The 13 Greatest Antiheroes of Horror Films

The creators of horror love to give us black and white. Good guy, bad guy. Protagonist, antagonist. But sometimes it’s the characters that don’t comfortably fit into either classification that really win us over as fans. There’s something strangely appealing about a man hell bent on destroying a true villain, but a little indifferent to all the collateral damage that builds in the destructive wake. Those guys, they deserve a lot more recognition than they get. That’s why we’re going to spend a few minutes today showing our love and respect for the guys who just don’t realize there are rules to follow.

13. Blade (Blade): Blade doesn’t really give a damn about anyone, other than vampires. And he only cares about other vampires because the sadistic slice of his personality commands him to chop them to pieces.

12. Oh Dae-su (Oldboy): Oh Dae-su was a decent human being. Not a saint, granted, but he wasn’t a straight up homicidal lunatic willing to mow down anyone and anything in his path. But hey, lock a guy up for more than a decade and you’re probably going to help create a monster. For the record, Josh Brolin’s rendition of the character is also worthy of mention.

11. Riddick (Riddick franchise): He’s buff, he’s got awesome looking eyes and he’ll kill you where you stand, just so long as he can gain from it, in some way. Riddick may not be the most popular franchise figure on the market, but for good old fashioned remorseless violence, this is a dude who has it mastered.

10. Seth Gecko (From Dusk Till Dawn): Tattooed tough guy and pleasant armed robber, Seth Gecko sure ended up being useful when the sun set and the blood suckers attacked the Titty Twister in a fury. I’m still bummed that Salma Hayek had to meet such a gruesome end.

09. Hellboy (Hellboy franchise): Hellboy is one of those rare characters that works for a greater good, but in truth could not give a damn about anyone around him, save for Broom, Liz and Abe. All others are expendable, and all rules are disregarded when Red is in charge.

08. Patrick Bateman (American Psycho): Let’s be honest, no one is mad at Patrick Bateman for killing a bunch of yuppie douchebags. If he did in fact kill them…

07. Eric Draven (The Crow): If anyone on this list is rightful in their decision to be an antihero, it’s Eric Draven. The poor guy literally had everything taken from him, life included. Resurrect the man, throw some creepy face paint on him and send him on a mission to track down the gang that ended a good existence.

06. Jigsaw (Saw franchise): It’s not Jigsaw’s fault you don’t give a damn about respecting life. And if you find yourself in the middle of one of his murderous scenarios, you most certainly have a problem with reality and respect. Let the creepy contraptionist cast a little blood on the situation.

05. Snake Plisskin (Escape from New York & LA): Snake Plisskin never wanted to save the president. Hell, he couldn’t give a shit about the president. But when you’re injected with a virus that’s said to be fatal within a matter of hours without an antidote, you’ll risk your neck for anybody. Snake just happens to look and sound awesome in the process. Greatest antihero ever? Definitely one of ‘em!

04. Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th franchise): Almost seems like this selection is too easy, huh? But really, who better an antihero than the one who savagely murders the annoying bastards who clog up the great old U S of A? Hey Jason, forget mommy, kill for all of us sensible individuals!

03. Max Rockatansky (Mad Max franchise): There’s no way in hell a man is going to remain sane after his family is run down and killed by a gang of rapist bikers. It’s just not going to happen. You’re going to snap, just like Mad Max did, and there are going to be a whole hell of a lot of bodies in the wake of your rampage.

02. Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs): The genius of the bunch, Hannibal not only enjoyed feasting on human flesh, he had no qualms in helping rat out an inspired serial killer in Buffalo Bill. It’s really hard not to cheer for the sheer charm of Lecter, and he’ll own a place on everyone’s favorite antihero list for decades to come.

01. Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver): The quintessential antihero, Travis Bickle actually had some fair intentions. He just wanted to clean the filthy streets up, and eliminates scumbag pimps and pushers. It’s not his fault he dove straight over the deep end, completing losing himself, succumbing to a blind murderous rage. At the end of the day, he still meant well.