Some horror movie villains are utterly silent, e.g. Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees or Halloween's Michael Myers. Their silence-fueled blank-faced stares can definitely buoy their creep factor, but there's also something about a movie villain prone to doling out a quip or two. There's one major, fedora and sweater-wearing baddie who stands as the best. Or, at least, the most famous.
But Mr. Boiler Room isn't the only one featured on this one-liner-laden list. There are plenty of horror icons who are known to throw a line in their prey's faces. Hey, at least they find themselves funny.
10 "Here's Johnny!"
It's obvious pretty early on in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining that married author Jack Torrance isn't quite right. This is especially true in comparison to the novel, which gave the character a much slower and more subtle descent into madness.
But the book didn't have Jack Nicholson, who elevates each frame of the film with his committed performance. He even managed to toss in some improvisation, which just so happened to end up being the most iconic line of the film. Specifically, Torrance's face bursts through a bathroom door, where his terrified wife is waiting knife in hand. He quotes the one and only Johnny Carson in that host's typical opener: "Heeeere's Johnny!"
9 "Movies don't create psychos! Movies make psychos more creative!"
In a way, Scream's Billy Loomis and his partner in crime, Stu Macher, are villains who would've won if they didn't talk so much. But, when a shared monologue is as brilliantly written as theirs, it's a reckless character trait that ends up being a blessing for the movie.
One thing they do that does make them look pretty stupid is stabbing each other while delivering that shared monologue. Sydney Prescott is alive, standing in the same kitchen as them, relatively unscathed, and instead of eliminating the final witness Loomis plunges a knife into Macher, and screams at Prescott: "Movies don't create psychos! Movies make psychos more creative!" It's a retort that shows just how much Loomis has missed the point of life and personal responsibility.
8 "Watch a few movies, take a few notes...it was fun."
Drew Barrymore recently commented that anything is possible when it comes to the late Casey Becker's return to the Scream franchise. Admittedly, that would be catastrophic, especially to the poignance of the original film's perfect opening scene. But, it goes to show just how much the movies have meant not just to fans, but also to those who have been involved in their productions.
This is especially true of the original film, which was layered with a level of believability and a low-key relatable nature. Even what's unspoken seems horribly true to life. Let's face it, Casey Becker and Steven Orth are the first two victims in the entire franchise because the former broke up with Stu Macher. He wanted revenge and he brutally got it. But this motive is only hinted at, as Stu never mentions his specific targeting of her, nor does he really refer to her in any sense. Instead, he's blasé about his and Billy's actions, saying with a cracked smile when asked why they've carried out their murder spree: "Watch a few movies, take a few notes. It was funnnn."
7 "We can go now, dear."
It isn't long after Mrs. Voorhees reveals herself to Alice Hardy that she really reveals herself. The tell is when she begins staring off into space, telling a seemingly random story about a young boy drowning in Crystal Lake while inattentive counselors "made love" elsewhere.
Voorhees seems disconnected from reality the moment she hits the screen in Friday the 13th's third act and her escalation in tone harshness is scary enough, but it's what comes after that seals the impact. After getting worked up, obviously consumed by grief, Mrs. Voorhees gently and maternally rubs Alice's hair, saying through gritted teeth "We can go now, dear." The viewer knows as well as Alice there's no chance Mrs. Voorhees views her in a loving enough light to warrant the word "dear."
6 "I'm your boyfriend now, Nancy."
Freddy Krueger is the most famous character of the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, but far from its most likable. He proved as much in his very first scene, where he sadistically torments young Tina Gray with screaming sheep, writhing maggots, and sliced-off digits.
But it's his treatment of Nancy Thompson later in the film that's somehow even more ethically (and literally) icky. Namely, just before Freddy murders Nancy's boyfriend, Glen (Johnny Depp), he calls over to the Thompson house, saying through a grotesquely warped phone: "I'm your boyfriend now, Nancy." It's incredibly invasive, and this scene alone would ensure that Krueger stayed in the public conscience more than his vile peers.
