Image Credit: Everett Collection; Merrick Morton; Phillip CarusoAll right you dirty birds, it’s time to put a nail in the coffin of the first round of our Scariest Big-Screen Psycho Killer single-elimination tournament. Today, two American icons, Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th) and Norman Bates (Psycho), mix it up in the HorrorVerse bracket alongside Samara (The Ring) and that precocious young spawn of Satan, Damien Thorn (The Omen). Over in the DramaVerse, Annie Wilkes will attempt to hobble the Matron of Mayhem, Kathleen Turner’s Beverly Sutphin (Serial Mom), while Mrs. Mott (AKA Peyton Flanders) from The Hand That Rocks the Cradle tries to avoid having her bunny boiled by Alex Forrest (Fatal Attraction). Every few nights between now and the Friday before Halloween, your votes will help us decide who will be crowned the sultan of cinematic psychopaths. Check out our full list of 32 bloodthirsty lunatics at the end of this post, then vote in our final set of first round face-offs below.
Image Credit: Merrick Morton; Everett Collection (3) Polls will be open for 60 hours only, so do your part now to save your favorites from an early grave. And be sure to check back later this week as we start announcing first-round winners and kick off matchups for our Screech Sixteen.
1. Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street)
2. Michael Myers (Halloween)
3. Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th Parts II-X)
4. Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
5. Carrie White (Carrie)
6. Samara (The Ring)
7. Jigsaw-Amanda (Saw)
8. Ghostface (Scream)
9. Benjamin Willis (I Know What You Did Last Summer)
10. Dr. Heiter (The Human Centipede)
11. Damien Thorn (The Omen)
12. Alex Hammond (Prom Night)
13. Chucky (Child’s Play)
14. Norman Bates (Psycho)
15. Billy Chapman (Silent Night, Deadly Night)
16. Pinhead (Hellraiser)
DRAMAVERSE DIVISION
1. Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs)
2. Jack Torrance (The Shining)
3. Annie Wilkes (Misery)
4. Anton Chigurh (No Country for Old Men)
5. Col. Hans Landa (Inglourious Basterds)
6. Alex Forrest (Fatal Attraction)
7. The Joker (The Dark Knight)
8. Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb (The Silence of the Lambs)
9. John Doe (Se7en)
10. Alex DeLarge (A Clockwork Orange)
11. Peyton Flanders/Mrs. Mott (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle)
12. Harry Powell (The Night of the Hunter)
13. Vic “Mr. Blonde” Vega (Reservoir Dogs)
14. Beverly Sutphin (Serial Mom)
15. Tommy DeVito (Goodfellas)
16. Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)
You have Annie Wilkes twice. Did you mean alex forest?
No. Annie Wilkes is just that good.
Yeah someone screwed up.
Yup they did. Typo.
norman bates for the win
Annie Wilkes in Misery was classic!!!
Annie Wilkes = Greatest female villain of all time!
Norman Bates is still the scariest, because he seems like such a nice, gentle guy – the others are just killing because they enjoy it. Even Serial Mom and Alex aren’t as creepy, mostly because Norman was from a time of innocence, just as th inspiration for “Psycho” Ed Gein was.
That’s why Bates should win the whole thing–he’s based on a real guy who did much, much worse things. Ed Gein was a *very* disturbed man. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t a big inspiration for Jame Gumb (what with the 101 uses for a dead woman’s skin part) too.
Ed Gein was the inspiration for Buffalo Bill. Leatherface, too.
to this day people still think Texas Chainsaw Massacre actually happened! Which of the 3, Texas is probably the least from the truth of the actual events. “Based on a true story” is a very misleading ad campaign
Right. The only thing from Texas Chainsaw Massacre that was related to Ed Gein was the dressing up in skin. Most experts believe Gein only killed 2 women. The other parts were taken from dozens of various graves.
I’m Annie Wilkes #1 fan
Hahaha… just don’t go too overboard on your fandom..
I agree with most of these posts. Kathy Bates gave a brilliant performance as Annie Wilkes in Misery. It was the perfect combination of comedy and horror. Well deserved oscar!
Kind of hard for me to choose between Jason and Norman Bates. Sure, Bates is from the better movie. But if faced with both of them in real life, I would probably have a heart attack if Jason was coming after me. Not so much with Norman Bates. He’s creepy and is obviously disturbed, but I think I could take him.
As for Samara and Damien, that’s a tough one too. Damien I guess, since he’s the spawn of Satan. But one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen was Samara crawling out of that TV set.
I totally agree with what you said about Jason vs. Norman Bates.
Wow, you nailed my feelings for both categories. In overall scariness, Jason is definitely worse than Norman Bates, but knowing what a ‘psycho’ he is under that seemingly normal exterior makes him pretty darn creepy. And omg, to this day I cannot watch the final scene of The Ring, I literally backed up over the couch the first time I saw the movie. Thank GOD I wasn’t at the movies for that one…
I saw The Ring in theaters, couldn’t answer the phone for weeks
I loved Annie Wilkes – so completely engaged in her mission to ‘save James Caan from messing up *her book. And Norman Bates – such a sweet guy until Mother shows up. And both scenarios seem very possible in this day and age.
And voting for Annie Wilkes and Alex Forrest were no-brainers.
Annie Wilkes vs Alex Forrest would be a good match up. In the end, I would have to go with Annie Wilkes though. Unforgettable character..and who could forget the sledge hammer to the foot scene. Its still a tough scene for me to watch. Great stuff!
I was really looking forward to Samara doing better, but I guess there’s just no way she can slay her way past the first found.
That whole “crawling out of the TV” thing was way scarier than anything Damien did.
Really, Damien was just a victim of genetics. Samara was the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen on screen.
It doesnt get much better than Annie Wilkes. Norman Bates was terrific as well.
It’s all for you Damien!
Seriously this line still gives me the heebie geebies.