Top 20 Best Horror Movie Villain Motivations

“The Ring” (2002)

Samara had it rough from the start. Her mother was kept prisoner in a basement and repeatedly assailed by a priest. Samara was born with psychic powers owing to the presence of the Ocean Entity, which later granted her the ability to make the cursed videotapes. Samara’s mother went mad and attempted drowning baby Samara in a fountain, but she was rescued at the last second by a group of nuns. Following a turbulent adolescence, Samara’s adoptive mother used a garbage bag on her before tossing her down a well. Now a vengeful spirit ghost thing with a hatred for humans, Samara uses her psychic powers to live through the videotapes, ending anyone who watches them.

“Hellraiser” (1987) & “Hellbound: Hellraiser II” (1988)

Julia Cotton was actually supposed to be the primary antagonist of the “Hellraiser” franchise, but the popularity of Pinhead ensured her demotion. Julia is the wife of Larry Cotton, but she is having an affair with his brother Frank. Frank violently dies after conjuring the Cenobites, and he re-appears to Julia in a grotesque form, telling her that he can be healed if provided with fresh blood. She then makes a practice of kidnapping various men and bringing them to her blood-sucking ex-lover. She is eventually betrayed by Frank but gets her revenge in the sequel after she is revived by Dr. Channard. Like Jaime Lannister says, “The things [we] do for love”.

“Silent Night, Deadly Night” (1984)

This movie is… not great. But it’s one of those “so bad it’s good” movies that make for perfect 2:00 AM viewing, and it has developed quite a cult following. It concerns a psychotic Santa Claus named Billy Chapman. Billy’s parents were ambushed by a criminal dressed as Santa, and it skewered Billy’s outlook on Old St. Nick. He eventually snaps after being asked to put on a Santa suit and goes on a murderous rampage, slaying whomever he deems naughty. You know, like Santa. It’s such a bizarre and terrible motivation that it circles back around to brilliant. It’s indicative of the movie in general.

“Let the Right One In” (2008)

One of the most poetic and beautiful vampire movies ever made, “Let the Right One In” concerns two pre-teens named Oskar and Eli. Oskar is a lonely and mistreated kid, and he eventually takes a liking to his nextdoor neighbor, Eli. The two share a mutual crush, but their relationship contains a dark undercurrent - Eli is a vampire, and she uses an older man named Håkan to harvest people’s blood for her. On the odd occasion, Eli ventures out herself to drink from her victims directly. She needs to do this for her very survival, as most vampires do. However, Eli takes it one step further by persuading Oskar into joining her, and he eventually becomes her next Håkan.

“Audition” (1999)

This Japanese horror film is mainly known for its violent sequences involving Asami Yamazaki. Asami hates men and wishes to inflict physical harm on them owing to a traumatic childhood. She torments the men who wrong her (or seemingly wrong her), and when she finds a picture of Aoyama’s late wife, she flies into a psychotic rage and poisons his drink. What results is one of the most famous endings in movie history, as Asami is so brutal with Aoyama and so disgusting with another victim who’s missing various body parts that we won’t even show the scene in its entirety. The woman is seriously messed up, and she makes for one of horror’s most iconic villains.

“The Cabin in the Woods” (2011)

Drew Goddard’s “The Cabin in the Woods” is a hilarious deconstruction of the slasher genre, and it contains one of the most unique storylines in modern horror. An underground laboratory harbors gigantic God-like creatures known as The Ancient Ones, and they require annual human sacrifices to prevent them from taking over the world. To do so, the lab employees draw various slasher movie archetypes to a desolate cabin in the woods, where they in turn manipulate the proceedings to have the victims die. Saving humanity from bloodthirsty underground Gods seems like a pretty good motivation to us.

“Get Out” (2017)

Serving as a perfect example of Jordan Peele’s unique blend of straightforward horror and social commentary, “Get Out” portrays an upper-class white family wanting to be Black. They kidnap various Black people and bring them to their house in Upstate New York, where the victims are then auctioned off to members of the family. Their consciousness is sent to the Sunken Place while the winner’s brain is transferred into their heads, giving them total control of a Black body. The reasons for this vary, with some wanting a more athletic body and others simply wanting to be Black because it’s “in fashion.” And you thought “The Cabin in the Woods” had a bizarre story.

