Characters in TV or movies who genuinely creeped you out

Promethea · #1 23rd April 2009, 08:11 AM

Self explanatory, I think - those characters who just seemed to trigger utter revulsion over and above what seemed reasonable. So this rules out 'love to hate' type bad guys like I dunno, Hans Gruber.

Mine would definitely be Scorpio from the first Dirty Harry movie. I never saw Andy Robinson in anything else so I've no idea how much of his quality was something unfortunate in the actor but I find him so terrifyingly creepy as that character. There's just something about him that really really conveys that this is an utterly dangerous individual. Usually movie psychos don't really get to me and I'm not quite sure what exactly sets him apart.

Anyone else share this view of the character or want to add their own?

Doyle · #2 23rd April 2009, 08:14 AM

Fred Rogers

Moon Dog · #3 23rd April 2009, 08:21 AM

Kevin Spacey was brilliant in Se7en. Partly because he played it so straight. Seemed almost normal until you took into account what he had done.

Robert Blake in Lost Highway.

Muskrat Love · #4 23rd April 2009, 08:27 AM

Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth in "Blue Velvet"

Sean Biggerstaff as Ben Willis in "Cashback"

rhythmonly · #5 23rd April 2009, 08:47 AM

Roy from the Mickey Mouse Club.

mlerose · #6 23rd April 2009, 09:00 AM

The creepy clown guy in Lost Highway. *shudder* Was that Robert Blake, Moon Dog? Because I can't figure out from IMDB who played the creepy clown guy.

Frank the Bunny in Donnie Darko.

SoylentPopTart · #7 23rd April 2009, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord of Night

Fred Rogers

He creeped me out so bad, I still have visions of him following me around everywhere.

Moon Dog · #8 23rd April 2009, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlerose

The creepy clown guy in Lost Highway. *shudder* Was that Robert Blake, Moon Dog? Because I can't figure out from IMDB who played the creepy clown guy.

Frank the Bunny in Donnie Darko.

The guy with no eyebrows who he meets at the party ?

Link To Pic

Yep that was Robert Blake.
I think he was just called Mystery Man in the credits ?

teela brown · #9 23rd April 2009, 09:50 AM

I thought Jame Gumm was way creepier than Hannibal Lechter. I rather liked Hannibal the Cannibal, but Jame makes my hackles rise big time.

I became a Monk fan just before I saw Silence of the Lambs for the first time, and it icked me out to see Captain Stottlemeyer's pubes. Now the ick is spilling over onto Captain Stottlemeyer.

Hi, Neighbor! · #10 23rd April 2009, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord of Night

Fred Rogers

It sounds like you have deep-seeded mental problems, man.

For me, it's Anton Chigurh, the sociopathic hitman from No Country for Old Men. I think it was the bowl cut.

FrozenBananas · #11 23rd April 2009, 01:06 PM

Robin Williams' character in One Hour Photo. I was shocked by how creeped out I was by him, because it's Robin Freakin' Williams! Mork! Mrs. Doubtfire! Garp! Scary, I tells ya.

Doyle · #12 23rd April 2009, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hi, Neighbor!

It sounds like you have deep-seeded mental problems, man.

Not all the time.

lifeboat · #13 23rd April 2009, 01:38 PM

Brian Cox (Hannibal Lecktor) in Manhunter

Rutger Hauer (John Ryder) in The Hitcher

Kevin Spacey in Se7en

AuntiePam · #14 23rd April 2009, 02:01 PM

It's weird how our outlook changes. Bad guys have a lot of sex appeal. I didn't recognize it when I was a kid -- they creeped me out. Now I prefer them over the pretty-boys they played against.

I'd do:

Rod Steiger over Gordon MacRae in Oklahoma
Kirk Douglas over Tony Curtis in The Vikings
Neville Brand over Robert Stack in TV's Untouchables
Henry Silva and Lee Van Cleef and Warren Oates over any of the gorgeous leads in their movies

mlerose · #15 23rd April 2009, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moon Dog

The guy with no eyebrows who he meets at the party ?

Link To Pic

Yep that was Robert Blake.
I think he was just called Mystery Man in the credits ?

Thanks, I'll probably have a nightmare tonight. *shudder*

WednesdayAddams · #16 23rd April 2009, 03:00 PM

Robert De Niro in the remake of Cape Fear. *shudder*

Tony Perkins in Psycho. The ultimate in creepy.

The guy who played The Gimp in Pulp Fiction.

Jimmy Stewart in Harvey. Never threatening just very creepy.

Willem Dafoe in Shadow of the Vampire

Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard

BarbarianAtTheGate · #17 23rd April 2009, 03:50 PM

I'll throw in Carter Hayes (Michael Keaton) in Pacific Heights. That's some creepy shit, right there. Not even sure I can watch it again. It's on my Netflix queue, but I keep pushing it down when it gets near the top.

