Henry
(Michael Rooker) from Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Michael Rooker’s deeply disturbing
portrayal of a serial killer is one of the most accurate you’ll see on film. Gritty,
dingy and menacing, the film has the feel of a psychopath recording his darkest deeds on a camcorder.
Amon
Goethe (Ralph
Fiennes) from Schindler's List
Fiennes brooding performance as the
sadistic concentration camp commandant will chill you to the bone. Nominated
for an Oscar as best supporting actor, he lost out to Tommy Lee Jones in one of
the biggest travesties in the Academy’s history.
Leatherface
(Gunnar Hansen) from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
What could be more terrifying than being
chased by a chainsaw-wielding psycho intent on carving you up like a
Thanksgiving turkey? Well, if said psycho were wearing a mask fashioned from
human skin that would do it! The prototypical slasher, Leatherface still
terrifies, decades after the movie’s debut.
Jack
Torrance (Jack Nicholson) from The Shining
Stephen King apparently hated this
adaptation of his novel and the movie is somewhat spoilt by an overbearing
soundtrack and a rather irritating performance by Shelley Duvall. Nicholson,
though, is quite brilliant as a man slipping slowly into insanity.
George
Harvey (Stan Tucci) from The Lovely Bones
The movie garner mixed reviews, but Tucci
got an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of George Harvey, the quiet,
unassuming neighbor who lives a double life as a pedophilic serial killer. A
chillingly accurate depiction of a sexual psychopath.
Frank
Booth (Denis Hopper) from Blue Velvet
Frank Booth is probably the last guy on
earth you’d want to get on the wrong side of. The schizophrenic mobster with a
taste for torture, rape and mutilation is one of the scariest guys ever to
grace the silver screen. Hopper’s depiction is ultra-menacing and will stay
with you for a long time after the credits roll.
John
Doe (Kevin Spacey) from Se7en
Kevin Spacey’s deadpan portrayal of the darkly
inventive John Doe leaves a lasting impression in this disturbing police
procedural from director David Fincher. Includes some of the most brutal
murders ever depicted on screen.
Annie
Wilkes (Kathy Bates) from Misery
Deranged fan Annie Wilkes holds writer Paul
Sheldon prisoner in this chilling adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. Bates
portrayal of the psychopathic, bipolar Wilkes earned her a richly deserved
Oscar.
Jame
Gumb a.k.a. Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) from Silence of the Lambs
Anthony Hopkins garnered the praise and awards
but for me Ted Levine’s Buffalo Bill, a serial killer who skins his female
victims, exceeded even Hannibal Lechter on the creep-out scale. Even after
several viewings, the “metamorphosis” scene is still difficult to watch.
Max
Cady (Robert De Niro) from Cape Fear
Few actors do menace as well as De Niro and
in this role he plays Max Cady, a recently paroled rapist out for revenge
against the lawyer who failed to get him acquitted. The scenes of physical
violence are extreme, but for pure creepiness, Cady’s seduction of young Danielle
Bowden (played by Juliette Lewis) is right up there.
What do you think? Who am I missing out? Please add your comments and suggestions below.