While everyone loves a good horror hero or a triumphant final girl, horror films would be nothing without the villains that create the thrills and chills.
While Black people have historically been the first to die in a horror flick, we often forget the instances when they are the first to kill – as the charismatic or terrifying villain that sets the film’s action into motion. Whether it’s an evil narrator, a teenager on a killing spree, a sweet grandmother with a secret, or a supernatural force, these big bad antagonists create spooky movie magic.
Take a look at some of the most bone-chilling Black horror villains in film below.
01
The Tethered – Us, 2019
Jordan Peele proved he was a master of screams sprinkled with social commentary with his 2019 sophomore film. A legion of doppelgangers, led by Red (Lupita Nyong’o) emerges from below to taste life on the “right” side of society – leaving a trail of blood as they try to replace their equal.
02
“Kiss Me” Kimmy – The Purge: Election Year, 2016
Kimmy (Brittany Mirabile) took teenage delinquency to the next level in the third installment of The Purge franchise. After attempting to steal candy from the local corner store a few hours before purge time and promptly getting caught and scolded by its elderly owner, the high-schooler returns hours later, dressed in a white homecoming gown and covered in blood from already disposing of her disapproving parents, with her car covered in string lights and a gold AK47 in tow, ready to take all the candy – and lives – she sees fit.
03
The Hitchiker – Creepshow 2, 1987
File this one under the “is this really a villain?” category. Take a look at things from his perspective: he’s simply trying to hitch a ride to Dover when a speeding driver slams her car into him and keeps on driving as if nothing happened. His spirit is appearing everywhere she drives for the rest of the night, worse for the wear each encounter. He’s simply trying to help her face the facts of the damage she caused. “Thanks for the ride, lady!” he declares, holding a sign that reads “YOU KILLED ME” as she repeatedly encounters his corpse.
04
Temptress – Def By Temptation, 1990
Temptress (Cynthia Bond) spends her nights trolling local bars for Black men who are eligible and willing…and after she takes them home, very few of them actually get the chance to leave with a story to tell the next morning. Obviously, there’s more than meets the eye with this sultry, beautiful seductress, but her looks and allure cause men to easily fall into her evil trap.
05
Candyman – Candyman, 1992
The O.G. boogeyman for many a Millennial, Daniel Robitaille’s (Tony Todd) education, class, and love for the forbidden got him lynched at the turn of the century. Now known as Candyman after his traumatic death, his spirit stalks those that conjure his name. Fortunately for him, the latest person to bring him up just happens to be someone who reminds him of his forbidden love.
06
Candyman – Candyman, 2021
Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) just wants to jumpstart his art career…and he thinks this old legend from his childhood just may be the key. This story that lies at the intersection of race, economics, and gentrification could take his art to the next level – if everyone around him would stop mysteriously being brutally murdered shortly after interacting with it. Forced to learn more about himself and his own past, he may soon find out much more than he bargained for, the hard way.
07
Eloise – Spell, 2020
Seemingly sweet country grandma Eloise (Loretta Divine) quickly becomes unsettling as she transitions from a kindly good samaritan to a tyrannical captor in this 2020 HooDoo-themed suspense thriller. She takes in a successful family man (Omari Hardwick) after he crashes his private plane near her rural Appalachian town, but refuses to let him leave or use the phone as she heals his injuries. Sprinkle in few forgotten folk practices that the man has been working his whole life to disregard as superstition and the chills ensue.
08
Dr. Hess Green – Ganja & Hess, 1973
09
Akasha – Queen of the Damned, 2002
As the recently-awakened queen mother of all vampires, all Akasha (Aaliyah) wants is the entire world…and she’s going to make sure the early 00’s rockstar Lestat is going to give it to her – one way or the next.
10
Mr. Simms – Tales From The Hood, 1995
Mr. Simms has fallen into possession of some narcotics and knows just the three dealers to take it off his hands. But before he hands over “the sh*t,” he has a few fables to tell them. Hopefully, they can learn the valuable lessons therein, before it’s too late. Unless it happens to already be too late…
11
Jimmy Bones – Bones, 2001
Once a beloved numbers runner in his community, Jimmy Bones (Snoop Dogg) was taken down at the height of his prominence. A generation later, with his club run down and soon to be repurposed, his spirit is awakened to exact vengeance on those who robbed him of his future.
12
Blacula – Blacula, 1972
Transformed into a vampire during a visit to Transylvania and sealed in a coffin for multiple lifetimes, Prince Mamuwalde (William Marshall) awakens in 1970’s LA and unleashes his bloodthirst on the unsuspecting, until he runs into a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the wife he had back home in Africa generations before.