Sleeps With Butterflies · #18 23rd April 2009, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarbarianAtTheGate

I'll throw in Carter Hayes (Michael Keaton) in Pacific Heights. That's some creepy shit, right there. Not even sure I can watch it again. It's on my Netflix queue, but I keep pushing it down when it gets near the top.

Yes, yes, yes. So creepy.

I'll add:

Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) from Misery. "I'm your #1 fan!"

and

Jack Nicholson in The Shining.

EJsGirl · #19 23rd April 2009, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrozenBananas

Robin Williams' character in One Hour Photo. I was shocked by how creeped out I was by him, because it's Robin Freakin' Williams! Mork! Mrs. Doubtfire! Garp! Scary, I tells ya.

Oh Christ, me too. I actually had to turn the DVD off when he went into the house and was in the kitchen looking at the pictures on the fridge- I didn't care WHAT was coming next, I just knew I wasn't going to be a part of it. I think Williams is a great actor when he plays it straight or creepy- Insomnia is another example.

Let's see, who else was ruined for me by a role as a villain?

J.K. Simmons, ever since his hellish turn as Schillinger the butt-rapin' Nazi on HBO's Oz.

Ditto the above-mentioned Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill.

I'm sure I'll think of more...

SisterCoyote · #20 23rd April 2009, 05:04 PM

The fucking orange singing opera in Sesame Street.

DataZak · #21 23rd April 2009, 06:05 PM

John Huston in Chinatown

threnody · #22 23rd April 2009, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hi, Neighbor!

It sounds like you have deep-seeded mental problems, man.

For me, it's Anton Chigurh, the sociopathic hitman from No Country for Old Men. I think it was the bowl cut.

See I didn't find him creepy at all, rather than fascinating.

Dylan Baker's character (and for that matter, most of the characters) in the Happiness were creepy, but they were written that way...

Qwisp · #23 23rd April 2009, 08:33 PM

Creepy was that damn little girl who crawled out of the TV in Ring.

Zeener Diode · #24 23rd April 2009, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qwisp

Creepy was that damn little girl who crawled out of the TV in Ring.

I just finished Sin City, so naturally I was going to call a tie between Elijah Wood and Nick Stahl, but I'm changing my vote for Samira! I couldn't sit before any screen (TV or computer) without a light on for a week after watching that movie.

davew0071 · #25 24th April 2009, 02:24 AM

When Toht comes into the tent where Marion and Beloq are playing their drinking game, and there's the joke about the coat hanger, and then he sits down and smiles that creepy smile and whispers, "Now...what shall we talk about?" in that voice that sounds like a snake slithering across the baked desert floor.

*shudder*

The really funny thing is, in the Special Features DVD, you see footage of him in Marion's bar, between takes, and at one point he nods and smiles a bit, and he just looks like somebody's really nice uncle or something.

But man, that character at that moment is horrid.

Lo-Slung Denim · #26 24th April 2009, 05:15 AM

Christopher Walken in Sleepy Hollow. He has a weird face.

Also I have always been terrified of the headless horseman since I heard the story of Ichabod Crane was I was younger, and that film just about made me piss my pants with fear.

In fact, the idea of it now is sending shivers down my spine!

teela brown · #27 24th April 2009, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DataZak

John Huston in Chinatown

Ooh, I forgot. Yeah, they don't come any creepier than that. And when he gets his hands on his granddaughter at the end, I want to shriek.

"Just . . . find the girl."

Gumby · #28 24th April 2009, 07:53 AM

Torgo from "Manos the Hands of Fate"

ivylass · #29 24th April 2009, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Promethea

Mine would definitely be Scorpio from the first Dirty Harry movie. I never saw Andy Robinson in anything else so I've no idea how much of his quality was something unfortunate in the actor but I find him so terrifyingly creepy as that character.

You never saw Star Trek: DS9? He played Garak.

Mine is not a recurring character. There was an episode of Law & Order with the Mafia, and the father is providing an alibi for his son, who is accused of murder. The father says his son could not have committed the murder, "because he's not authorized."

The way he said that just gave be the heebie-jeebies.

Koxinga · #30 24th April 2009, 09:13 AM

I haven't seen many of these kind of movies, but one that sticks with me was the albino hitman from The Firm. Also Wilford Brimley with the blackmailing photos.

SylverOne · #31 24th April 2009, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarissaW

Robert De Niro in the remake of Cape Fear. *shudder*

This is what I was coming in here to mention... I almost couldn't finish the movie because of his character. And I will damn sure never watch it again.

AuntiePam · #32 24th April 2009, 09:55 AM

DeNiro in Cape Fear reminded me of another good villain -- Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, I was creeped out by Mayella's father. You just knew that he was guilty of a lot more than beating her up for talking to a black man.

