Top 10 Movie Characters That Can Kill You With Their Mind

Of all the people to stumble upon a mysterious object in the woods that grants telekinetic powers, it just had to be this kid. At first, we feel sorry for the abused and bullied teenager who just can’t seem to catch a break. But following the death of one of his only friends, Andrew Detmer has a citywide temper tantrum that results in heavy-duty damages and countless injuries. We realize he’s actually just kind of a dick, albeit one with a god complex and the power to back it up.

We’re talking the original, not the Christopher Reeve remake here. Things are just creepier in black and white. Plus you gotta love all the contextual tidbits that make this film completely of its time, like the fear of juvenile delinquency. Then there’s the alleged anti-Communist propaganda that substitutes the Reds with Aryan children whose fathers hail from an unknown source and have the ability to telepathically force innocent people to kill themselves. Those were the days.

In this futuristic tale of time travel and how a single action can forever change us, we meet a little boy who may-or-may-not grow up to become the man responsible for overthrowing dangerous crime bosses, but also for the death of Joe’s future wife. We first get a taste of Cid’s wrath when this kid falls down a flight of stairs, gets enraged and uses his abilities to levitate household items. He then makes those in his path burst open with pure mental rage, which reveals the power of his telekinesis and his destiny as the Rainmaker.

Stephen King is well known for creating stories that feature innocent but gifted characters and lame authority figures that try and control them. Baby-faced Drew Barrymore plays a child with the rare ability to set things on fire with her mind. Of course, the government gets involved and ruins all the fun. So when the covert agency tries to exploit her powers, all hellfire breaks loose and little Drew cooks up a real storm, cooking everyone.

This groundbreaking anime flick shows us what Tokyo would look like 31 years after a colossal explosion destroys the city. Caused by a young boy named Akira who couldn’t control his psionic powers, the now-rebuilt Tokyo isn’t exactly what you’d call a utopia, especially considering history may be about to repeat itself with Tetsuo. This young lad sees his own gifts grow beyond his control, so much so that he eventually goes on a vicious rampage, turns into a gigantic blob and is forced into another dimension by the reanimated Akira.

Here’s another Stephen King innocent-but-pushed-over-the-edge character. This time around, the girl-in-question is a victim of relentless bullying and her Bible-thumping mother’s disturbing abuse. Starting from the first scene where we’re forced to witness the graphic details of Carrie’s first menses, we just know that the rest of the film is going to be a bloodbath. And nothing says revenge for getting pig’s blood dumped on you like brutally murdering everyone you know.

There ain’t nothing physicist Jon Osterman can’t do. Literally. Aside from your garden-variety telekinesis and super-strength, the outcast from the Blue Man Group can also fly, predict the future, manipulate matter and move from planet to planet. While his path of vengeful destruction is not as wide as others on this list, he is a force to be reckoned with and knows just how to build fatal energy reactors. Try doing all that in your birthday suit.

Director David Cronenberg’s sci-fi horror flick is about a renegade ‘scanner’ who uses his deadly talents to make a guy’s head explode and to force people to shoot themselves and crash their cars – all while declaring war on a company that developed the fictional drug ephemerol, which suppresses a scanner’s abilities but also passes the scanner gene onto unborn fetuses. Of all the murders mentioned in this list, his are certainly the most gruesome.

Although this fiery mutant is arguably the sexiest of the X-Men franchise, she’s also one of the most dangerous. In the first two films, Jean Grey’s telekinesis is under control and her telepathy is maintained by Professor X, since he knows what she’s truly capable of. But by the third installment, she’s evolved into the darker and way more lethal Phoenix. With her incredible psychic powers, she ends up killing almost everyone she cares about and many others before the movie’s end.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Mewtwo “Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back” (1998)
- Gillian Bellaver “The Fury” (1978)
- Jeremy Reed “Powder” (1995)
- Nancy Downs “The Craft” (1996)

Hands down, this Force-powered Sith Lord is one of the best-loved, most-quoted, most-emulated, universally recognizable supervillains in film history. That’s because, at every turn, the gigantic, black-clad cyborg has been leaving us – and anyone who crosses him – breathless. Though he also makes use of a light saber, Vader isn’t above using the dark side of the Force to help him get the upper hand in battle – this includes choking others and throwing objects without having to touch them, as well as being able to sense disturbances in the Force. Not bad for a fictional religion…

Do you agree with our list? Which movie character do you think has awesome powers? For more entertaining Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.