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- Modern horror icons seem to be more character-based than personality-driven — see Jigsaw, Pennywise, Red from " Us" — though cases could certainly be made for actors like Kane Hodde r and even Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga of the "Conjuring" films as possible 21st century icons.
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- John “Jigsaw” Kramer (Saw) I’ll never forget the moment in the original Saw film when (spoilers, I guess?) John “Jigsaw” Kramer rises from the floor, revealing that the dead body literally at the center of the film has been alive the entire time.
- Black Phillip (The Witch) Goats have been a part of the horror scene for ages, and they really only have themselves to blame. Have you ever seen their eyes?!
- Gabriel (Malignant) Malignant was the perfect gift for horror fans as the world continued to reckon with the COVID-19 pandemic. Seemingly out of the blue, James Wan dropped on us one hell of a surprise.
- The Babadook (The Babadook) If it wasn’t for Netflix, would The Babadook make this list? Most likely. Jennifer Kent’s film is well made and the character she created is S-Tier in the “child’s worst nightmare” department.
- 15 Gabriel
- 14 The Entity
- 13 The Tethered
- 12 Pennywise
- 11 The Plague
- 10 Black Phillip
- 9 Psycho Goreman
- 8 Demogorgon
- 7 Annabelle
- 6 Raatma
'Malignant'
While many horror fans wished that Malignant had been a scarier movie throughout, few viewers would deny that its antagonist was magnificently twisted. Coming from genre maestro James Wan, the film primarily follows Madison Mitchell (Annabelle Wallis), an abused young woman whose terrible visions of brutal killings turn out to be real, leading her to try to help the victims before it’s too late. The film’s shocking twist reveals that the killer is actually her… in a way. With no memory of her...
'It Follows'
Shape-shifting monsters in horror tend to lead to fantastic suspense, rising paranoia, and a thematically-charged punch of what it is we fear, however, a transforming antagonist does sometimes come at the cost of there not being a singular image of evil for audiences to connect with. It Follows impressively managed to have its cake and eat it too, with "the Entity" one of the most terrifying figures of 2010s horror. The film follows Jay (Maika Monroe), a young woman who is hunted by a malevol...
'Us'
After bursting onto the scene with Get Out in 2016, Jordan Peele followed up his hit horror satire with the chilling home invasion sci-fi, Us. The psychological horror film follows a vacationing family as they are attacked by a band of sadistic dopplegängers who are part of a larger force of lookalikes launching a devastating assault after being stranded in underground tunnels for years. The sheer visual terror of the ‘tethered’ alone was enough to make them one of the most striking movie vil...
'It'
Given the instant hit success of It and It: Chapter Two, an argument could be mounted that the evil, shape-shifting clown known as "It" or Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) has already become a horror icon. The actor's arresting physical performance as the predatory monster was as cynical and twisted as it was sublime, working perfectly as the horrific centerpiece of the film. With the character’s unsettling physicality, as well as its terrifying appearance and his eagerness to prey on young childre...
'Hobo with a Shotgun'
In the instant-cult classic Canuxploitation movie Hobo with a Shotgun directed by Jason Eisener, The Plague are villains tasked with capturing the titular Hobo (Rutger Hauer) late in the movie. It is eventually revealed that they are immortal and have been responsible for numerous deaths and assassinations throughout history, such as Joan of Arc and Abraham Lincoln. In a movie full of completely absurd characters, The Plague manage to somehow stick out as particularly over-the-top. With their...
'The Witch'
A stunning feature film debut from director Robert Eggers, The Witch ran at an agonizingly slow pace as it teased the presence of evil while following a family's gradual demise at the hands of witchcraft in 1630s New England. Amid the surreal, sickening suspense, Black Philip – a sinister goat – emerges as the embodiment of evil as he is revealed to be the personification of Satan. While Black Phillip's presence in the A24 horror movieis relatively brief, it is extremely memorable. Black Phil...
'PG: Psycho Goreman'
While many of horror's greatest icons have been not only terrifying but strangely amusing as well, the titular figure of PG: Psycho Goreman (also known simply as Psycho Goreman) took things up a notch and then some. A twisted splatter comedy, the film follows the aptly-named galactic conqueror as he finds himself trapped on Earth and bound to two bratty siblings who force the tyrant to obey their commands even as his re-emergence sees a litany of old enemies trek across the cosmos to fight hi...
'Stranger Things'
In Stranger Things, the Demogorgon is a creature from the parallel dimension of the Upside Down which terrorized the kids of Hawkins in the show's first season. With its imposing figure, its vicious attacks, and the fact that it was at the center of the haunting mystery being unraveled, the Demogorgon beats out even the season four antagonist Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) as the most iconic villain from Stranger Things. Over the years since Stranger Things' first season, it has become one of t...
'The Conjuring' Franchise
Stemming from the popularity of 2013's haunted house/possession horror The Conjuring, the "Conjuringverse" has launched as an extended franchise of horror films rife with many of the scariest movie monsters audiences have seen this century. While the Nun (Bonnie Aarons) was a supremely terrifying villain, it has been Annabelle who has gradually come to define the franchise, with the possessed doll an unnerving presence throughout the films. While Annabelle was introduced in the franchise's de...
'V/H/S/94'
WhileV/H/S/94 flew under the mainstream radar, the anthology found-footage horror film has become something of a cult horror hit, largely thanks to the shockingly disturbing and mentally scarring image of Raatma. The character appears in the "Storm Drain" segment of the film, documenting a reporter and her cameraman exploring a local legend in Westerville, Ohio concerning a rumored Rat Man lurking in the sewers. The investigative duo get more than they bargained for when they enter the sewers...
- Ryan Heffernan
Jan 26, 2023 · Modern horror icons seem to be more character-based than personality-driven — see Jigsaw, Pennywise, Red from "Us" — though cases could certainly be made for actors like Kane...
I’d definitely say that Jigsaw and the 2017 Pennywise are just as iconic as Michael, Jason, Freddy, etc. Valak and Annabelle are also modern horror icons.
When you think back on the horror movies of the 1970s and 80s, a wide range of iconic characters comes to mind. From slashers like Michael and Jason to supernatural figures like Damian and Pinhead, it's easy to identify the characters who have a presence in popular culture to this day.
Oct 28, 2023 · Scary movies are frequently fuelled by monstrous slasher icons, but who will be the next horror character to break through, and take their place alongside Freddy, Jason, Michael, and Chucky?
It depends on how you define icon but I really think it’s only jigsaw and the purgers as far as modern icons go. I see a lot of characters named here that only horror nuts would really know. Freddy, Jason, Michael, jigsaw, the purgers etc. the average moviegoer would most likely recognize.
