Summary

outstanding horror moving picture villains with ridiculous , complicated origin stories underscore how deeply the literary genre is rooted in the element of whodunit . While horror plastic film are bonk mostly for their nightmarish imagery and nitty-gritty - pounding melodious score , theconvoluted stories of certain movie baddie can greatly amplify the visceral fearevoked by these cinematic elements . As audiences expose the twisted path that led to the world of such villains - wad through inhumanity , ancient curse , demonic possessions , or experiment gone awry - these dark and complex backstories tot level of fear to the story .

In fact , horrormovies where the villain is the better charactertypically take complicated origin stories for the adversary . Though these stories can get absurdly complex to the point of being ludicrous , they typically add together depth to the narrative , and can leave viewer intrigued by nefarious motif . Despite their fatuity , these backstories can also supply audience with the perceptivity necessary to truly appreciate the overarching root of the movie . After all , although repulsion movie scare are exciting on their own , it is the underlying context behind the terrific result that let some villains to infest viewer ' nightmare .

10Xenomorphs - Alien Franchise (1979-present)

Created by: Carlo Rambaldi, H. R. Giger, Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett, and Ridley Scott

After the classicAlienmovies capitalize on the mystery behind the origin of the Xenomorphs , PrometheusandAlien : Covenantexplored their backstory to dilate the franchise ’s lore and themes . More will be revealed following therelease escort ofAlien : Romulus , which will expand the relationship between Engineers , Xenomorphs , and manhood . So far , it ’s clear that the Engineers created a bioweapon in the frame of a black liquidity mutagen that breed the Xenomorphs , able to twist the genetic fabric of their server into murderous shells of their former self . While Byzantine , this still - unfolding origin floor solidifies theAlienfranchise ’s cinematic bequest .

9Michael Myers - Halloween Franchise (1978-2022)

Most Notably Played By: Nick Castle

In 1963 , a 6 - year - old Michael Myers killed her sis , and was eventually immure in a sanitarium . 15 class later , Michael escape and began terrorise Haddonfield . That ’s aboutwhere the similarities end betweenHalloween ’s dissimilar timelines . While the Cult of Thorn timeline dove into Myers ' supernatural origin , theH2O / Resurrectionand theHalloween Endstimelines bear on Myers ' competition and compulsion with Laurie Strode . Meanwhile , Myers is view fictional inHalloween tierce : time of year of the Witch , which is in its own contained macrocosm . Myers ' origins are bound to get even more complicated when studios adjudicate to bring up or revisit the once - profitable franchise again .

The Halloween saga has dissimilar timelines after going through a duad of retcons , and here ’s the good rescript to look out all 13 moving picture .

8Freddy Krueger - A Nightmare on Elm Street Franchise (1984-2010)

Most Notably Played by: Robert Englund

This unveiling discusses Brassica napus and fury against women and children .

Freddy was a nipper murderer who was burned alive by his victims ' parents . by and by , A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 : The aspiration Childexplained that Freddy was conceive in a mental sanctuary , where his female parent was unintentionally lock in a elbow room where she was raped one C of times . Moreover , afterThe Final Nightmarerevealed howFreddy made a spate with Dream Demons during his death to gain power , the 2010Nightmare on Elm Streetremake added that he provoke the tiddler of the people who killed him . Freddy ’s convoluted backstory actually cultivate well because it mime memories unfolding in dream .

Of the many iconic horror motion picture scoundrel , Freddy Krueger probably change the most over the course of the A Nightmare On Elm Street cinema .

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7Hannibal Lecter - Hannibal Franchise (2001-2015)

Most Notably Played By: Anthony Hopkins and Mads Mikkelsen

Dr. Hannibal Lecter was present as a cannibalistic genius head-shrinker inThe muteness of the Lambs . Over the sequel and theHannibalshow , he has shown a tendency for manipulating potentially like - minded person . It was inHannibal Risingwhere his origins were unveiled . As a child and refugee during World War II , Lecter witness the murder and cannibalism of his sister , which correct him on the path of retaliation killings . civilise during his years in medical school , his sophisticated charm masked his true nature , allowing him to circumvent detection . Though perplex , Hannibal ’s blood line make him a frighteningly realistic horror villain .

6Lestat de Lioncourt - Interview with the Vampire Franchise (1994-present)

Played By: Tom Cruise, Stuart Townsend, and Hugh Panaro

This entry discusses self - injury and self-annihilation .

Lestat was behave in the late eighteenth century as the seventh son of a failing Gallic aristocratic mob . Though the projection screen adaption only tinge onLestat de Lioncourt ’s origins , The Vampire Lestattackled how Lestat channeled his killer whale instincts into becoming a renowned hunting watch and saving his household ’s legacy . Lestat and his lover Nicolas then moved to Paris , where Magnus ferment Lestat into a lamia . The disillusioned Magnus then killed himself , provide Lestat rudderless - but also the immortal heir to his family ’s luck . Lestat ’s complex origin remain highly influential in shape contemporary vampiric traditional knowledge across moving picture , series , and play .

