What's great about a slasher film? Gore? Yes. Laughs? Sometimes... But the most iconic thing about a slasher film is the villain. My next question for you is, what makes a good slasher villain? Is it the looks? The personality? The outrageousness? The motive? The backstory? I honestly feel it's a little bit of all of these subjects. A good horror villain is not an easy person to make. It takes a lot of thought and creativity. Villains like Jason and Michael Meyers are my favorite, and I will let you know why they are. I will also talk about why other ones are good, but not as good.
The first thing I find important in a slasher villain is silence. I find them so much more frightening if they don't talk at all. For example, the fact that Jason Voorhees never talks in the film's makes him so much more villainous, because you never truly know what he is feeling when he is killing. This opens up so many more doors to analyzing, which is always really fun in a horror movie. Another example is Michael Meyers. In the movie "Halloween," his silence gives so much subtlety and causes a lot more suspense in his character. I think a character that is a little weakened by his constant talking is Freddy Krueger. There are so many moments in the films where Freddy just makes jokes throughout the films. Sometimes the jokes are good, but sometimes they come across as cheesy, and they water down the terror of the scenes. I will say though, that some of the most memorable quotes are from Freddy, so not all of them are bad, but there could've been a little less.
The next thing that is important with the villain is a balance between outrageous kills, and lesser ones. I think the taker of this category is once again Jason. Sometimes he'll do something as simple as a sword slash, but then he'll do something crazy like punch someone's head off in a boxing match. He just knows how to surprise you with the way he kills the victim, and it's another reason why he is probably the best villain in slashers. I think that Michael is good with his kills, but they tend to all be tamer, so I can't call him the best in this category. Freddy has some amazing kills, but all of his are outrageous, so there really isn't any balance, so he is lesser than Jason.
The next thing that I feel is vital for a slasher villain is that they should be physically hidden in some way. The reason for this is mainly because of the scare factor, and for the suspense of the time leading up to the unmasking. This can be done in many ways. The first being a mask. This has worked great with many characters in slasher films. The two best being Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers. Both of these characters are hidden behind their masks, and the whole time you wonder what they look like. Then at different moments, you really get to see the unmasked villain. Jason being grotesque and monstrous, and Michael looking like a normal kid. This really builds such a shock factor when you get to see their true appearance, because you get the chance to witness whether they are a normal person, or a deformed monster-type. This is another factor that weakens Freddy's character. You know what he looks like the whole time, so there is never that suspense or shock factor.
I feel that the backstory of the killer is also a big factor in making them a great villain. This way, you can see what gave them the motive to do what they're doing, if they have any at all. Jason is shown to be a man of vengeance, Michael is just completely insane, and Freddy is just a demented child murderer getting revenge on the parents that burned him by killing their children. I think all of these characters have great back stories, but Jason is the best, because you see is killing as something more than just plain insanity.
Overall, I think that all of these factors really shape a great villain. As long as they follow most of them, then the character will work fine. The best of them all is Jason though, because he really has all of the qualities needed, and a lot more too. He is just a genuinely awesome character, and I'll love watching him in the movies forever. Michael is definitely second place, because he is a very subtle and frightening character, and he is a silent and insane killer that is shown to be a normal looking human. Freddy has his cool moments for sure, but I see him as the weakest of all, because he is too cartoony, and doesn't have the same scare factor to him.
What do you all find essential in a slasher villain? Feel free to comment on this post to speak your opinions.
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