Top 10 Characters in Horror

The horror genre has spawned so many memorable characters, in part because its loose ties to reality allow for eccentricity, charisma, wit, and other personality traits that don’t shine as magnificently or oddly in the average boring true-to-life person. The uncommon duress placed on characters in horror also more readily unearths their worst and best qualities. This list comprises (mostly) human beings, or at least species that can express personality. I’ll tackle monsters in another list. The characters here fall across the continuum of likability, but all are unforgettable.

10. Henry, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Played by Michael Rooker

Henry is a cold, cold bastard. Rooker plays the manipulative and murderous sociopath to perfection, giving him just the right amount of hillbilly charm for audiences to believe he could coerce those around him to commit heinous acts of depravity. The final few minutes of the film — when he confesses his love and devotion to Becky, only to leave a bloody suitcase (presumably stuffed with her dismembered body) on a random roadside the next morning — utterly encapsulates his nihilism and cruelty.

9. Herbert West, Re-Animator franchise
Played by Jeffrey Combs

When it comes to smart-ass mad scientists, Herbert West is the mold from which all others should be cast. Combs’ West is intelligent, ambitious, and ruthless, but enough on the good side to keep you unsure if you should be rooting for his survival or his just deserts. He’s sardonic enough to understand why he gets into trouble, but likable enough to want to see him wriggle out of it to cause it another day.

8. Daniel Robitaille (aka the Candyman), Candyman franchise
Played by Tony Todd

The Candyman is one of the most tragic characters in horror, particularly among its villains. He was the son of a slave who fell in love and had a baby with a white woman, for which he was mutilated, stung to death by a swarm of bees, then burned. Although he is brutal in his methods, he seems somewhat justified in his actions and he serves as almost a moral center for Cabrini-Green, to remind them of the cruelness of the world. His relationship with Helen is weirdly tender, as well.

7. Dr. Loomis, Halloween franchise
Played by Donald Pleasence

Although his mania and obsession with Michael Myers would eventually descend into parody the longer the Halloween franchise went along, he’s genuinely fascinating through the first four films. As Myers’ psychiatrist, he intimately knows the evil inside him and does his best to warn, in ominously elegant ways, the authorities and residents of Haddonfield. But his odd mannerisms are rounded out by a sly sense of humor that pops up on occasion.

6. Tree Gelbman, Happy Death Day franchise
Played by Jessica Rothe

I was honestly surprised by how much I liked Happy Death Day. I expected to hate what seemed like yet another cookie-cutter teen horror comedy. But, it’s actually a very well-written and funny, if somewhat unoriginal, movie. The primary reason it works: the main character, Theresa “Tree” Gelbman, who starts off easily dislikable, but you grow to understand and empathize with as you see her fully realized arc unfold. While horror movie characters aren’t exactly renowned for their complexity, Tree is one of the most complex. Plus, she’s adorable and very funny.

5. Lt. William Kinderman, The Exorcist III (1990)
Played by George C. Scott

The Exorcist III is finally getting its due praise these days, for good reasons. One of the primary ones is the onscreen friendship between George C. Scott’s Lt. Kinderman and Ed Flanders’ Father Dyer. Kinderman is sassy and funny, and his prickly but respectful amity with Dyer seems very genuine. Also, he’s a character who doesn’t make a lot of stupid mistakes for the sake of plot advancement or suspense, and always seems to be thinking ahead.

4. R.J. MacReady, The Thing (1982)
Played by Kurt Russell

Although Russell gets more accolades for his other collaborations with John Carpenter, his cocky and cynical pilot from The Thing works best for me. He first comes across as a flippant and obtuse drunk, but MacReady quickly proves he’s a problem-solver without much fear. When the research camp is consumed by paranoia, he’s one of the few characters who keeps his wits about him.

4. Apple, Turbo Kid (2015)
Played by Laurence Leboeuf

I don’t know that I’ve met anyone who’s seen Turbo Kid and did not immediately fall in love with Apple. Her optimism, charm, determination, humor, and kindness are the emotional gravity that centers the grimness and violence of The Wasteland. She’s easily the brightest spot in a very dark landscape, and it’s a real gut punch — but completely in character — when she sacrifices herself to save The Kid.

3. Quint, Jaws (1975)
Played by Robert Shaw

The gruff shark-hunter from Jaws automatically makes this list thanks to his harrowing tale of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. His no-bullshit approach, sharp barbs, know-how in a sea of incompetence, and surprising softness (relatively speaking, anyway) cement his place as one of the genre’s most watchable characters. It’s genuinely shocking and kind of heartbreaking when he meets his grisly and iconic end.

2. Freddy Krueger, A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise
Played by Robert Englund

There is no more charismatic villain in the genre than Freddy. He started to go overboard with the jokes later on, and has a weird affinity for the term “bitch,” but his readiness with a good morbid pun, creativity, willingness to play with his victims a bit, wicked backstory, and unique aesthetic all commingle to form perhaps the most iconic antagonist in film history. When audiences root for a child killer, you know there’s real pizzazz there.

1. Ellen Ripley, Alien franchise
Played by Sigourney Weaver

When it comes to heroes who (1) know their shit, (2) are always trying to do the right and brave thing, (3) don’t make stupid mistakes, and (4) are magnetic to watch, there aren’t any who top Ms. Ripley. Throughout the entire Alien franchise, she’s kicking ass and taking names, standing shoulder to shoulder with people who should be braver, stronger, and better-trained. Ripley is the ultimate final person. And she’s got a soft spot for cats, dirty children, and waifish androids.