Scary movies are the money bringers of the movie industry. Whether they are simple bloody sagas or philosophical thrillers that scare the hell out of you, the scary movie genre is getting almost the same attention as comedies and romantic movies. We all love a good scary movie now and then, even if some don’t like to admit it. Throughout Hollywood history, there have been different types of movies that scared audiences to death, but it seems that serial killer movies have the most success. Let’s take a look at five of the scariest serial killer movies of all time.
1. Psycho
Norman Bates is probably one of the most known serial killers in the movie industry. Although Psycho is not a new movie, so it lacks the shines and sparkles of modern-day cinema, the special effects and real-looking blood, it is the movie that comes to mind when you think of serial killer. We cannot deny Alfred Hitchcock supremacy in the scary movie industry, and while many have tried to do better, very few have succeeded. Psycho is not your run-of-the-mill scary movie, but the image of Janet Leigh screaming is what comes to everyone’s mind when they are thinking about the best horror movie out there. The weird yet charismatic Normal Bates has won over the hearts of scary movie lovers from all over the world, and it keeps on doing so, especially now that they have created a TV show spin-off of Psycho, Bates Motel.
2. Silence of the Lambs
Another serial killer that is to this day well-known and loved by scary movie genre enthusiasts is Hannibal Lecter. Silence of the Lambs is that kind of horror movie that never gets old and, while they’re not as many horrific scenes as you can find in a modern horror, the ones that do exist make you shiver. The chemistry between Hannibal Lector and Clarice gives the movie a mysterious touch, but that path is mostly followed in the sequel, Hannibal. silence of the Lambs has all the ingredients for a scary masterpiece.
3. American Psycho
Considered by some Christian Bale’s best movie, American Psycho, based on Bret Easton Ellis’ novel is a horror movie about an investment banking executive that hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his friends and colleagues as he slowing falls down a destructive path driven by fantasies and illogical thinking. Don’t expect to see a slasher movie just because you saw the poster, American Psycho is much more than that, it is an exceptional scary movie and personification of the life of a modern man and the place he has in society. The novel was controversial when it first came out and so was the movie but beyond all the controversy you will find an amazing and timeless classic horror story.
4. Se7en
David Fincher’s masterpiece about a serial killer that uses the seven deadly sins as based on its crimes is one of the scariest movies about serial killers in the history of cinematography. With a cast of stars such as Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Gwyneth Paltrow, Se7ven has all the right attributes of a great horror story, while maintaining a level of mystery that makes the audience be scared more of what they do not see than of the actual portrayal of the crimes. The thought of someone using the seven deadly sins to kill other people, a twisted Messiah that punishes you for your crimes in ways that you could not have ever imagined, makes you tremble and scares you more than any slasher movie ever could. Kevin Spacey is brilliant as always, adding a lot of depth to his character, and making it even scarier.
Se7en is one of those movies that you think about for a long time and always enjoy watching, so if you have not seen it by now, don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy a wonderful thriller.
5. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
We could not have ended this little walk down the bloody memory lane without mentioning the highly controversial Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This is a particular visual movie, it does not have depths or philological aspects that are worth mentioning – although, if you think about it, any movie can be broken down and analyzed – but it still manages to scare the hell out of you, especially if you are one of those people that get scared more by visual effects that by what you don’t see. The movie appeared in 1974 and has since had a few squeals, remakes, and spin-off, but they were not even close to being as popular as the original. The plot is simple, five friends are visiting their grandfather’s house in the country and find themselves being haunted by a chain-saw killer and his creepy family of grave-robbing cannibals.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a classic of the horror genre, a classic of serial killer movies and a masterpiece of weird and nauseating images of blood and killing. Not many people can watch it without throwing up but for most of us, the movie is a guilty pleasure that we come back to from time to time.
Scary movies get produced daily but only a few of them make it to the big screen and get to charm the audiences with their creepy and bloody portrayal of crimes and horrors; the five movies mentioned above will surely remain in the heart of horror movie lovers from all over the world for a long period of time.
