Five Contemporary Horror Movie Villains That Got There Start In Novels

For those of you who don't know this, there are a few horror movie villains that had a truly prolific run as horror movie villains, they actually got there start In Horror Novels!

A great example of this would be, 'Norman Bates'... Now this is Anthony Perkins, in his role as, 'Norman Bates' was truly an amazing job that still resounds today (and heck I would go on to say that Vince Vaughn did a pretty good job as well!)

But believe it or not there has been more then a few that have done a great job as well... And so I thought that I would let you guys know about 5 that I found that I really like!

At number 5: Norman Bates.

Anthony Perkins as, 'Norman Bates', the main character in Alfred Hitchcock's, 'Psycho' (1960)... A movie based on the novel of the same name by: Robert Bloch

As mentioned above, Norman Bates was definitely initially a novel that was written by Robert Bloch... A novel that was loosely based on the serial killer: Ed Gein.

At number 4: Jame Gumb.

 Jame Gumb (Played by: Ted Levine), in Silence Of The Lambs, an award winning movie based on the novel by Thomas Harris!

Now Jame Gumb, is the name of the main villain from, 'Silence Of The Lambs'... He is actually an amalgam of a bunch of serial killer cases that the FBI worked on over the years... Now as for the movie... Well this movie is actually a big screen adaption of the novel that was written by: Thomas Harris!

At number 3: Hannibal Lecter.

Brian Cox was the first person to play, 'Hannibal Lecter'... the lead villain from Thomas Harris's novels!

You might be wondering why I am doing this, I mean Hannibal Lecter is sort of the hidden evil throughout Thomas Harris's novels: 'Red Dragon,' 'Silence Of The Lambs' & 'Hannibal' as well as the movies and the TV series that is based on the novels... But the truth is, is that Hannibal Lecter maybe one of the most famous horror movie villains of all time, and probably the most famous horror movie villain that used to be exclusively based in the pages of novels!

At number 2: Candyman.

Candyman (Played by: Tony Todd) was the main character in the movie series, 'Candyman'... Candyman started off as one of stories written by Clive Barker in the novel, 'The Books Of Blood'!

Now unfortunately it does seem as this series for the most part has not survived outside of it's second sequel, but Candyman... A movie that helped catapult, 'Tony Todd' (Final Destination), in to cult status, was a movie character that saw his start in a short story that was written by: Clive Barker called, 'The Forbidden'!

At number 1: Pinhead.

Pinhead (Played by: Doug Bradley) maybe a legendary horror movie villain, but he started off in the pages of books written by: Clive Barker!

There are a lot more out there then I am mentioning here, but the truth is, is that, 'Pinhead', a character that was portrayed on screen by horror movie legend, 'Doug Bradley', maybe the most famous of the lot to have made it from the pages of a book to the big screen that has ever come out... You see, Pinhead got his start in the pages of Clive Barker's novel, 'The Hellbound Heart'!

Again, there is a lot more out there as well, but these are some that I believe to be some of the most famous to have made it to the big screen!

Masters Of Horror: Clive Barker

Clive Barker... A true master of horror who created such legendary horror movies as, 'Hellraiser'!

Clive Barker... What can I say about the man that hasn't already been said? I mean as weird as this may sound, this master of horror, who was born in Liverpool England in 1952, could be said to be the, 'William Shatner' of horror.

What I mean by this, is that for the better part of a few decades actor/writer/musician, William Shatner (Star Trek: The Motion Picture) has been branding himself as a major player in the world of Science Fiction, what with having either been in or directed or even written, Star Trek novels/TV Shows & Movies, he has also done his own spoken word version of David Bowie's, 'Major Tom' (A song that could be said to be sort of, 'Sci-fiish'... He also wrote a series of Science Fiction novels called, 'Tek Wars', that were so good that they were turned in to a TV Show in the 90s! And that is just to name a few!

And you could say that Clive Barker has done very similar for the horror genre as well! I mean this guy created such amazing horror movie villains as, 'Pinhead' & 'Candyman' (Both are characters that started in stories that had been written by the master,) but that is just to name a few of the awesome villains that he has brought to the big and small screens!

Pinhead (Played by: Doug Bradley) & Candyman (Played by: Tony Todd)... Two horror movie legends that were originally created by: Clive Barker!

Besides those mentioned above, this epic filmmaker has helped bring to the world, such classic horror movies as, Rawhead Rex (1987)... A classic story about a pagan gods bloody rampage through out the Irish countryside (a movie that was also based on one of his stories...)

Another classic horror movie that Clive Barker did that was based on his written work was the movie, Nightbreed (1990)... Now this amazing movie told the story of an unstable man who is led to believe that he is some sort of serial killer, and ends up finding refuge in a hidden refuge where the monsters and the like have come to hide from humanity!

