreams for long after the events at Amityville. Lorraine may have exorcised the demon in The Conjuring 2, but don't get too comfy, because Valak will return in the coming weeks with her own spinoff entitled The Nun. 

2. Mr. Babadook (The Babadook)

If it's in a poem, or if it's in a book, you can't get rid of the Babadook. After reading a disturbing childrens book to her son about the titular villain, Amelia (Essie Davis) soon finds herself being stalked by the creature itself. With its tall black hat, spindly fingers, and unnerving pale face, Mr. Babadook is an unmistakable figure. While he doesn't get much screentime, preferring to lurk in the shadows, his eventual appearances are incredibly haunting. Be he hiding in corners or crawling on ceilings, there's always reason to be afraid when Mr. Babadook is around. Perhaps what makes him so terrifying is the reality surrounding him, in that he is essentially the embodiment of grief itself. Unlike most of the villains on this list, he's not something that can be defeated or conquered, rather, something one must come to accept and eventually live with. It's that notion that makes him seem all the more terrifying.

1. Josef (Creep franchise)

Our top contender however is not a demon or a ghost, but just a regular ol' weirdo. Josef (Mark Duplass) is a disturbed man who lures in potential victims under the guise of a friendly man looking for a videographer. He then gets to know them before eventually stalking them and, well, doing what killers do best. From time to time, he will also don a bizarre wolf mask and take on the persona of 'Peachfuzz', who happens to come with his own catchy theme song too. However, his playful nature and penchant for getting to know his victims makes Josef an almost likeable character, and we can't help but wonder whether or not we would fall for his act if we were in his victims shoes. The first Creep establishes this character and his motives, while Creep 2 essentially builds upon that and develops Josef even further. One thing we learn is that he likes to keep certain traits from each of his victims, which probably explains why he has changed his name to 'Aaron' in the second film. Not only is Josef a terrifying villain, but he is also profoundly fascinating, and in a way that makes him even more dangerous. 

'The Meg' Review

There's a slasher film from the 1980's called Pieces about a chainsaw-wielding murderer who wreaks bloody havoc on unsuspecting students on a college campus. The film came with a very tongue-in-cheek tagline that read: "Pieces, it's exactly what you think it is", a tagline that could easily be applied to Jon Turtletaub's The Meg. Loosely based on the book by Steve Allen, The Meg follows a group of individuals at a deep-sea research facility who unwittingly unleash a gigantic prehistoric shark from beneath the Mariana Trench. Only rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) can defeat the monstrous Megalodon, dealing with his own troubled past along the way. Yep, The Meg is exactly what you think it is.

The film was infamously written as an R-rated killer shark movie before being toned down to PG-13, and at times you can't help but feel as though it could have benefited from a stricter rating. There are moments when the titular Meg goes in for the kill that feel significantly toned down for a shark movie, even Jaws had a little more gore and that was also PG-13. However, The Meg still manages to keep itself afloat even without hardcore gore, thanks to some truly entertaining action sequences and a hefty amount of aquatic suspense. Sure, there are times where it's bite doesn't feel as powerful as it should, but the film packs just enough tension to keep you right on the edge of your seat when need be. If you were already iffy about swimming in the ocean then The Meg will ensure that you never go near a beach again.

As for our ensemble of characters, they initially feel like your usual ragtag group cliché's. From the bratty billionaire (Rainn Wilson), to the wise-cracking token black guy (Page Kennedy), and of course Statham's troubled protagonist Jonas, who (like most troubled protagonists) we first find as a washed-up alcoholic. However, it comes as a pleasant surprise when we realise that we can't help but like these character and become invested in them somehow. In theory most of the characters are shallow clichés, but charming performances from the likes of Cliff Curtis and even Ruby Rose allow us to get behind this group individuals and actually feel something when they're in danger. The cast seem to have a genuine chemistry together, particularly Statham and female lead Li Bingbing, who share a playful love/hate relationship. As well as that, young actress Shuya Sophia Cai stands out as one of the films saving comic reliefs, she gets some of the best one-liners.

While there are undeniably plenty of silly moments throughout, especially the climax where Statham goes head to head with The Meg, the film never pretends like they're not silly, in fact, it revels in this fact. The scene at the beach alone is full of hilarious little snippets before culminating in a nail-biting shark attack sequence. If you're able to enjoy the madness of it all as much as the film itself does then you'll have an excellent time at the cinema, but if you're looking for a more serious shark-attack film then maybe you should look elsewhere. Even still, the film boasts some really impressive CGI that should please even the most cynical of viewers at that. I mean, if you can't appreciate how beautiful some of the underwater sequences look, or how truly terrifying the actual Meg is, then I'd say you're really fun at parties.

