Top 15 Slasher Villains, Ranked By Likability

In the world of horror movies, there are some figures that are simply iconic. Here are some of the best slasher villains, ranked by their likability.

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In the world of slasher horror movies, there are some figures that just loom larger than life. Their kill counts are high, their scares are violent, and they always leave their audiences wanting more. However, there is something that many filmmakers may not consider before making their horror movies: just how likable is their slasher villain?

Though these characters aren’t necessarily designed to be likable, that hasn’t stopped viewers from adoring them over the decades, despite the fact that they’re supposed to hate them. Some, however, are definitely far more likable than others.

Updated on July 25th, 2021 by Mark Birrell: The best slasher movie villains are some of the most memorable killers to ever grace the horror genre on film. From Freddy Krueger to Norman Bates, the subgenre has given fans so many unforgettable characters, even if they’re not particularly likable personality-wise. But which is the most lovable slasher villain of them all? They all have a lot going against them but a few have some sympathetic qualities and are even a little genuinely charismatic.

15 Freddy Krueger (The Nightmare on Elm Street Franchise)

Fredy Krueger is by far one of the most famous slasher movie killers and without a doubt one of the least likable, which is something made all the more fascinating by Freddy’s rise to international fame as an icon of ’80s cinema.

The abhorrent nature of Krueger’s crimes in life, which prompted the parents of his victims to murder him and send him to the supernatural dream world that allows him to kill from beyond the grave, make him irredeemable by even the most lenient fan’s standards. Nevertheless, he eventually came to be marketed to the public almost like an antihero, with him even getting a guest spot in his own rap single, no doubt a result of Freddy’s unusual degree of talkativeness. Unlike other slasher icons, who are mostly silent, Krueger loves the sound of his own voice.

14 Billy (Black Christmas)

Billy may be one of the most significant killers in the development of the horror genre, with Black Christmas serving as a source of inspiration for John Carpenter’s Halloween and all that followed it, but he’s not a likable or charismatic character at all.

Part of this is down to the fact that Billy is never really seen in the original movie, adding to its general sense of unease, and mostly just heard, predominantly through the obscene phone calls he places to the victims. Whatever Billy’s precise hangups are, they seem deeply rooted in misogyny and what little the audience knows about him just makes him seem disturbingly childish.

13 Maniac Cop, or Matt Cordell (The Maniac Cop Franchise)

In the original Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell is an NYPD officer who’s put in prison, mutilated in an attack by inmates, and then left for dead. So, naturally, he’s more than a little vengeful himself and it’s easy to see what his motivation for his rampaging is.

However, one of the reasons that Cordell was put in prison in the first place was police brutality, which his behavior as a slasher villain seems to confirm quite emphatically. He could just take revenge against those that wronged him but he instead attacks people seemingly at random at times, striking fear into the heart of the city that he swore to protect.

12 The Miner, or Harry Warden and Axel Palmer (My Bloody Valentine)

From My Bloody Valentine, The Miner doesn’t actually appear as often as most slasher villains do, being the antagonist of only two movies (including the remake), but he makes a grand impression in both films.

He’s become popular enough in recent years to join the pantheon of slasher villains along with greats like Michael and Jason. Unfortunately, though, he doesn’t have much personality beyond the effectively simple costume, as his identity is deliberately kept mysterious. The motivations of the original killer, Harry Warden, and the copycat murderer, Axel Palmer, mostly make them seem spiteful and jealous, so it’s hard to care too much about the Miner.

11 Pinhead, or The Hell Priest (The Hellraiser Franchise)

Pinhead is one of the lead Cenobites in the Hellraiser franchise; Clive Barker also refers to him as the Priest or the Hell Priest. Unlike many slasher villains, Pinhead (as he’s been nicknamed by crew members and fans alike) is a relatively articulate fellow.

He explains his motivations and appears to be capable of both great evil and mercy, as he’ll take lives as well as spare them, depending on his own moral code. However, for all his monologuing, he’s just not as likable as some of the more charming slasher villains.

10 Jigsaw, or John Kramer (The Saw Franchise)

John Kramer is the original Jigsaw Killer, the slasher villain in the Saw franchise. Though Jigsaw becomes a legacy character, John Kramer is the original, and so he’s most often the one that comes to horror movie fans’ minds.

Jigsaw is a man dying of inoperable cancer who discovered a new purpose late in his life and claims that he wants to inspire others by putting them through his twisted games filled with elaborately deadly traps. If his victims don’t survive them, in Jigsaw’s mind, that’s their own fault. He’s charming enough to be likable as a character to some but his logic is notably flawed and inconsistent.

9 Mr. Slausen (Tourist Trap)

A lesser-known early slasher, a little lost in the timeline of the subgenre’s formative years in between the iconic successes of Halloween and Friday the 13th, Tourist Trap is a weirdly charming– or perhaps just charmingly weird–take on the classic setup.