“Scream” (1996)

The “Scream” franchise contains a lot of great and surprising villains, but it’s hard to beat the originals. Billy and Stu tag-teamed the first movie, and their motivations (or lack thereof) are easily the most entertaining. Billy seems to be the ringleader of the entire operation, and Stu is simply along for the ride. Billy is a self-admitted psychopath who suffers from “paternal abandonment” issues, and he seeks revenge against Sidney for what her mother did to his family. And Stu is just there for the laughs, wanting to stab people with his good pal Billy. Or, as he puts it, “Peer pressure. [He’s] far too sensitive.”

“Misery” (1990)

Winning the Academy Award for Best Actress, Kathy Bates played one of the all-time greatest villains in Annie Wilkes. Stephen King had written a high fantasy novel called “The Eyes of the Dragon” that was met with fierce hatred from his fanbase, inspiring him to craft the character of Annie. She is a fan of novelist Paul Sheldon, but she hates the fact that he axed off his most popular character. To remedy that, Annie keeps Paul imprisoned in her secluded house and forces him to write a new novel that will bring the character back to life. Like all great satire, there’s an undercurrent of truth to the character of Annie, and it makes her all the more terrifying.

“Frankenstein” (1931)

Boris Karloff’s iconic character is not only one of the best villains in movie history, but also one of the most sympathetic. Mary Shelley wrote the story to criticize humanity’s hubris, and The Monster is the result. Dr. Frankenstein wishes to make a living human out of various body parts compiled from criminals and recently-buried corpses. While it starts life as an innocent creature, the Monster soon grows violent after being tormented by the sadistic Fritz. It destroys Fritz, Waldman, and an innocent little girl before it’s hunted by an angry mob, who eventually torch it alive inside a windmill. The Monster is nothing but a mindless creature acting on pure survival instinct and said instinct causes a lot of deaths.

“The Mummy” (1999)

Based on another legendary Universal horror film, “The Mummy” stars Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep, a seriously ticked off and lovestruck mummy who has been imprisoned for thousands of years. Back in Ancient Egypt, Imhotep had an affair with the Pharaoh’s mistress, Anck-su-namun, and they murder the Pharaoh once he discovered the dalliance. In return, the Pharaoh’s bodyguards buried Imhotep alive. Thousands of years later, Imhotep is brought back with the Book of the Dead and goes on a rampage, wishing to sacrifice Evelyn to resurrect Anck-su-namun. The man has a taste for life after being dead for millennia and will do anything to get his old lover back. It’s kinda cute, in a really twisted way.

“Child’s Play” (1988)

Despite its absolutely ridiculous premise, “Child’s Play” somehow works. The story concerns Charles Lee Ray, who transfers his soul into a doll while dying in a toy store. Now in the body of one known as Chucky, Ray goes on a slasher spree while desperately trying to escape his newfound plastic confines and return to a human body. Said body needs to be that of Andy, his young owner. Chucky makes for one of the most unique villains in the horror genre, and we certainly understand his plight. Living inside the body of a plastic doll sounds positively terrible. Then again, it’s his own fault that he’s in there...

“Psycho” (1960)

Billy may have suffered from maternal abandonment issues, but Norman Bates takes that concept to a whole other level. Thanks to the ending filled with admittedly clunky exposition, audiences learn the true motivation of Norman Bates. Norman loved his mother to an unhealthy degree and felt possessive of her, so he offed her out of jealousy when she met a lover. He keeps her body in the basement of his house and dresses in her clothes as a way to keep her spirit alive, and he knifes women he feels attracted to - perhaps to remain loyal to his mother. Or he's just a psycho who enjoys the thrill of what he does. Either way, it’s insanely creepy.