At the end of the day, the film knows what it is and never plays itself too seriously. The humour is tongue-in-cheek, there are one-liners galore, and the whole cast seem to be having a really fun time. In order to enjoy a film like The Meg it's important to watch it for what it is, that being an action-packed summer schlockbuster that takes pride in its schlocky B-movie nature. And while there are times when it feels as though it could play more into that B-movie vibe, it does just enough to hold itself afloat, resulting in a thoroughly enjoyable summer creature feature for the whole family to enjoy.

Ranking the 'Child's Play' Films From Worst to Best

The Child's Play franchise is somewhat unique in terms of long-running slasher franchises, in the sense that it remains a continuous narrative without any remakes or reboots. While talk of a remake has arisen recently, Don Mancini, the writer/creator of the franchise has assured fans that the current narrative will continue regardless. From his first appearance in 1988, to his most recent outing last year, Charles Lee Ray, or 'Chucky' (Brad Douriff), the serial-killer-turned-doll has been fuelling our nightmares for thirty years now. With thirty years and seven films under his belt, I felt like now would be an appropriate time to look back at Chucky's filmography from the worst to the best. This is all my personal opinion so if you disagree with the ranking then I'd be happy to hear you out, otherwise I hope you enjoy the list!

7. Seed of Chucky (Don Mancini, 2004)

In the fifth Chucky outing, the child of Chucky and Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) resurrects their parents in Hollywood, where a film is being made about their murders. With rapper Redman and the real Jennifer Tilly on board as well, chaos naturally ensues. While it's undoubtedly the weakest entry in the franchise, Seed still has its merits. From the numerous John Waters references, to a cameo from Waters himself, and of course, the introduction of Chucky's gender-defying child Glen/Glenda (Billy Boyd) to the franchise, it's certainly a unique entry. However, where other entries succeeded in finding the balance between the chills and laughs, Seed falters. It's unsure of whether it wants to be a straight up comedy or a trashy horror homage, and while it is possible to do both, Seed of Chucky unfortunately does not. As a result of this, the final product just comes off as a bit messy and uneven, and the poor reception even put the franchise on hiatus for almost a decade. Unfortunately we still haven't seen Glen or Glenda since.

6. Child's Play 3 (Jack Bender, 1991)

Eight years (nine months real time) after the events of the second film, Chucky has followed his old foe Andy (Justin Whalin) to military school, where he sets his sights on a new host in the form of young Tyler (Jeremy Sylvers). Now to be fair, Child's Play 3 isn't inherently bad, and actually has some great special effects for bringing Chucky himself to life. However, as a third entry it was time for the franchise to start doing something new, and well, Child's Play 3 didn't. While it still maintained the dark wit of its predecessors, the film constantly feels like its treading familiar territory and we can't help but find its formula a little bit predictable at this stage. Don Mancini himself has even stated that it's his least favourite Child's Play film, admitting that he had ran out of ideas by the time of the films production. Considering the production was fairly rushed, we can't wholly blame Mancini. Perhaps if more time was taken in the pre-production stages then Mancini might have had the time to come up with something a little more unique.

5. Cult of Chucky (Don Mancini, 2017)

In terms of creativity, Cult is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum to Child's Play 3. Set in a mental institution, the film continues the story of Nica Pierce (Fiona Dourif), the wheelchair-bound protagonist from the previous film. Along with that, the film also brought the characters of Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) and Tiffany back to the franchise in more major roles, making the hype leading up to Cult very intense. While it didn't fully live up to the hype, Cult was still an enjoyable and wholly unique entry into the franchise, bringing some bizarre new ideas to the table over the course of its 91 minute run time. It's bonkers, and beautifully shot, but I feel like it could have done a lot more with some of its concepts. The return of series protagonist Andy felt particularly underwhelming, with Alex Vincent given little to do and feeling somewhat detached from the main story. Overall I feel like Cult promised far more than it eventually delivered, and while it definitely opened up countless possibilities for the Child's Play franchise, I still couldn't help feeling somewhat underwhelmed.