5Pennywise - It Franchise (1990-present)

Played by: Tim Curry and Bill Skarsgård

Old than time itself , Pennywise - also known as IT -originated from the Deadlights section of the Macroverse or Todash Darkness , and then came to Earth and hibernated trillion of years ago . These details in Stephen King ’s novels are eschew in the screen adaptation . However , the cinema did bring out how IT was awakened when Derry was built in 1715 , and then transformed into the clown Pennywise to elicit fear more easily . meld with his 27 to 30 - yr cycle of feeding on concern and killing countless victims , Pennywise ’s laughably complicated ancestry make him a scoundrel that ’s constantly adaptable to reboots .

HBO ’s It prequel serial Welcome to Derry will in the end flesh out the origins of Pennywise and show how his reign of terror impacted Derry in the sixties .

4Jason Voorhees - Friday the 13th Franchise (1980-2009)

Most Notably Played By: Ari Lehman, Steve Daskewisz, and Kane Hodder

suffer with facial deformities and considered an outcast , Jason submerge in Crystal Lake while omit by ingroup counselors . His female parent , Pamela Voorhees , seek retaliation by murdering those responsible . However , Jason after emerge as a revengeful spirit donning a ice hockey mask . Throughout theFriday the 13thfranchise , Jason ’s backstory has evolve to let in supernatural Resurrection of Christ - he has even died twice in several films . Jason ’s motivations also shift from avenging his own end to protecting his childhood abode . Jason ’s complex backstory foreground the character ’s tragical undertone , implying that he is a victim of context driven by the primal urge to pull round .

3Pinhead - Hellraiser Franchise (1987-2022)

Most Notably Played By: Doug Bradley and Jamie Clayton

It wasHellbound : Hellraiser IIwhich revealed that Pinhead was a British WWI soldier describe Elliot Spencer . Among the little - knownfacts aboutHellraiser ’s Pinheadis that he was a compassionate man - until the Battle of Flanders in France deeply shock Elliot , whosought solace in hedonistic pursuits . Drawn to the Lament Configuration puzzler box , Elliot open it and unwittingly transformed into Pinhead - Spencer ’s i d manifested as a fiend . While theHellraiserreboot casting transwoman Jamie Clayton in the role further complicated Pinhead ’s stemma , " he " actually has a womanly vox in the source material , which notably regards Cenobites as genderless .

2The Tall Man - Phantasm Franchise (1979-2016)

Played By: Angus Scrimm

His inscrutable fascination with destruction lead nineteenth century funeral undertaker Jacob Morningside to produce and step through an interdimensional logic gate . As realise inPhantasm 4 : obliviousness , Jacob then " render " as the Tall Man , an artificer who commands the undead and black car like the Sentinel balls . While the Tall Man ’s goal are occult , it ’s entail that he wants to predominate over property through death and torture . Apart from Jacob and the Tall Man , there are several versions of the fiber , and most come along to share his evil agenda - aconvoluted multiversal villain who predates multiverse - terrorizing superhero film antagonists by tenner .

Phantasm is one of the weirdest horror dealership of all time , and sports one of the writing style ’s best villains in the supernaturally potent Tall Man .

1Sadako - The Ring Franchise (1998-2022)

Most Notably Played By: Rie Inō and Yukie Nakama

Sadako ’s female parent was the psychic Shizuko Yamamura , who had an affair with ESP researcher Dr. Ikuma . After Sadako killed a journalist who questioned her female parent ’s powers , Dr. Ikuma trap Sadako inside a well , where her revengeful furor was immortalize in the infamous cursed videotape . The sequelRing 0 : Birthdaythen unscramble the events that led to Sadako ’s death , admit Sadako being split into two beings , and her killing more masses than ab initio shown . The variousRingsequels , reboots , and other adaptation of Koji Suzuki ’s novels have further complicate Sadako ’s origin , deform or revealing more details to cater to young audience .

A composite image of Pennywise smiling devilishly with the loser’s club behind him from Stephen King’s IT

Tall Man with Ball in a still from Phantasm

ustom collage featuring a xenomorph from the Alien franchise, Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) in IT, The Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) in Phantasm.

Created by: Debanjana Chowdhury

Halloween Laurie Strode Michael Myers Jamie Lloyd

Lestat (Tom Cruise) grasping his arm next to a chandelier with lit candles in Interview with the Vampire

Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise smiling in the shadows of the drain in the 2017 horror movie It

Kane Hodder as Jason in Times Square in Friday The 13th Part VIII Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

Doug Bradley as Pinhead looking down in Hellraiser 1987

Angus Scrimm as Jebediah Morningside looking worried in Phantasm 4

An extreme close-up of Sadako’s eye in Ringu.