Promethea · #33 24th April 2009, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivylass

You never saw Star Trek: DS9? He played Garak.

*Jaw hits FLOOR!*
Admittedly I never really got into DS9 in any depth but I definitely know that character and never connected him with Scorpio in a million years. Cheers!

Claptree · #34 24th April 2009, 11:26 AM

Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange.

Batman · #35 24th April 2009, 11:29 AM

The cable guy from The Cable Guy. Every time I watch that movie I think: "Anny moment now he's going to rape the kid from Wargames." But he never does. I'm sure he will next time though.

OutStandingInTheField · #36 24th April 2009, 12:45 PM

The bad guy from the Dutch movie The Vanishing.

The bad girl from the Japanese movie Audition.

Muskrat Love · #37 24th April 2009, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OutStandingInTheField

The bad guy from the Dutch movie The Vanishing.

He seemed extraordinarily un-creepy to me, that was one of the creepy things about the film - that this genuinely nice seeming guy would do that.

ivylass · #38 25th April 2009, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AuntiePam

DeNiro in Cape Fear reminded me of another good villain -- Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter.

Speaking of Robert de Niro...Louis Safir in Angelheart. Hell, I watched the last part of that movie

muffling my horrified screams into a pillow. (Yes, I was home alone at night watching it.)

ivylass · #39 25th April 2009, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Promethea

*Jaw hits FLOOR!*
Admittedly I never really got into DS9 in any depth but I definitely know that character and never connected him with Scorpio in a million years. Cheers!

Info on the character...he was one of my favorites, especially in the episode In the Pale Moonlight, one of the greatest Trek episodes ever.

EJsGirl · #40 25th April 2009, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koxinga

Also Wilford Brimley with the blackmailing photos.

Oh my God! He's such a kindly looking grandpa type, and then he's the most ruthless bastard of them all! Oh, the horror!

Khampelf · #41 25th April 2009, 07:51 PM

The creepiest thing on TV was the sign off at midnight. Well, it creeped me out as a kid, you don't see them anymore. They'd play the national anthem, give some info on the station at 'the end of the broadcast day. I've entered a bizzare world, a world without TV, I'm up too late, and **shudder**.

The gorilla musicians from the Ernie Kovacs show creeped me right out, too.

OutStandingInTheField · #42 27th April 2009, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badtz Maru

He seemed extraordinarily un-creepy to me, that was one of the creepy things about the film - that this genuinely nice seeming guy would do that.

That's why he creeped me out. So normal, yet so ... not.

Lazlo · #43 27th April 2009, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OutStandingInTheField

The bad girl from the Japanese movie Audition.

The piano wire. The smile. The sing-song words she said as the subtitle read, "Deeper, deeper, deeper."

*shudder*

Victor Frankenstein · #44 27th April 2009, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lifeboat

Brian Cox (Hannibal Lecktor) in Manhunter

He was a much better Hannibal. Smart and smarmy and generally icky.

How about Angela Bettis as May in the movie May.

PastAllReason · #45 27th April 2009, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claptree

Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange.

Gah, yes. I was trapped in the middle of a row in the middle of the theatre when I saw this, or I would have gotten up and walked out. The entire movie creeped me out.

Miss Purl McKnittington · #46 27th April 2009, 06:40 PM

I alternate between being amused and being horrified by Dwight K. Schrute. I know the character is very broad, but there's a part of me that knows there's some weirdo beet farmer out there whose day job is in paper sales. And I would be really uncomfortable working in the same office as a guy like Dwight.

Binarydrone · #47 28th April 2009, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badtz Maru

....Sean Biggerstaff as Ben Willis in "Cashback"

I must admit to some curiosity about this one. Can you tell me what you were seeing here? I recently saw this movie and didn’t get “creepy” at all.

Elyanna · #48 28th April 2009, 08:04 AM

That horrible stepfather in Pan's Labyrinth.

braids · #49 28th April 2009, 08:15 AM

Benjamin Linus from Lost. I love him, though.

Muskrat Love · #50 28th April 2009, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Binarydrone

I must admit to some curiosity about this one. Can you tell me what you were seeing here? I recently saw this movie and didn’t get “creepy” at all.

The character had an obsession with naked women and fantasized constantly about stopping time and disrobing women around him so he could ogle them without their knowledge. One of his fondest memories was of when a young girl he knew as a child would let people look at her genitalia for money. The character justifies his voyeurism to himself by claiming it's a pure artistic love of natural beauty, but all of the women he fantasizes about disrobing are thin model-types. He projected his mental faults on others and played games with people's heads, and didn't take responsibility when they backfired on him (he was upset at his ex-girlfriend for dumping him after he had suggested that they break up).

He was a very creepy and fucked up guy, in my opinion. He seemed like the type of guy who would date rape someone and then blame the woman.