This year, Hulu has reintroduced audiences to a pair of classic ‘80s horror movie villains: the 1700s-set prequel Prey brought back the Predator and the Hellraiser remake brought back Pinhead. The horror films of the 1980s were full of characters that have since become beloved icons, from the Evil Dead trilogy’s boomstick-wielding protagonist Ash Williams to A Nightmare on Elm Street’s dream-stalking antagonist Freddy Krueger.
‘80s horror movies introduced fans to such iconic characters as Day of the Dead’s Bub, Blue Velvet’s Frank Booth, and The Shining’s Jack Torrance.
Bub (Day Of The Dead)
George A. Romero kickstarted the modern zombie genre with two of the greatest horror films ever made. The critical response to his zombie films began to falter with the divisive third one, Day of the Dead, but the threequel is still one of the most inventive and well-crafted zombie movies ever made.
While the first two Dead films dealt with the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse, Day of the Dead sees scientists trying to adapt to a zombie-infested world. The most memorable character in the film is “Bub,” the zombie that Dr. Logan tries to domesticate.
Jason Voorhees (Friday The 13th)
In the original Friday the 13th movie, audiences are tricked into thinking that the late Jason Voorhees has risen from the grave to kill off a batch of teenage campers. But, as it turns out, the murders are being carried out by Jason’s vengeful mother, Pamela.
Jason didn’t take over as the main villain until the sequels, but with his hockey mask, his machete, and his brute force, he quickly became one of the most beloved slasher villains in the entire subgenre.
Newt (Aliens)
Ellen Ripley had already become a cinematic icon in 1979 when Ridley Scott and Sigourney Weaver introduced her in the original Alien movie and proved that women could be badass action heroes. When Ripley returned in James Cameron’s action-packed 1986 sequel Aliens, she was joined by a new icon: Newt.
Newt is an orphan and the sole survivor of a human colony that was ravaged by xenomorphs. After Ripley similarly loses her family, she becomes a surrogate mother figure to Newt and they each fill the void in one another’s lives.
Brundlefly (The Fly)
David Cronenberg’s The Fly is a quintessential take on the Frankenstein story in which Dr. Frankenstein and the monster are one and the same. When Dr. Seth Brundle is experimenting with teleportation, a housefly gets into the machine and merges with his DNA.
Jeff Goldblum was the perfect casting choice for Dr. Brundle and, later in the movie, “Brundlefly,” because he has the dramatic abilities to capture his sympathetic human side and the peculiar quirks to capture his monstrous side.
Chucky (Child’s Play)
Children feel safe and secure and in control when they’re playing with their favorite toys. That feeling of safety is upended by the central villain of the Child’s Play franchise. Chucky is an ironically named “Good Guy” doll imbued with the spirit of a serial killer.
Whenever a poor soul ends up in possession of Chucky, the fun is short-lived before the murderous intentions of serial killer Charles Lee Ray take over.
Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice)
The title character in Tim Burton’s horror comedy classic Beetlejuice is essentially a freelance poltergeist-for-hire. When a dead couple tries and fails to scare away the family that has moved into their home, they hire Betelgeuse to do the job for them.
Betelgeuse is already a fascinating character as written, but Michael Keaton made him a true icon with his unforgettable performance.
Frank Booth (Blue Velvet)
David Lynch recovered from the first critical and commercial failure of his career with his deeply disturbing masterpiece Blue Velvet. The movie contrasts its everyman protagonist, Jeffrey Beaumont, with one of the most terrifying villains in movie history.
Brought to life with a truly sinister performance by Dennis Hopper, Frank Booth is a sadistic pimp who mutilates people for fun and attacks his victims with the unnerving dual personalities of “Daddy” and “Baby.”
Ash Williams (The Evil Dead)
To quote Ash Williams himself, the protagonist of The Evil Dead franchise is “groovy.” It’s tough to think of a character and actor pairing who are more perfectly matched than Ash and his legendary portrayer, Bruce Campbell.
Campbell brought his everyman charms to a male subversion of the “final girl” trope in the first Evil Dead film, then turned him into a zanier, more comedic character in the satirical sequels.
Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare On Elm Street)
Wes Craven added a supernatural element to the established slasher formula in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Just like in any slasher, a bunch of high schoolers are targeted by a nefarious serial killer. But Freddy Krueger is unlike any other killer; he stalks Nancy Thompson and her friends in their dreams.
In the dreamscape, Freddy is capable of manipulating his environments and changing his form. Unlike fellow slashers Leatherface and Michael Myers, Freddy is an unstoppable paranormal menace. If his victims fall asleep, it’s already too late.
Jack Torrance (The Shining)
In Stephen King’s The Shining, Jack Torrance is an inherently good man who’s corrupted by the ghosts in the Overlook Hotel. In Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation, Jack already has rage issues and hates his family before taking the job as the hotel’s winter caretaker.
There might not even be ghosts haunting the Overlook in the movie version; it might be the isolation alone that drives Jack to turn on Wendy and Danny – which is infinitely scarier.
