With Halloween upon us, the time of terror and fright is here. And although yes, our
main focus here at WickedBinge has been cartoons and animation, with the spooky season here, we
thought it would be fun to dig into some of our favorite horror and slasher movies
and try to figure out once and for all, which killer is the most evil…
Now, let’s set up the rules. Originally, we were planning on focusing on slasher movies. But there
are a few killers from horror movies that don’t quite fit the criteria of the slasher film. So,
we’re limiting our picks to killers from horror movies who have murdered at least
one person and are the focal point of their respective horror movie.
We’ll be factoring in each killer’s brutality and sadism, as well as their motives, their upbringing
and of course, their cruelty and body counts. I’m Kyle with WickedBinge, and this
is Good to Evil: Slasher and Horror Movie Killers. Well… Maybe Evil to… uh, Most Evil.
Starting off the list, we have Jack Torrance. The Shining isn’t quite a slasher movie by the
subgenre’s definition, but that doesn’t stop Jack from trying to hunt his own family down with an
axe… So, I know what you’re saying, how does a guy who tries to murder his own kid with an axe
rank this low on an evil list? Well, the truth is, Jack becomes a psychopath because
of supernatural intervention. He isn’t psychotic until he arrives at the estate.
He’s just a significantly flawed husband and father. It’s a supernatural force which turns Jack
into an axe wielding maniac. Sure, Jack struggles with alcoholism, has a history of domestic abuse
and seems like he might harbor some racist views… but I don’t think you can hold him responsible
for whatever demonic possession occurred while he was isolated away at the hotel. And if everything
was out of his power, than he was a victim as well given that he died in the end too.
Next up is Samara. That creepy little girl from The Ring. Seriously, those twisted faces
are the things of nightmares… Anyway, Samara is a vengeful spirit of sort… and these types of
spirits usually have a good reason to be pissed off. I mean, her parents kept her in a barn
and then eventually threw her down a well, where she slowly died over the course of seven days.
She was brutally murdered by the person who was supposed to keep her safe. And here’s the thing
about Samara… some argue she doesn’t kill for joy or because it pleases her. It’s because it’s the
only thing that will keep her in existence. But then again, even if there is an element of sadism
in which she does enjoy murder… out of revenge… You have to feel for her. What a way to go…
Alright. Possibly one of the more underrated slasher movie villains is up next. The Candyman.
I would argue that we’re officially in the category of evil, but we’re
dealing with characters who were horribly wronged and ultimately made this way because of a terrible
injustice. Candyman is evil, sure. But he wasn’t always. In fact, he was once good. And in many
ways, we understand why he turns to killing. The son of a former slave, who comes into money. The
Candyman grows up living a decent life, and eventually falls in love with a white woman.
This angers several bigots, who cut off his hand, cover him in honey until he’s stung to death by
bees. Now an urban legend, he’s forced to kill in
order to remain in existence. A backstory that many horror fans are sympathetic to.
A similarly sympathetic killer is Carrie (from the Steven King book/movie of the same name).
Maybe not quite the injustice of The Candy Man, but Carrie never really had a chance in life…
What with a deranged fnanatical mother and pretty much every student she comes in contact with
bullying her… Carrie definitely turns to evil, there’s no doubt… But we can see that she wasn’t
always this way. That said, she ended up with a hell of a bodycount that we really can’t overlook…
Next up, we’re going to throw in Norman Bates. From the Hitchcock horror classic
Psycho. Frankly, if we were ranking these killers by how creepy they are…
Norman would be up there. But we’re ranking him relatively low because he
suffers from dissociative identity disorder and hallucinations. To the point where he,
in his own mind, became his own mother… who would then kill the women who he personally
found arousing. Honestly, this guy’s upbringing did a real number on him to say the least…
Okay, now we’re upping the ante as we’re heading into
straight up Slasher Movie territory for the rest of our list…
Next up may surprise many… But we’re putting Hannibal Lector. The serial killer who ate
his victims. It may seem like a cannibal should rank higher, but let me explain…
If you look at the good doctor’s backstory, you’ll see that when he was young,
fleeing , he was forced by cannibals to eat his own sister. After growing up traumatized
and obsessing over the loss of his sister, the first person he kills is a racist who insults
his family. In Hannibal, his victims include a child abuser, and corrupt politicians. And
in Silence of the Lambs, he only kills the prison guards who were, admittedly, very mean to him. Not
saying all of his killing was justified in any way… But he did get rid of some bad people...
