Thanks to horror films, we now know what it feels like to be lethally vulnerable without the consequences. They have opened up new ways to experience terror through the eyes of the protagonists of those films. "Protagonists" is an overstatement, since they're often just sacrificial lambs to be butchered by the villains for our entertainment.

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Speaking of horror movie villains, some of them are dangerous or memorable enough to be immortalized. In fact, the best (or worst) of them even have more personality and appeal than the main characters in their respective films. Plenty of them have withstood the test of time. A few are even worthy of being remade or reimagined every decade or so. Here are 10 of the most dangerous.

CHUCKY

Chucky holding a knife in Child's Play 2019

First off in this list is a fresh new take on one of the most iconic horror movie villains of all time: Chucky. His latest iteration was in the recent Child's Play remake, with a more contemporary flavor. He received an origin story overhaul and was made less comical or campy. In that regard, he's more deadly than ever before.

Regardless of his origin story, Chucky is Chucky and there is no mistaking him on-screen. The initially serial-killer-turned-doll was the bane of all parents and children who love dolls. Over the years, he has grown more to be a symbol of irresponsibility or poor parenting, but remains as murderous as ever.

PENNYWISE

Pennywise looking surprised in It

2019 sure is a great year for legacy horror film franchises. Recently we got Chucky, and further down the year, we're set to receive Pennywise in all his twisted decadence come September 5. The bloodthirsty clown/shapeshifter is about to burst onto screens once again, in the sequel to 2017's It.

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We all know Pennywise is quite hardcore, but the 2017 film has only scratched the surface. Let's just say they omitted some of the most disturbing Pennywise acts in Stephen King's book because they were too horrendous to translate to live action. One of those involves the murder-clown eating a live infant in front of its mother... didn't stop a bunch of kids from defeating him, though.

HANNIBAL LECTER

When it comes to being a creepy professional, not many can match Dr. Hannibal Lecter. He knows what you're thinking, since he's a renowned forensic psychiatrist. Oh, he also knows what your kidney will taste like, probably. Without a doubt, he's the most famous cannibal in pop culture and has already been featured in several media forms.

Hannibal isn't really as straightforward as some of the more hideous monsters in this list. In fact, he's even quite likable and sophisticated as a human being. That's what makes him so dangerous. One moment you could be talking to him about your favorite violinists or fine dining restaurants, the next moment, he could be dining on your guts.

JIGSAW

Sometimes theatricality is all a person needs to be a horror movie villain. That's why Jigsaw from the Saw franchise makes quite an impression both on his victims and whoever has seen him in action in his films. He merely appears as a disheveled doll in a television accompanied by his elaborate contraptions and mechanics for the most violent game show ever.

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The first film was fresh and novel, but the rest of the franchise steadily became a convoluted mess. Nevertheless, Saw (and Jigsaw himself) has made waves in the horror genre. After all, introducing something new in the horror genre past the year 2000 was a monumental task. As it turned out, Jigsaw was a mere civil engineer and an old man who simply wanted to test other people's will to live.

MICHAEL MYERS

Michael Myers is one of the most definitive icons of slasher films and he's owned his place rightfully. We're not talking about the comedian who played Austin Powers, but the masked killer. The creepy immortal maniac is the brainchild of John Carpenter (a certified master of horror and gore) in the aptly titled Halloween franchise.

It also seems that Michael is a lot more supernatural than he seems, or superhuman. He's unbelievably tolerant to pain and displays incredible feats of strength; oftentimes, he doesn't even need a weapon to kill a fully-grown man. So far, he has victimized or killed at least 100 people since his last film, Halloween (2018).

JASON VOORHEES

Who would have thought that some backwater town psycho in a hockey mask would become one of the most deranged villains ever? Jason Voorhees has forever changed the connotations of hockey masks. Because of him, a hockey mask is as much a murder weapon as a knife; don't forget the machete to complete the look.

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In a sense, Jason is the Michael Myers in his own horror film universe. Like the Halloween villain, Jason is faceless, indestructible, and beyond salvation. Heck, they even have a similar backstory, both of which involved an abnormal childhood. Still, Jason's Friday the 13th franchise would probably never have existed if not for Michael Myers, so he owes the dude a lot. They need to fight.

FREDDY KRUEGER

Say what you will about Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers-- at least they had the common decency to slay their victims quickly. Meanwhile, Freddy Krueger of A Nightmare on Elm Street toys with his victims. He loves to wage a psychological war on them until they snap, softening them up for Freddy's torment.

Really, having Voorhees or Myers as your killer instead of Krueger would be a mercy. Apart from letting you experience as much terror as your brain can't handle, Krueger also won't let you sleep and will violate your dreams.

PINHEAD AND THE CENOBITES

The Cenobites from Hellraiser

Since we also featured horror movie villains who love to play with their food, here's the worst of them. Pinhead and his death metal gang of demons, called Cenobites, are Clive Barker's finest (or darkest) creation. These guys are beyond our comprehension or dimension.

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All you need to do to get in touch with them is to obtain an artifact from them and reminisce your deepest and darkest fantasy. Afterward, Pinhead and friends will impale you, chain you up, and stretch your skin like a balloon; no money-back guarantee. Because to them, there is no distinction between pleasure and pain. Despite claiming that they are neither good nor bad, they're not the sort of people you'd want to meet, ever.

PREDATORS

What's more dangerous than demons, dolls, clowns, and masked maniacs? Aliens! Of course! To be more specific, the Predators from the franchise of the same name. They're trained killing machines from birth; to them, anyone who doesn't have dreadlocks or a freaky square mouth is a prey, meaning they are worryingly xenophobic.

Just one of them is capable of wiping out entire battalions or a platoon of the finest commandos on Earth. Oh, they also love to torture their victims, i.e. skinning them alive or ripping their spinal cords out. Not many can give them trouble in this list, save for another race of aliens who are basically the plague of the horror universe...

XENOMORPHS

Phobia-inducing infections? Check. Delayed macabre deaths through a parasite? Check. Nigh-indestructible giant cockroach design? Check. The "alien," or more appropriately, the Xenomorph, is a perfect horror movie monster. Its appearance is unfathomable yet eerily familiar, it's faceless yet interesting, and its only instinct is to drive any other race it touches to extinction.

Not only would they make you suffer before killing you, but they will also insult your existence by turning your body into an unrecognizable biological anomaly. Plus, they get everywhere, like literal pests. Above all, they have proven to be viable horror creatures on a futuristic and universal scale-- they're pretty much walking black holes with two mouths, only smaller and more intelligent. Did we mention the acidic blood?

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