4. Bride of Chucky (Ronnie Yu, 1998)

The film that essentially resurrected the franchise after several years, Bride marks the turning point for Chucky. Here we are introduced to Tiffany, Chucky's equally deranged girlfriend who has her own soul imprisoned in a doll after pissing her lover off. The duo then embark on a road trip with a young couple in an attempt to possess their bodies. Humour was always present in the Child's Play franchise, but in Bride, writer Don Mancini amps it up to 11. While visually the film is a lot darker than anything before, the tone is much more tongue-in-cheek and Mancini and Yu both manage to find the balance between comedy and terror. Tiffany has since become a cult icon almost equal to Chucky, all thanks to the fantastic performance from Jennifer Tilly. With hardcore violence, meta-humour, and a puppet sex scene that predates even Team America, this was the much needed injection of madness to the franchise that would bring Chucky back from the dead once again. Also, the use of Rob Zombie's 'Living Dead Girl' in the opening credits was a nice touch. 

3. Child's Play (Tom Holland, 1988)

I know it seems criminal to rank the original Child's Play at number three, but we've got to that point in the list where there really are no bad entries. The film that started it all saw young Andy Barclay come into the possession of Good Guy Doll 'Chucky', who just so happened to be inhabited by the soul of killer Charles Lee Ray. Child's Play begins like your average slasher film and initially leaves us unsure of whether Chucky is actually real or not. When we discover that he is in fact real however, things take a grizzly turn. While Chucky himself does feel a bit held back here in comparison to later entries, Brad Dourif still gives a killer performance and delivers that sharp-tongued dialogue in a way that only he could. While the killer doll concept had been done before, I don't think any film managed to execute it in the way that Child's Play did. While the tone is fairly serious compared to later entries, the film knows what it is and isn't afraid to have a bit of fun with the Chucky character. Overall Child's Play was a welcome entry into the overstuffed 80's slasher genre, granting the world a terrifying new villain in the form of a maniacal doll.

2. Curse of Chucky (Don Mancini, 2013)

Nine years after Seed, Chucky came back yet again in a Hitchcockian-style isolated thriller that took the franchise back to its roots. Curse sees the introduction of Nica Pierce to the franchise, who is terrorised in her home following the arrival of a mysterious, yet familiar looking Good Guy doll. With Curse, Mancini opted to tone down the comedic elements and focus on a much darker horror in line with the first film, and oh boy did it work. Tense, gory, and downright chilling, Curse of Chucky broke new ground in the franchise while managing to update everyone's favourite killer doll for newer audiences. Chucky feels much more threatening in Curse in comparison to the more recent sequels before, and yet he still maintains his signature wise-cracking attitude simultaneously. Curse showed that it was possible to keep a franchise going after over two decades, while still feeling fresh and exciting. As well as that, the memorable performances from both Dourifs and the films isolated nature made Curse feel like one of the most personal films in the franchise as well. Over 20 years on and you just can't keep a Good Guy Doll down.

1. Child's Play 2 (John Lafia, 1990)

The T2 of slasher sequels sees the return of Chucky, intent on claiming Andy Barclay once and for all, killing anybody who gets in his way. Expanding upon the concept of the first film on what feels like a much larger scale, Child's Play 2 is the definitive Chucky film. It's got comedy, it's got terror, it's got Andy vs Chucky, and it also has Kyle (Christine Elise), Andy's foster sister who helps him in his fight against Chucky. From the yard-stick death to the showdown in the doll factory, the film boasts some of the franchises most iconic moments as well as some of Chucky's finest quips (Chucky says move your ass!). Along with that, the stakes feel a lot higher as well, with Andy isolated and away from his mother, Chucky feels a lot more threatening this time around while Andy feels much more vulnerable. With a Rotten Tomatoes score of only 40%, don't be fooled, Child's Play 2 is one of the finest slasher sequels out there, and ensured that the deranged doll would be a staple on the horror genre for years to come. I mean he's still around and kicking, and I feel like a lot of that has been down to the success of the second entry. 

'Demons': The Underrated Gem of the 80's

The 80's was without a doubt one of the best decades in horror cinema, from the great slasher boom to some of the genres finest examples of practical effects, even today it proves to be one of the most influential decades in the history of horror films. A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, Cronenberg's The Fly, these are just some of the most iconic and most beloved horror films from the 80's, but for me there is one particular film that never gets enough recognition.

