It’s Trick or Treat time again! 🎃🦇👻
This year, we decided to combine my love of office surveys with our collective addiction to horror movies and T’s fascination with completely random trivia; and we came up with … drum roll, please …
Random Facts About The 13 Scariest Motherf***ers in a Horror Movie.
Disclaimer: This is an independent compilation of our personal preferences regarding the horror movie villains that gave us some serious heebie jeebies, and in no way reflects upon the scariness of those villains not mentioned herein. 🙃😂
And now, without further ado, The List (in no specific order or rank) ➡️
#1 Freddy Krueger [Nightmare on Elm Street]
Robert Englund wasn’t the director’s first choice for the role of Freddy.
Wes Craven originally planned to cast a stuntman as the character. Englund ultimately got the part after he showed up for his audition with ash smeared under his eyes to make them appear sunken and his hair slicked back with grease from the dipstick in his car’s engine.
#2 Jason Voorhees [Friday the 13th]
Jason isn’t mentioned by name until 76 minutes into the first film. Although he makes a brief appearance at the very end of the movie, he looks exactly as he did as a child even though it’s been two decades since he supposedly died, thus creating the mystery surrounding the emergence of the adult Jason who becomes the series’ lead antagonist in the sequel.
Betsy Palmer (the actress who played Mrs. Voorhees) tells fans that she has no idea who the person in the hockey mask is given that her son drowned at the camp.
#3 Michael Myers [Halloween]
The costume department initially considered hiding Myers behind an Emmett Kelly clown mask as an homage to the one he wore when he killed his sister at six years old. They eventually switched to the now famous inside-out William Shatner mask because they felt it was more emotionless and thus scarier.
#4 Ghostface [Scream]
Although Tatum mockingly uses the term ‘Mr. Ghostface’ in the original movie, the moniker wasn’t actually utilized in the movie series until the fourth installment.
Prior to that, the masked murderer was credited as ‘The Voice’ (portrayed by Roger L. Jackson in all appearances to date), due to the fact that multiple characters per movie (with the exception of Scream 3) have adopted the persona.
#5 Pennywise [It]
Originally brought to life by Tim Curry, the actor was initially hesitant to take on the role as he was unwilling to spend hours in the make-up chair each day.
The false teeth which Bill Skarsgård wore to transform into the killer clown caused him to drool profusely, an unexpected bonus which the director loved as he felt that it amplified Pennywise’s animalistic nature.
#6 Hannibal Lecter [Silence of the Lambs]
Arguably best known for his portrayal of the deranged psychiatrist, Sir Anthony Hopkins wasn’t the first to take a stab at the role. The character first graced the big screen in 1986’s Manhunter, portrayed by Brian Cox.
In preparation for the role, Hopkins studied files of serial killers and other convicted murderers, and took inspiration for his portrayal from a real-life friend who rarely blinked while speaking.
#7 The Alien [Alien]
Director Ridley Scott initially planned to use animatronics to portray the Alien because he felt it would detract from the movie if audiences could tell the creature was a man in an alien suit. He changed course after meeting Bolaji Badejo, the graphic artist who ultimately brought the creature to life, thanks to Badejo’s tall and wiry build.
A special swing was built for Badejo to sit between takes while filming as regular chairs could not accommodate the alien’s tail.
#8 The Predator [Predator]
Kevin Peter Hall (the 7’2″ actor who brought the Predator to life) had to be connected to a bungee rig in order to move seamlessly through the trees because the costume weighed over two hundred pounds.
The bright goo used for the Predator’s blood was made on set by combining the liquid inside glow sticks with KY Jelly.
#9 Chucky [Child’s Play]
Chucky’s full name, Charles Lee Ray, is a composite of the names of notorious killers: Charles Manson, Lee Harvey Oswald, and James Earl Ray.
Various Chucky animatronics were built to perform different tasks. To create a more ‘human’ look, their faces were controlled via a mask worn by the animator which captures facial movement and replicates it on the puppet.
#10 The Shark [Jaws]
Director Steven Spielberg affectionately nicknamed the toothy predator ‘Bruce’, after his lawyer Bruce Ramer.
Three different versions of the mechanically-powered menace were created for the film, each costing approximately $250,000: two partially-covered creatures for scenes showing either the right or left side, and one that was fully covered for head-on shots.
#11 Norman Bates [Psycho]
Although he received first billing, Anthony Perkins (Norman) does not appear until twenty-seven minutes into the movie.
The actor refused to speak about Bates for years after the movie due to the fact that his incredible portrayal of the character caused him to be typecast by Hollywood. He later admitted that he would still take on the role, even knowing the outcome, because he would rather be remembered for the classic than not remembered at all.
#12 Jack Torrance [The Shining]
The line that spawned a thousand memes, Jack’s infamous “Heere’s Johnny!” (taken from The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson) was improvised by actor Jack Nicholson. Being from England, director Stanley Kubric was unfamiliar with the reference, and thus hesitant to use it in the final cut.
Stephen King (the author of the book upon which the movie is based) reportedly disliked the casting of the two main leads, Jack and Wendy. He especially felt that Nicholson, already known for playing unstable characters, couldn’t [and didn’t] properly convey the innate wholesomeness which Jack possesses at the start of the novel, before his slow descent into alcoholism and madness.
#13 Regan MacNeil [The Exorcist]
According to director William Friedkin, they used the rejected makeup tests of Regan’s possessed appearance to create the shots of the white-faced demon, Pazuzu, who is never actually mentioned by name in the film.
After receiving death threats from religious radicals who claimed the movie glorified Satan, Warner Bros hired bodyguards to protect a then fourteen-year-old Linda Blair for six months after the film’s release.
Tell us in the comments who your favorite horror movie villain is, and why. And feel free to add any honorable mentions you think should be on the list.
Until next time…