5 "This is it, Jennifer, your big break in TV. Welcome to prime time, bi***!"
Chuck Russell's A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is widely considered the best installment of the franchise save for Craven's original. With a heartfelt spirit, ridiculously memorable kills, utterly lovable and organic characters, and some more depth to Freddy's personality, it's a winner through and through.
Speaking of Krueger's deepened (AKA more comedic) personality, Dream Warriors was where he really started spouting the one-liners like he was a sadistic version of an '80s action star. From "Let's get high" to "It's back...in the saddle...again," Krueger has fun with the residents of Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital. But nothing beats what he says before pulling a dreamer of a young woman into a television set: "This is it, Jennifer, your big break in TV! Welcome to prime time, bi***!"
4 "I'll get you my pretty, and your little soul too!"
Even die-hard Nightmare fans see Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare as nothing more than a series of overly comedic scenes that don't work. From Krueger putting on the Nintendo Power Glove to sneaking around like Bugs Bunny behind a deaf teen, it's a consistent exercise in missing the point of what a horror film is actually supposed to be.
But, some of the Twin Peaks vibes work, as does the nail on the chalkboard bit. Even its claustrophobic twirling house of a set piece is interesting, if not actually scary. It shows that Freddy's Dead was content to be a pop culture sponge more than a horror film, but at least it references the classics. Like in the twirling house set piece, which is clearly a reference to Dorothy's trip to Oz, a fact Krueger confirms via his misquoting of The Wicked Witch of the West: "I'' get you my pretty, and your little soul, too!"
3 "Dead by dawn! Dead by dawn!"
As the wackier sequel to one of Eli Roth's favorite horror movies, Evil Dead II is a wild, bloody ride. Essentially a remake of his own original film, director Sam Raimi crafts an R-rated live-action cartoon of sorts that never takes a moment for deep breaths. Instead, it's visceral front to back, where each subsequent scene is trying to top the one that came before.
More often than not in the case of Raimi's sequel, the approach is effective. Even the Deadites are more extreme (and, in the third act, significantly larger), their taunts more personal, and their horrifying joy more apparent. "Dead by dawn! Dead by dawn!" is some pure evil having a really good time. That never bodes well for the innocents of the world.
2 "That's much too vulgar a display of power, Karras."
The Exorcist, quite possibly the scariest film ever made, has lost none of its impact. More impressive is the fact that this holds true even with innumerable similar exorcism films released over the course of the subsequent 50 years.
The film's script is a major factor in the film's lasting impact, with each word out of "Pazuzu's" mouth an increased exercise in vulgarity. The fact that the demon mouths lines such as "Your mother sucks c**** in Hell, Karras" out of a little girl is horrifying. Even the less vulgar but still psychologically manipulative quotes sound extra nasty coming from Pazuzu's vessel. For instance, after Karras mentions the ropes binding the demon, it merely laughs it off and says to the conflicted priest: "That's much too vulgar a display of power, Karras."
1 "It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again."
Jonathan Demme's 1991 masterpiece The Silence of the Lambs is one of Anthony Hopkins' best movies, but he's not the only reason it works so well. There's also the film's true antagonist, Jame Gumb (AKA "Buffalo Bill"). A disgusting individual who prides himself in removing the skin from women like he's Leatherface (both characters were based on real-life monster Ed Gein), Gumb makes the mistake of kidnapping a young woman with a bit too high a profile to get swept under the rug.
Thanks to Ted Levine's brilliant and genuinely terrifying performance, the young woman at the bottom of a well seems as though she'll be there forever. And even once agent Clarice Starling enters the residence, things still don't look certain to end well. It's probably because the viewer is still too creeped out from hearing Levine moan the words "It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again." He's talking to a human being, but refers to her as "It," which is about as hair-raising as it gets.