“Children of the Corn” (1984)

Taking place in a fictional Nebraska town, the titular Children of the Corn is a cult that worships an entity known as He Who Walks Behind the Rows. Led and indoctrinated by 12-year-old Isaac Chroner, the children destroy all the adults of the town in a violent revolution. Whenever someone turns 19, they are deemed an adult and asked to undergo a “passing” - that is, to die for the cause. Cult movies are certainly nothing new, but the concept of murderous children living in a ghost town, worshipping a bloodthirsty demon, and sacrificing others to appease it is definitely an original one.

“Sleepaway Camp” (1983)

Containing one of the most famous endings in the slasher genre, “Sleepaway Camp” is a cult favorite with an iconic villain. In 1975, brother and sister Angela and Peter were swimming in a lake when an accident occurred, resulting in the death of Peter. The surviving Angela is sent to Camp Arawak where she is immediately tormented for her shy and passive personality. In the end, it’s revealed that Peter actually survived the accident, not Angela, and that Peter had been raised as a girl by his Aunt Martha, taking his late sister’s name. As Angela, he took vengeance upon anyone in the camp who threatened or tormented him.

“Friday the 13th” franchise (1980-)

“Sleepaway Camp” may be a cult favorite, but “Friday the 13th” is arguably the most famous slasher in the history of the genre. It also shares much in common with its obvious spiritual successor. Jason was a young child in the late 1950s, and he drowned at Camp Crystal Lake while the irresponsible counselors were getting frisky in a cabin. Seeking revenge for her boy’s death, Mrs. Voorhees returns to the camp after it re-opens, hoping to off as many camp counselors as she can - even though they have no personal connection to Jason’s death. Following her demise, a not-so-dead Jason takes up the mantle and slaughters counselors himself for the sheer heck of it.

“Candyman” franchise (1992-)

Following the success of “Hellraiser”, writer-director Bernard Rose adapted Clive Barker’s “The Forbidden” for the big screen, changing its title to “Candyman.” The titular Candyman is Daniel Robitaille, a famous Black artist who was killed after sleeping with a white landowner’s daughter and fathering her child. Right before dying, Robitaille’s soul was transferred into a mirror, and he now lives on as the Candyman myth. To ensure his continued survival, the myth must stay relevant. And to keep the myth relevant, the Candyman “sheds innocent blood” - typically those who say his name five times in a mirror. We certainly don’t condone shedding innocent blood, but wanting to stay alive is a pretty darned good motivation.

“A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984)

Freddy is arguably the scariest slasher. He looks terrifying with his grotesquely scarred face, he playfully toys with his victims, and there’s literally no escaping him thanks to warped dream logic and, you know, the biological function of having to sleep. But he also has a horrifying background and motivation. In life, Krueger was a famous murderer of youngins who was burned to death by angry and vengeful parents. Now he’s a creepy dream spirit with the ability to take out people in their sleep, and he hunts the children of the town in revenge for his death. Both in life and in the dreamspace, Freddy Krueger is one malicious man.

“Hannibal Rising” (2007)

In “The Silence of the Lambs,” Hannibal Lecter is portrayed as a simple cannibal with no motivation given or needed. No one was really asking for a Hannibal Lecter origin story, but we got one anyway. And it was actually pretty interesting. Hannibal was a child living in Lithuania when World War II broke out, and starving soldiers used Hannibal’s sister to feed themselves. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they forced Hannibal to do the same, instigating within him a taste for human flesh. He then proceeds to seek revenge against the soldiers, kickstarting his psychopathic practices. Hannibal is an evil, evil man, but finding out that something like this happened to your sister is sure to mess anyone up.

“Saw” franchise (2004-)

Played wonderfully by Tobin Bell, the “Saw” movies try making Jigsaw a little more sympathetic than he perhaps deserves. Everything goes wrong for John Kramer in a painfully short span, beginning with the attack on his wife. She suffered a miscarriage as a direct result of the attack, and the death of his unborn child caused Kramer to snap. He was then diagnosed with terminal cancer, and he earned a newfound appreciation for life - both through his own impending death and the demise of his child. He then began testing people who took life for granted. It’s a warped philosophy; there are ways to teach the value of life without resorting to crippling and disfiguring traps. But it’s an interesting motivation nevertheless.