And the last one that I thought that I would mention here (although there is a ton more great movies that he has done that I found that are just great,) but this one is, Lord Of Illusion (1995)... This classic, which brought together an amazingly talented cast that included the likes of, 'Scott Bakula' (Enterprise), and, 'Famke Janssen' (X-Men)... This movie which tells the story of a New York Private Detective, who while on a case in LA ends up getting involved with a cult, and prophecy that is supposed to have foretold of a cruel cult leader's resurrection...

Scott Bakula going up against the forces of darkness in Clive Barker's 'Lord Of Illusion' (1995)

Now that is just a small cross section of his film/written works, but this amazingly talented artist is an acomplished visual artist, having illustrated some of his own novels... His artwork has also been displayed in galleries in the U.S. In places like, 'Los Angeles', 'New York' & even 'Chicago'!

Now the truth is, is I could go on and on about this guy, and his truly prolific work... But you get the point... I would say that as an over all artist, that this guy maybe one of the most prolific masters of horror of all time!

Top 5 Non-Iconic Horror Movies Made By Masters Of Horror!

You know, a lot of time horror movie directors are usually equated with those horror movies that made them legend, (I,e… John Carpenter for, ‘Halloween’, Wes Craven for, ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’, Tobe Hooper for, ‘A Texas Chain Saw Massacre’, and even Clive Barker for, ‘Hellraiser’)…

Now I know that, that is not always true, but let’s be honest, even if we don’t do it all the time, we are or have all been guilty of this from time to time (us horror fans I mean… I know I was when I still pretty green to the world of horror).

With that in mind, I thought that I would do my top 5 non-iconic horror movies that were made by Masters of horror…

Now you might be wondering what I mean by a non-iconic horror movie… Well I mean movies that were great, and definitely helped people in their careers, but not the ones that everyone and their mother’s know them for, an example of this would be.

1. Wes Craven for, Deadly Blessing (1981)… A great movie that is a true classic, but it is not, A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)… A movie that besides, ‘Scream’ Wes Craven is most well known for by both horror fans and non-horror fans alike…

So here it is my, ‘Top 5 Non-Iconic Horror Movies, Made By Masters Of Horror!’

At number 5: Clive Barker for, Lord Of Illusions (1995):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320"] Clive Barker with Scott Bakula (the star of, 'Lord Of Illusions'.)[/caption]

It is true that this movie is considered to be a cult classic, I decided to choose this one, because most people who know Clive Barker know him for his work on creating, ‘Hellraiser’ and I thought that you guys would enjoy this one as it is a lesser known of his classic films but still just as good as even Hellraiser!

At number 4: Tobe Hooper for, Eaten Alive (1977):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Legendary filmmaker, Tobe Hooper posing with, 'Leatherface' (the villain that made him famous![/caption]

Here is a lesser known Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) movie, that was freakin awesome, with an amazing cast that had a pre-A Nightmare On Elm Street Robert Englund in it as well as a pre-Halloween, Kyle Richards in it as well!)

At number 3: John Carpenter for, The Fog (1980):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] from left: Adrienne Barbeau, John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis and Janet Leigh on the set of, 'The Fog' (1980)[/caption]

Not quite a lesser known horror film of Mr. Carpenter’s but definitely a good one, and I am putting this one here, because if your new to the works of John Carpenter, then you will find this one to be a worthy choice to sink your teeth in to, to see where John Carpenter can take you!

At number 2: Wes Craven for, Shocker (1989).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="250"] Legendary master of horror, Wes Craven on set.[/caption]

I haven’t seen this movie in years, but I remember it being pretty fantastic and featuring a younger Mitch Pileggi (‘Skinner’ from, ‘The X-Files’) this one is definitely a fun one… And honestly one that I am little surprised did not ultimately end up getting the attention than it deserved!

At number 1: George A. Romero for, The Dark Half (1993).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="611"] George A. Romero with Stephen King would make not just, 'The Dark Half' together but would also work together on the movie, 'Creepshow' (1982).[/caption]

Now if you know George A. Romero, then you know that he is most well-known for creating what would come to be called by some, ‘The Dead series’, (I,e… Night Of The Living Dead (1968), Dawn Of The Dead (1978), Day Of The Dead (1985), Land Of The Dead (2005), and I have heard more loosely associated is, Diary Of The Dead (2007), and Survival Of The Dead (2009).) Well there is another movie that I thought that I would mention here that he did that is based on a novel by another master of horror, (Stephen King)….

That movie of course is the movie, The Dark Half (1993)… This movie I don’t want to give to, to much on, except to say that it is a truly fantastic film, with an amazing plot, that has to do with the duality of good vs evil in all of us… and what if the evil was allowed to escape… but also the cast was amazing and the special effects were remarkable!

In the end folks, I am not saying that the movies that made these guys famous... They have been entertaining fans and new people to the genre for a fair number of years now... (heck, Halloween is one of my favorite movies!)

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