Okay… Next we have Leatherface. I’m just gonna say it… Leatherface wasn’t evil… he was just defending
his property… Okay, maybe not… He was evil. But let’s try to analyze who this monster was…
Did Leatherface slay a bunch of teenagers with a chainsaw? Yes. But did he also wear their skin on
his face as a mask? Also, yes. Okay, this defense is a bit difficult… But what I’m getting at
is that Leatherface’s murders don’t come from pure evil, but a misguided conditioning from
his psychotic family, who tells him that these people are intruders who are a threat to him
and his loved ones. It’s also evident that Leatherface is mentally disabled. He has a
degenerative neurological disorder… and is even seen playing with toys. This guy
just doesn’t know what he’s really doing -- and the truly evil characters are his family members.
Next up is Ben Willis, The Hook Killer. Hopefully, I don’t anger fans of the movie, but I always felt
that I Know What You Did Last Summer was one of the more boring and least creative slasher movies
of its time… But it’s worth noting because it’s a slasher film that focuses on a killer who, yes,
kills teenagers… but he specifically kills the teenagers who killed him.
If he only killed the people who killed him, I’d argue that he wouldn’t even be evil... Dude
is just kind of collecting debts. But he kills innocent people too. Like the police officer…
or everybody in the sequel. So yeah...definitely evil but… another guy who got screwed over.
Another ranking that may surprise you, we’re placing Jason Vorhees. Now,
admittedly, this guy probably has the biggest body count of any movie villain when you add up
all his films. He’s been to Hell, he’s been to space, he’s been to Manhattan…
and although the endless sequels really destroyed any nuance to his character,
if we look at the true essence of who he is, based on the better writing in the film series,
you’ll see that our buddy Jason was, at one point, an innocent little boy who was born deformed,
and was constantly bullied by other kids. Until he accidentally drowned at Camp Crystal Lake. Does
that justify his killing sprees? Of course not. But given that he was a total outcast and hated
by everyone in world other than his mother… You can see why he’s so angry. And for that matter…
Next is Mrs. Vorhees. The original Friday the 13th Killer. Again, were her actions justified?
Of course not. She killed innocent people who weren’t responsible for her son’s death -- they
just happened to work at the same place where he drowned. But you can at least understand
the anger harbored by a mother who lost her son. She’s still wildly evil though, just
like her son, since everyone she murders is completely innocent of wrong-doing.
Michael Myers (Rob Zombie Version). Now, many horror fans will say that the Rob Zombie Halloween
remake sucked. That it completely portrayed Michael Myers in a way that is antithetical to
what made Michael Myers such a terrifying villain… I will actually defend the movie to a certain
extent. Although showing Michael’s backstory and abuse growing up takes away from him being
the manifestation of pure evil… I actually really dug the first act of the film because the cast was
really great and dialogue was well written. I feel like if it wasn’t a Halloween movie,
it would have been a great starting point for a different story. But the point is, because
we see Michael’s terrible upbringing, bullying and abusive stepfather, it takes away from the overall
“being born evil” theme the original killer had. Still very evil, yes. But not quite as much.
Billy Loomis aka Ghostface. Yes, the are several killers throughout the Scream series. But Billy is
definitely the most memorable. With Scream being more of a witty satire than it is a slasher movie,
it may be weird to see Billy ranked as more evil than Jason or Leatherface. But the truth is, where
Jason and Leatherface had unimaginably horrible upbringings that shaped who they became… as well
as mental disabilities that probably stopped them from understanding right and wrong to a certain
extent, Billy doesn’t really have an excuse. He’s just a total psychopath desperate for notoriety.
