The 10 most terrifying characters in cinema history, according to science
In October 2024, Sky and Now TV enlisted the aid of the research consultancy firm Censuswide in performing a highly consequential survey of British citizens. There were 2,000 representatives quizzed from every stratum of society, and the entire thing was conducted under the rigorous science of the Esomar principle, which enforces ethical research and data analytics. What answers was Sky seeking from such a prestigious survey, though? The elements that make the perfect horror movie, of course!
OK, while breaking down the things that most reliably make a terrifying horror movie isn’t exactly the most important use of our good friend science, Sky’s survey did yield some interesting results. For instance, it revealed that 60% of Britons get the heebie jeebies when they watch realistic horror films, while only 12% scream bloody murder when they watch an excessively gory flick. 77% of UK citizens are also truly frightened of movies that take place in remote locations, while 80% struggle to handle secluded areas. This tells us that people get super anxious watching characters who are isolated and alone.
What about the kinds of threats that most often turn audiences into nervous wrecks? Well, 30% of Britons are most panic-stricken when they watch a movie with a serial killer or psychopath wreaking havoc. In comparison, demons, as well as the poor human beings they possess and turn into head-spinning, pea-soup vomiting denizens of hell, petrify 25% of audiences. Naturally, ghosts are also reliably spine-tingling, with 21% of Britons claiming vengeful spirits and poltergeist hauntings get under their skin.
Interestingly, while these kinds of antagonists regularly make people’s blood run cold, the next part of the survey dug more into which specific characters have always frightened audiences. In the process, it revealed the ten most bowel-loosening horror movie villains in cinema history.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given that British citizens admitted to being most frightened of serial killers and various other murderous psychopaths, the majority of this top ten fell into that category. Naturally, the big four slasher movie villains were all present and accounted for. Michael Myers from Halloween? Check. Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th? Yep. Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? You bet. Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street? Had to be there.
Next up were a handful of killers from three of the greatest motion pictures ever put to screen. Anthony Hopkins’ tongue-slurping turn as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs took pride of place in the top ten, as did Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates from Psycho, the character who inadvertently gave birth to the concept of the slasher movie. Jack Nicholson’s iconic portrayal of Jack Torrance’s descent into axe-wielding madness in The Shining also made the list, and these three entries proved that, sometimes, the classics retain their power for a reason.
The most recent character on the list was Tobin Bell’s John Kramer, more commonly known as ‘Jigsaw’ in the gruesome Saw franchise. While most people probably think he falls neatly into the serial killer category, dedicated fans of that series may take umbrage with that designation. Why? Because Kramer rarely actually kills his victims himself. Instead, he confines them to elaborate death traps that do have a way out; you’re just going to have to sacrifice a part of your body to escape.
Finally, the last two entries in the terrifying countdown split the difference between a standard serial killer/psychopath and something more supernatural. First up, there was Chucky, the murderous children’s doll inhabited by the soul of a dead serial killer, from the iconic Child’s Play series, and secondly, Stephen King’s Pennywise the Clown, the shapeshifting cosmic entity from IT, has haunted enough dreams to earn it the final spot in our scientific survey.
The 10 most terrifying characters in cinema history:
- Michael Myers from Halloween
- Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th
- Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street
- Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs
- Norman Bates from Psycho
- Jack Torrance from The Shining
- John Kramer/Jigsaw from Saw
- Chucky from Child’s Play
- Pennywise the Clown from IT