The year is 1985 and so far it has been a great year for horror. Already the world had been treated to the likes of George Romero's Day of the Dead, Tom Holland's Fright Night, and Dan O'Bannon's Return of the Living Dead. However, on October 4th 1985, Italy was treated to a really special horror film from director Lamberto Bava and producer Dario Argento. Set in a seemingly gargantuan Berlin cinema, the film saw a group of innocent moviegoers become the target of demonic forces from beyond the big screen, one by one turning them into horrific monsters. That film was, of course, Demons.

Demons, for me is an essential 80's horror, and despite its seemingly mediocre Rotten Tomatoes score (56% are you for real?) stands out as a crowning achievement in Italian horror cinema. The film was directed by Lamberto Bava, son of the great Italian horror maestro Mario Bava (A Bay of Blood, Black Sabbath), who wanted to put his own mark on the world of Italian horror. Bava collaborated on the script with screenwriters Dardano Sacchetti and Franco Ferrini, as well as acclaimed director and the films producer Dario Argento. It was shot in both Berlin and Rome, with the cinemas interior being that of an actual abandoned cinema. As a homage to both countries involved in the production, two posters decorate the cinemas lobby: Four Flies on Grey Velvet to represent Italy, and Nosferatu the Vampyre for Germany. A fitting tribute to the two nations involved, and to the filmography of Argento himself.

So, what makes Demons so great, I hear you ask? Well first of all a major credit is owed to the films special effects team for creating some of the most blood-curdling and horrific practical effects of their time. The film is packed full of wonderful gore that feels very lifelike and very unique. One particular sequence sees a character transform into one of the titular demons, with a new set of sharp teeth slowly protruding from their gums, knocking out their pre-existing teeth, and a new set of nails piercing through their fingers. It's incredibly detailed and downright horrific, but you just can't look away from all the bloody brilliance. There is another notable sequence in which another character becomes infected, causing them to drop to their hands and knees before a demonic creature tears their back open from the inside and crawls out, like some sort of satanic birth. The practical effects in Demons are some of the best that I have ever seen, even by today's standards, and are one of the main components that make the film so terrifying. If you want a run down of some of the films goriest moments then have a look at the video below:

The film isn't just all gore however, it's also a biting piece of meta-horror that pokes fun at the genre and plays with the concept of the cinema-going experience itself. The cinema has always been a sanctuary where we can go to enjoy these fantastical stories from a safe environment. In the case of horror films, we go to the cinema so that we can be scared without any real risk to our own lives. Demons however, turns this whole concept on its head. In this film, the cinema is no longer a safe-haven, but the center of evil itself and the place where the majority of the action takes place. We begin to get a sense of how dangerous this place really is when the events in the horror film playing there begin to correspond with the events taking place in the cinema. The presence of the demonic mask, a character becoming infected, the eventual transformation, it soon becomes clear the film-within-a-film has more governance over these peoples lives than they think. Horror has always thrived off making harmless things threatening, but Demons takes that a step further to make the cinema itself the threat.

Of course, along with its meta-commentary and spectacular use of gore, Demons is also a balls-to-the-wall action film as well. From the moment the patrons enter the theatre and see the model of the motorcycle in the foyer, it's obvious that it will somehow come into play later on. Naturally a character later rides through the labyrinthine picture house on the bike, slaughtering demons like some comic-book antihero. It's as heart-racing as it is stomach-turning, as our protagonists always seem to be constantly running from hordes of recently-turned demons. The film even has its own action-hero archetype in the form of Tony the pimp, played by Bobby Rhodes. The jive-talking tough guy is a central character among the patrons and when his two working girls become infected, he takes charge of the group himself. He's easily the films standout character and is given some of the funniest pieces of dialogue.

Finally, like many 80's horror films, Demons has a cracking soundtrack, with an original score by Goblin's Claudio Simonetti and a collection of 80's chart tunes and rock songs. Simonetti's synthy number that kicks off the film is a brilliant piece of horror film music, and after that it's just banger after banger. From Billy Idol's 'White Wedding', to  'We Close Our Eyes' by Go West, and a healthy dose of Saxon, the film is packed with a diverse number of recognisable 80's hits that will have you bopping away amidst all the terror.

Demons is a fantastic piece of meta-horror that goes beyond playing with genre tropes to target the whole concept of the cinema itself. It made going to the movies feel scary in the way that Jaws made going to the beach feel scary. It's the type of film that has something for everyone, practical gore effects, a catchy soundtrack, hardcore action, and even a little bit of romance. If you don't like any of that however, you will at least get a laugh out of some of the films questionable dubbing, a staple of any well-respecting Italian horror film.