Okay. Up next is a big name. Jigsaw. I completely understand the argument for why Jigsaw isn’t
the most evil given the fact that he typically targets people guilty of wrong-doing. And yes,
I’ll dock him a couple points for this because I think his sort of code is interesting,
and perhaps not a sadistic as other killers… But this dude is hands down still one of the most evil
and terrifying slasher movie killers out there. Not only are the ways in which he kills people
more terrifying than anything that Jason or Michael Myers have ever done… the ways he kills
are especially cruel. And the argument that he targets people guilt of various bad things
is a weak one, given the fact that some of the things he’s targeted people for
include infidelity or drug addiction… Almost none of the crimes of his victims warrant death.
Full disclosure, the Top 4 are so evil it’s hard to even determine who is worse… But we’ll try.
Next is Chucky. In our opinion, the goofiest slasher movie killer, and I never personally
understood the appeal, but when you look at Chucky… he is an irredeemably evil character
from start to finish. Even before becoming a doll, Chucky is a serial killer who uses
voodoo to transfer his soul in an effort to escape the police. So we’re not off to a good start. And
it’s all down hill from there. Chucky is really just interested in terrorizing people. Killing
people and even diverting his attention from killing his targets to kill others just for fun.
He’s proud of his homicidal behavior and has absolutely no morals. I guess,
if we had to say one nice thing about Chucky it would be, uh… he has a good, um… sense of humor?
Alright Top 3… Back to Michael Myers. But this time, the original superior version. Michael
Myers is widely accepted as the greatest slasher movie killer in the genre’s history
because Halloween was the film that really put the subgenre on the map. But what makes him so evil,
is the fact that it’s made abundantly clear that he kills simply because it’s in his nature. In
one of the greatest scenes in horror movie history, Dr. Loomis monologues about looking
into his eyes and seeing nothing but pure evil. There isn’t a reason for it. He wasn’t raised
poorly. He hasn’t suffered some great injustice. He simply exists to kill. He is a manifestation
of our fears. Someone hiding behind a mask that could be around any corner at any time, waiting
to kill you simply because he exists to kill. Could it be something supernatural or demonic
controlling him? It doesn’t matter. It’s just what he does. No remorse, nothing. We ranked Michael
higher than Chucky simply because technically we don’t know what Chucky’s childhood was like.
Maybe there was some element that could be sympathized with… In all honesty, they’re probably
right on par with one another. But we’ll give the slight edge to the O.G. slasher movie killer.
At number two… We’re throwing in Pennywise. First off, the clown’s ability to terrorize
people is something straight up supernatural, which allows it to be especially cruel.
There’s also something indescribably evil about feeding off of the fear of people…
Specifically children, while hunting them down and eating them.
I mean Pennywise literally bit a child’s arm off and pulled him into a sewer. I think it’s safe,
just thematically, to place him as more evil than even Michael Myers.
Possibly because It is something so evil that it’s beyond human. A manifestation of fear itself.
And finally, coming in at Most Evil Killer is none other than Freddy Kruegar. After much thought,
we decided that Freddy is the most evil. Even beating out Michael Myers and Chucky.
Freddy’s killings throughout The Nightmare on Elm Street series is
as brutal as Jason’s was throughout Friday the 13th. I’d also argue that his violence was far
more creative. But what truly separates him apart from Jason, Michael, Chucky,
Leatherface and the rest… was the simple fact that prior to the films, when he was alive… he was
known specifically for killing children. Known for killing dozens of children, as he bragged about it
in Freddy vs. Jason, this adds a layer of sick and twisted, vile evil that surpasses the rest.
But Pennywise targeting children too, I’m sure many will say. Well, that’s true. And really,
the only slight distinction that we can point to that makes Freddy just a smidge worse is the
fact that Pennywise needed to feed on children to live. Freddy, when alive, chose to become
a serial child murderer because he enjoyed it. Not because he needed to do it to live.
the mere fact that Freddy murdered children specifically makes him the
most evil horror movie killer of all time. At least in our opinion.
But what do you think? Who do you think is the most evil horror or slasher movie
killers? Who do you think is the most, uh… or, ah,
least evil? And remember to tell us what cartoon or show we should feature on Good to Evil next.
Don’t forget to hit that notification bell and most importantly, stay wicked!