Mr. Slausen runs the titular tourist trap that the carefree and soon-to-be-dead young people of the movie stumble into and appears as a kind and folksy presence who only wants to protect the kids from his evil brother. But it turns out that Slausen doesn’t have a brother, and he’s been toying with his victims the whole time. Nevertheless, the charm of actor Chuck Connors shines through and it’s hard to hate Slausen, even if his sad backstory is likely all hooey also.

8 Michael Myers (The Halloween Franchise)

The antagonist star of the Halloween franchise, for the most part, Michael Myers is often horror fans’ first thought when they try to think of slasher villains. He’s certainly popular, and definitely more than a little likable.

Obviously, no slasher movie villain is a particularly nice person, but Michael maintains a silently smooth methodicalness about him that viewers have come to find enjoyable over the years since his first appearance. With each Halloween sequel and remake, Michael arguably gets more likable and fun to watch, too — though his main enemy, Laurie Strode, may disagree.

7 Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Franchise)

Leatherface’s name gets retconned often within the lore of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, but everyone who knows him definitely knows him as Leatherface. He’s also known as the big baby of his family, who doesn’t really know what he’s doing and acts more out of fear than anything else. The outside world scares him pretty badly, but he’s comfortable and safe with his family, and so he’ll do whatever they ask.

This makes him a terrifying slasher villain as well as a likable teddy bear of a guy in another sense. Would that he had walked a different path in life, he may have become a helpful therapist or maybe a social worker.

6 Ghostface, or Billy Loomis and Stu Macher (Scream)

Like Jigsaw, Ghostface is a legacy character. While John Kramer appears in multiple movies, though, Ghostface is a different person in each movie they appear in in the Scream franchise. In the first (and most iconic) appearance of Ghostface, though, they’re actually two people: Billy Loomis and Stu Macher.

Billy and Stu are incredibly well-liked by fans, mostly because they’re funny and charming, and they have some really great lines in the climax of Scream. Plus, some audiences feel bad for Billy’s life having fallen apart, though it doesn’t excuse his actions.

5 Chucky, or Charles Lee Ray (The Child’s Play Franchise)

Many horror fans cite Chucky, or Charles Lee Ray, as their favorite slasher villain, and with good reason: Chucky’s charismatic, he’s quippy, he’s got a fun wife, and — last but not least — he is an adorable little doll on the outside.

Though Chucky can be contorted into monstrous appearances, and he certainly commits monstrous crimes as well, he’s just so enthusiastic that many viewers can’t help but like the character. It helps, too, that he’s not really a person anymore, as the spirit of a killer now possessing a doll. That makes it a lot easier for viewers to get past his heinous crimes to just enjoy the ride.

4 Pamela Voorhees (Friday the 13th)

One of the all-time great horror movie trivia questions is ‘who is the killer in the original Friday the 13th?’ This is because many people assume that it’s the series’ big mainstay killer, Jason Voorhees. But, as all big slasher fans know, the killer in the first movie is actually revealed to be Jason’s mother, Pamela.

Considering that her motivation is vengeance for the death of her son, who drowned in Camp Crystal Lake due to the negligence of the counselors, she’s always been viewed in a slightly more sympathetic light than most slasher villains. Though the people that she takes her rage out on mostly didn’t have anything to do with it, it does seem somewhat understandable.

3 Candyman, or Daniel Robitaille (The Candyman Franchise)

There’s going to be another Candyman movie soon, which is great for fans of the franchise, as well as for fans of the titular character. Candyman, or Daniel Robitaille, is an urban legend come to life and his tragic backstory often garners a lot of sympathy from horror movie fans.

A victim of a hate crime in life, the supernatural Candyman now appears to anyone who says his name five times into the mirror. Unlike many slasher movie villains, the original death that turned them into an unstoppable killer was completely unwarranted and the character is genuinely charming and intelligent.

2 Jason Voorhees (The Friday the 13th Franchise)

After his mother dies at the end of the first Friday the 13th movie, Jason rises from the murky depths of Camp Crystal Lake (or wherever else he had actually been hiding for all those years) and becomes the franchise’s new villain, working his way into camp counselors’ hearts with his machete and viewers’ hearts with his silent charm.

A creative killer who’s just outrageous conceptually speaking at this point, with the character being killed and reanimated several times in continuity, it’s hard not to like Jason Voorhees. In his big crossover movie with Freddy Krueger, Jason is definitely seen as the more sympathetic character of the two, not that Freddy is much competition in the likability department.

1 Norman Bates (The Psycho Franchise)

The original king of the horror movie killers, Norman Bates is the most likable slasher villain of all time. His whole M.O. is being charming and likable, though sometimes that mask slips, and audiences see the horror that lays beneath, just as his victims do.

His backstory, though, as viewers saw in Bates Motel, is fairly sympathetic and very interesting. Even the Psycho sequels are well-made, as well as well-received by fans. Norman Bates has remained consistently likable and liked by audiences across the decades for his manners and his genuine struggles with his murderous side.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/slasher-villains-ranked-by-likability/