These cinematic scarers are sure to send a tingle down your spine.
Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) - The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Anthony Hopkins mesmerises as one the most hauntingly iconic monsters in cinematic history in this classic 1991 chiller (he reprised the role a decade later in Hannibal and the following year in Red Dragon).
As the glass encased, wry guide and mentor to Jodie Foster’s fledgling F.B.I agent Clarice Starling in her race against time to find a serial killer, Hopkins effortlessly embodies the menace, charm and cunning of this psychiatrist and cannibalistic killer, often only with a devilish glint of the eye.
As the glass encased, wry guide and mentor to Jodie Foster’s fledgling F.B.I agent Clarice Starling in her race against time to find a serial killer, Hopkins effortlessly embodies the menace, charm and cunning of this psychiatrist and cannibalistic killer, often only with a devilish glint of the eye.
Chillingly charismatic and manipulative, the doctor’s whip smart intellect and mind games get under the skin (pardon the pun) with Hopkins making an indelible impression in his scant sixteen minutes of screen time, winning an Oscar for his troubles. Lecter is truly abhorrent and revels in it. In one of his most famous lines preceding a truly unsettling snake-like hiss he gloats; “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.” Deliciously disturbing.
The Joker (Heath Ledger) - The Dark Knight (2008)
The late Heath Ledger sent shivers down the spine and took madness to new heights as this truly believable, amoral psychopath and nemesis to Batman, blowing his considerably creepy predecessor Jack Nicholson clear out of the water. With this new, infinitely more terrifying incarnation, the famous villain and Ledger brilliantly and tragically merged. With The Joker’s off-kilter demeanor, grimy green hair and ghoulish makeup highlighting his scarred scarlet grin, one smack of the lips and one roll of the eyes was all it took to convey that this was one disturbing madman who meant business. Give him a knife and the menacing prankster is in full flight. The Joker is both darkly amusing and seriously deranged, his signature maniacal laugh all the more haunting in Ledger’s passing.
Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) from Damages (2007-2012)
She may not be the most obvious of terrors but rest assured this two faced queen bee litigator of the acclaimed legal thriller Damages could incinerate you with her death stare. What’s more, as played by Glenn Close – whose bunny boiler in Fatal Attraction (1987) proved she knows how to do scary all too well – the steely New York power broker and prime contender for “Scariest Boss of the Century” is terrifying for what she’s capable of.
When you’re indispensible to her Hewes will protect you, when you’re not, she becomes a dangerous smiling assassin; from blackmail to murder, nothing’s out of the question. Uncompromisingly ruthless, stealthy and duplicitous, Hewes is a true manicured ball breaker and a master of manipulation. Yet, she’s also incredibly complex in her fallibility, vulnerability and inherent humanity. In Close’s capable hands you feel empathy for Patty Hewes – perhaps that’s the character’s most dangerous weapon.
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