Top 10 Scariest Horror Villains of 2023

“Scream VI” (2023)
We’ve seen many iterations of the masked serial killer in the “Scream” series. But the sixth installment of the slasher franchise still manages to deliver chilling thrills, blending them with the sometimes terrifying callousness of big city life. The diabolical killer has vengeance on their mind, and in some of the movie’s best scenes, they prove they’re not afraid to commit their murders in front of witnesses. We won’t spoil their identity here, because frankly, the idea of the diabolical killer moving through public spaces with this much stealth is scary enough.

“No One Will Save You” (2023)
In this mostly wordless Hulu original, Brynn is a small-town outcast whose home is besieged by aliens with extrasensory powers. As far as creature design goes, the aliens resemble traditional, oval-headed ETs, but with insect-like legs. They howl, shriek, click, and make siren sounds at a frequency designed to make human skin crawl. Home invasion is bad enough. Being sucked up into a flying saucer is pretty terrifying. But these creatures have an ace up their sleeve. Just when you think it’s gonna be a fairly straightforward alien menace with crop circles and UFOs, boom, it turns out they’re also body snatchers who can work humans like puppets.

“Thanksgiving” (2023)
With his origins in a Black Friday sale gone awry, the killer in this slasher from Eli Roth is instantly iconic. Joining the likes of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees is John Carver, or rather, a killer who dresses as the real-life Plymouth Pilgrim. In his black period clothing, wide-brimmed hat, and unmoving mask, he is a deceptively goofy looking murderer. The cartoonish look just makes his ax-swinging viciousness all the more disturbing. The villain turns the traditions of Thanksgiving on their head and fills them with all sorts of new and depraved meaning.

“The Offering” (2023)
While human villains often have deplorable, but understandable motives, such as revenge, mythological monsters can be terrifying in their embodiment of pure evil. The antagonist of this underrated horror-thriller is Abyzou, a demon from Jewish folklore. Accidentally unleashed by a resurrection spell, the demon is seeking a human host. Living in the shadows and causing victims to hallucinate, Abyzou is frighteningly adept in psychological attacks. Preying on our deepest vulnerabilities, the demon seems to enjoy impersonating loved ones, a trick it uses to deadly effect.

“Insidious: The Red Door” (2023)
This red-faced demon implanted itself in our brains from the moment it appeared behind Patrick Wilson’s head in the first “Insidious.” “The Red Door” is the fifth installment of the series, and this time around, the Lipstick-Face Demon is haunting the now-grown boy it was attempting to possess in the original. We get to see a little more of the monster this time around, and surprise, it’s just as harrowing to look at as always. We can completely understand the emotional toll its attacks have taken on the family across the franchise.

“The Nun II” (2023)
This offshoot from “The Conjuring” series boasts the scariest nun since “The Blues Brothers.” Valak is a demon who dons a nun’s habit to prey upon the pious. With its glowing eyes, razor teeth, and supernatural abilities - which include telekinesis, possession, and setting people on fire - Valak proves once again just how terrifying evil nuns can be. This time, though, the demon is even more intense. Its targets in the sequel are the descendants of the martyr St. Lucy, as it hunts for a relic that can restore its angelic powers.

“Cobweb” (2023)
Hearing a voice coming from the walls is scary enough. The one that Peter hears whispers words of revenge and murder. It turns out, the voice belongs to a sister he didn’t even know he had. Their parents locked her away, and she wants payback - and her freedom. Making our skin crawl, she gets around by spider-walking everywhere, a skill that comes in handy when you’re living inside the walls. You could say the real villain of “Cobweb” is bad parenting. And while that is true, no, it’s also Sarah, who makes for a truly terrifying antagonist.

“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” (2023)
It takes a whole lot more than blood and jump scares to make one of the oldest screen villains terrifying again. But horror has come a long way since Bela Lugosi’s immortal performance. “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” infuses the monstrous Count Dracula with new blood and a new mean streak. Based on a chapter in Bram Stoker’s original novel, Count Dracula terrorizes the crew of the ship taking him from Bulgaria to England. Once the decrepit vampire awakens, no one is safe from his hunger. While the movie met with mixed reviews, and disappointed at the box office, its villain definitely made us shiver.

“Evil Dead Rise” (2023)
While Sam Raimi didn’t direct this fifth installment of the franchise, it’s got his love of outrageous gore and wicked humor running right through it. This standalone entry gets a powerful and twisted infusion of family strife. “Evil Dead Rise” follows two sisters, one of whom, Ellie, becomes possessed by the undead. Ellie’s sister Beth and children spend much of the movie trying to escape her murderous reanimated corpse. Working away at their emotional connections to her, the creature attacks them without mercy. She becomes even more terrifying when she morphs into an abomination of a creature called the Marauder.

“M3GAN” (2023)
What is it about creepy dolls that just never gets old? This little monster is a fusion of all our anxieties about artificial intelligence, parenting, and little things with stabby things. M3GAN, which stands for “Model 3 Generative Android,” is a robot doll that can pair with a child and become an intensely protective friend. Sure, maybe she takes it a bit too far. After all, she does resort to murder quicker than you can “factory reset”. But hey,you can’t say she’s not loyal. The only thing scarier than her savage violence is her alarming ability to generate memes at a breakneck pace.