Favorites: HORROR VILLAINS

The effectiveness of a horror film lies in its ability to scare its audience. While the best horror flicks combine suspense and jump-out-of-your-seat scares to keep the audience engaged, it takes a legitimate villain to make any of the scares worthwhile. If your principal villain isn't frightening, you're going to risk losing your audience from the very start. Luckily, a slew of fantastic villains have graced the silver screen in horror films over the years. For this post, I've counted down my ten favorite horror villains. Mind you, I'm still not entirely well-versed in the horror genre, so if there's any particular villain missing that you think belongs, I simply may not have seen that particular film just yet. That being said, I hope you enjoy the list!

10. Jack Torrance
Played by: Jack Nicholson
The Shining (1980)
While I'm not the biggest fan of the film, there's no denying that Nicholson puts on a show in The Shining. His manic personality works exceptionally well for the role of Jack Torrance, and his gradual descent into madness is all the more realistic as a result.

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9. Jigsaw / John Kramer
Played by: Tobin Bell
Saw (2004)
A horror villain for the 21st century, Jigsaw leaves his victims' fates in their own hands, giving them the option of whether they want to live or die. Sure, his methods are a little sadistic, but there might be some sound reasoning behind all the blood and gore.

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8. Dracula
Played by: Bela Lugosi
Dracula (1931)
Easily Bela Lugosi's most recognizable - and best - role, Dracula is simply a horror icon. From the moment he uttered, "I am Dracula," I was hooked on his character. Smart, clever, and completely evil, it's hard not to like the king of the vampires.

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7. Hannibal Lecter
Played by: Anthony Hopkins
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Sure, it's not quite a horror film, but there's something truly sadistic about Hannibal Lecter as a villain. Hopkins plays him exceptionally well, and the thought of him having a census taker's liver with some fava beans and a Chianti is enough to tingle the spine.

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6. Freddy Krueger
Played by: Robert Englund
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
The man is essentially a burn victim with a fedora and knives for fingers. Oh, and he comes and kills teenagers in their dreams. That's probably the worst part - he attacks you when you're most vulnerable, all with a biting sense of humor to boot.

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5. Patrick Bateman
Played by: Christian Bale
American Psycho (2000)
Again, not entirely a horror film, but this is simply a brilliant performance from Christian Bale. Bateman is a man who seemingly has a lust for blood, but as things start to get out of hand, even he doesn't really know what's happening anymore. That just adds to the scariness of his character.

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4. Mr. Hyde
Played by: John Barrymore
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1920)
You'd be hard-pressed to think this was a scary film nowadays, but the fantastic performance from John Barrymore as the dual-personality Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde is so stunningly perfect that there was no way I could leave it off this list.

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3. Michael Myers
Played by: Nick Castle
Halloween (1978)
As I've mentioned before, Michael Myers is probably the horror character that scares me most. A silent, hulking Shape that simply stalks and kills, he's the epitome of a relentless murderer and could very possibly be evil incarnate.

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2. Pennywise
Played by: Tim Curry
It (1990)
I have a bit of a fascination with anything Tim Curry does, and his portrayal of Pennywise the clown is so bitingly hilarious that you almost forget the fact that he's also terribly creepy. I'm sure this one put a lot of people off clowns for a while.

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1. Norman Bates
Played by: Anthony Perkins
Psycho (1960)
The king of horror villains, Norman Bates showed that an everyday man could be hiding a terrible, terrible secret. Perkins played the part to a tee, to the point where he would be applauded after takes on set. That's how good he was, and that's how brilliantly he created the character. I've got mad love for Norman Bates.

Movie Review: DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE

DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE
1920
Unrated

You can watch the trailer here

Dusting off a piece of classic, silent cinema can lead you in one of two directions: it can either be a boring humdrum of work, or it can be one of the best films you've ever seen. Thankfully for me, I found Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which was directed by John S. Robertson, to be of the latter category.

Technically you can call this a horror film (see: the picture above), but obviously by today's standards, there's not much shock or terror value (then again, if you want shock and terror value, you can watch the much less pleasing Halloween remakes, which were drivel at best). Instead, the audience is given a taste of drama this time around, with the necessary thrills and chills needed to make this a legitimate horror classic.

I have a hard time associating the word "screenplay" with silent films, simply because the main storyline is either acted out or told on title cards throughout the movie. Instead, I'd like to refer to them simply as stories because they're really giving the bare necessity for the viewer. Fortunately, the story presented here is rather good, and it's very easy to follow along. In today's culture, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't know the story of Dr. Henry Jekyll and his famous alter-ego, Mr. Hyde. In a wanton desire to further a scientific train of thought, Jekyll creates a formula that essentially removes the evil element from himself, transposing it into a completely separate body. This creature (Hyde) then goes about and fulfills all of Jekyll's desires that may go against normal, upstanding convention. However, as time begins to pass, Jekyll begins to spend more and more time as Mr. Hyde, ultimately finding great difficulty in staying either one man or the other.

The key to this film's success is the acting of our lead, John Barrymore. While the rest of the cast does a good job keeping up, Barrymore himself steals the show as our Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. The dual role called for two completely opposite characters, and Barrymore nails both of them on the head. However, some of the most convincing scenes are the ones in which the line between Jekyll and Hyde has become more of a gray area than the black-and-white we see early in the film. Barrymore convincingly conveys the struggle within him between good and evil, and at times, it's heart-wrenching to behold. At the same time, his Hyde brings heaps of terror to the screen; I wouldn't want to run into that on the street.

Also, on a brief side note, some of the visual effects are simply astounding considering this film was made in the early 1900s. The transitions from Jekyll to Hyde (or vice versa) are simple by today's standards, but incredible considering they're about ninety years old now. Oh, and I can't say enough about the makeup for Mr. Hyde; it's stunningly grotesque.

Now, I would love to recommend this movie to everyone, but I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who wouldn't want anything to do with a silent film. However, if you're like me and love a bit of classic cinema every now and again, do yourself and favor and take this one in. You won't be disappointed.

Grade: A-
Current All-Time Rank: Best - #126
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