Vanessa Maki with ten great horror movies centring on villainous protagonists…
In the world of horror, typically we’re meant to root for the protagonists like the final girl or boy, the character who endears us the most, and so on. Occasionally those characters aren’t antagonistic or villainous, as many tropes follow particular formulas. However, there are horror movies with protagonists who are villains or antagonists in their own story. Does that create a conundrum for viewers? Not always.
There’s a break in expectation when the person or individuals we’re dealing with aren’t a beacon of virtue and are more complicated or downright villainous. These types of horror films cause conflict within viewers and ultimately it comes down to whether or not you can’t root for the character(s). But if you’re also one of those horror fans who loves various complex characters, villains, and more, then you might not have an issue. The following horrors have protagonists who aren’t exactly heroic. Let’s get into them, shall we?
The Omen (1976)
No, we’re not going to talk about the 2006 remake. The Omen follows a swapped out child from the hospital, who later in childhood becomes the center of unexplained violence happening in his family home and around London. And it only gets worse when various people realize he’s legitimately the Antichrist. This film isn’t only a great example of tension building and bizarre supernatural horror, but it manages to still be scary to this day.
Considering the film centers around Damien (Harvey Spencer Stephens) and what he is, we know he’s villainous because of his purpose in the universe of the film. There’s no avoiding that or misunderstanding anything. Therefore he’s not exactly complicated in that respect because deep down, he’ll eventually tap into his destiny. But that doesn’t take away from trying to understand him as a villainous protagonist.
Angst (1983)
People are sometimes scarier than the creatures we encounter in horror. Angst follows a disturbed killer who is released from prison and breaks into a home to terrorize a random family. It’s not a flashy look at a serial killer – the performances come across as way too real from each of the characters, and the killer is unhinged, disturbing, and just downright unsettling.
Angst found mild inspiration from the real Austrian serial killer named Werner Kniesek, who was sadistic like the killer in the film. This character is absolutely despicable and there’s nothing to care about as far as his character goes. Therefore you enter the film with the notion that you’ll despise him and hate what happens to the family. It’s a classic case of a horror film that tells you outright that the focus of the film is unsavory.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
There are some horror films that come across as too real in their tragedy, and this is one of them. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer follows killer Henry (Michael Rooker) and what transpires when he temporarily moves in with his friend Otis (Tom Towles) and his sister Becky (Tracy Arnold). Henry and Otis were lightly based on the real-life serial killers Henry Lee Lucas and Otis Toole. And the film isn’t a glamorizing of serial killers either, it’s a grimy and gritty peek into their minds.
Of course, with Henry being a serial killer who has no qualms about what he does, it’s very obvious to conclude that he is villainous. There aren’t any qualities about him that point towards redemption or even that he’d be worthy of it (regardless of the horrors of his childhood). And there’s something about that which isn’t so easily shown with serial killer films anymore. Henry’s wickedness, especially at the end of the film, hammers home the difficulty of following a protagonist like him throughout a film.
The Devil’s Rejects (2005)
Rob Zombie’s trilogy is certainly not for people who hate gore and downright evil characters. The Devil’s Rejects follows the Firefly family, who are on the run from a rogue police officer after their house is raided. The film is a road trip from hell, especially when innocent people cross paths with this sadistic and murderous family.
The Devil’s Rejects is one of the more perfect examples of a horror movie with villainous protagonists. The Fireflys aren’t people to cheer on or hope they get free, but some people do sympathize when they are receiving a quarter of the suffering they’ve inflicted. At the end of the day, it’s the best film in the trilogy, and they are unapologetically horrible characters.
Excision (2012)
The ending will leave your mouth agape and hope completely zapped. Excision follows a disturbed teenage girl named Pauline (AnnaLynne McCord) who is convinced that she’s going to become a surgeon someday. For what seems like a film that might result in Pauline causing harm mostly to herself in the end, the ending is just gutting.
Pauline clearly needs therapy and proper support from her conforming parents, but she receives none of that. And her villainous behavior is a result of her being delusional as well as mentally unwell. Her status as a villainous protagonist isn’t based in maliciousness, though, and it’s all just extremely tragic when the worst possible outcome unfolds in her family.
Tragedy Girls (2017)
Best friends (or more if you notice the subtext) who kill together, stay together, right? Tragedy Girls follows two teen girls who are secretly trying to become prolific serial killers and get social media famous. It’s an influencer horror film that leans into its comedic beats and is very colorful while being blood soaked. Both girls are equally into killing and what it means for their rise in popularity.
The film has fun with McKayla (Alexandra Shipp) and Sadie (Brianna Hildebrand) being killers and there’s very little ominous tones in what they’re doing. And that leaves a playfulness to how violent they really are together, as well as separately. The fact that Tragedy Girls is a comedy horror film puts them in a different category as villains. Not to mention nobody even believes they could be capable of what they’re doing.
Brightburn (2019)
What if a superpowered being didn’t have good intentions at all? Brightburn follows Brandon (Jackson A. Dunn), a young adopted boy who comes to realize his true destiny and what he’s capable of with his extraterrestrial abilities. The film takes the concept of someone who could be a superhero and flips it on its head because the boy doesn’t go in that direction.
Brightburn’s antagonistic protagonist being an alien boy is certainly different in comparison to the rest of the films on the list. The ways in which his family falls apart because of the nature of who he is certainly not great for them. Especially when people start dying as a result of his decision to go rogue.
Spree (2020)
The desire to be internet famous can become very deadly with the wrong people. Spree follows Kurt (Joe Keery) , a rideshare driver who goes on a killing spree to become famous. And whether he achieves that by the end of the film is certainly to be seen. It’s also found footage and that adds a layer to things that makes his killing spree seem more real than if it wasn’t found footage.
Kurt takes out a range of people in the film, from a white supremacist to airheaded people, and then eventually he becomes fixated on a popular comedian named Jessie (Sasheer Zamata) who isn’t interested in playing his games. His villainous status is partially about the murder and also because his motivations are so deeply pathetic. And in the end it wasn’t remotely worth it.
Pearl (2022)
She didn’t want to accept a life she believed she did not deserve. Pearl is a prequel set in the X universe and follows Pearl (Mia Goth), a violent young woman who desperately wants to become a star in 1918. Since we already know that Pearl is a villain because of what she does in X, it’s not a surprise to see how she became that way. But her brand of villainy is another case of being deeply unwell, as well as stuck in a specific time period.
Pearl is played as a tragic villain because she didn’t stand much of a chance under her circumstances. And since nobody thought to get her help, it was leading to a very bad place from the moment her violent tendencies were ignored by her mother. It shows that she only got worse as time went on, and her going unchecked led to the events in X. It’s a great character exploration regardless though.
Sissy (2022)
Australian horror isn’t always discussed like it should be and this Aussie horror gem is delightful. Sissy follows an influencer named Cecilia (Aisha Dee) who is invited on her former best friend’s bachelorette weekend, only to find that her childhood bully is also attending. What starts as a tense trip, turns into a weekend filled with chaos and death.
Sissy is not only a colorful and queer horror film, but Cecilia as a character isn’t your typical lead in a film like this. She’s a Black and queer coded influencer who reaches her boiling point and it leads the film to a place you might not be expecting. She’s not a deliberately malicious character, but she could be viewed as antagonistic from the points of view of the other characters. It’s a complicated look into influencer culture as well as the ways people change after enduring trauma.
What are your favourite horror movies with villainous protagonists? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Vanessa Maki
