Top 10 Best Horror Movie Masks

They’re creepy, they’re freaky….a few of them are downright terrifying. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 horror movie masks.

For this list, we’re looking for the most iconic horror movie masks that have sent chills down our spines and found their way into our nightmares.

There are subterranean monsters, disfigured humanoids, and undead creatures; but the masked serial killer takes the cake from all of them. This movie may have flown under the radar as a cult classic, but the button mask worn by the film’s villain, Dr. Decker, is clearly the star of the show. The button eyes and zipper mouth really up the creep factor – which is saying something, as he’s already a knife-wielding murderer.

Pigs don’t generally inspire fear, but combine a somewhat unsettling representation of a swine’s head with brutal deaths, and gut-wrenching horror soon follows. Worn by Jigsaw and his accomplices to hide their identities and representing the zodiac year in which the killer began his reign of terror, this gruesome disguise dials up the dread in an already-horrifying scenario. Seeing the pig mask is pretty much a sign that you’re screwed.

The film’s overall unnerving tone is heightened by the appearance of a clear mask with a horrible makeup job. And, when it’s paired with a violent yellow raincoat – well, unsettling is an understatement. In the hands of a child, it’s kind of eerie – maybe even a little disturbing. But on the face of a killer, that ghastly eye shadow and sinister permanent smile is the stuff of night terrors.

Auditioning for a movie role is terrifying enough, but when you add a murderer to the mix, things become slightly more intimidating. “The Hag” mask is pretty terror inducing with its deep, hollow eyes and frown of murderous intent. A sickle, a few rival actresses, and lethal determination bring new meaning to the phrase “fierce competition.”

This mask is a fairly recent addition to the horror genre, but it doesn’t skimp on the scary. It might be the shattered human jaw combined with the cracked, porcelain cheeks; or the creepy baby-doll face; or the fact that it’s held on with barbed wire – or it might just be that there’s a vicious murderer behind the mask, but this is definitely the film’s main freak-out.

The fact that this otherwise cool, calm and collected middle-aged gentleman has to be restrained with a straightjacket and muzzle says it all. Seething with cannibalistic intent and the curious appetite of a thousand stoners, Hannibal the Cannibal’s mask serves as a constant reminder that he can straight up kill you whenever he wants. And eat your organs with a complementary beverage.

The Ghostface mask seems like it was designed to inspire the perfectly crafted scare. The gaping eye holes, the contorted mouth, the white-on-black coloring – it’s not a mask you want to see showing up in your dreams, or at your door. Aside from the campy, but clever film, the Ghostface mask has become synonymous with sharp scares and even sharper knives.

As a general rule, cannibals tend to be a little off-putting. A cannibal wearing a mask made of human faces and carrying this is probably the worst. However it’s the mask made from the skin of his victims that truly drives home the absolute, bone-chilling fright of Leatherface. Of course, the chainsaw and his massive size pretty much mean instant death.

Who knew that a Captain Kirk mask could haunt the dreams of children, and most adults, for generations? Armed with almost supernatural killing abilities, Michael Myers is the killer that keeps on killing. And his super creepy mask, complete with matted hair and hollow eyes, delivers the kind of terror that makes you need a nightlight. As if that would help.

Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- “Donnie Darko” (2001)
- “Eyes Without a Face” (1960)
- “The Strangers” (2008)
- “The Prowler” (1981)

The third installment of the “Friday the 13th” film franchise forever changed change the way we view sports equipment. Jason Voorhies dons his classic mask for the first time in this film, and thus, nightmares were born. The relative harmlessness behind a hockey mask is replaced with homicidal bloodlust as Jason kills teenager after horny teenager. It’s an iconic horror mask that brings to mind menace, murder and machetes.

Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite horror movie mask? For more terrifying Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.