WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
They always say it’s the quiet ones that you need to worry about, and honestly when you consider some villains, across horror in particular, I don’t think the saying is that far from the truth. What’s weirder is, how this article could pair well with Behind the Mask considering both Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers never speak and also hide their true appearance. Well, the masks are off here but the lips are well and truly sealed…
Bughuul
I’ll be completely honest with you, I don’t find Sinister scary at all however it definitely has moments that are mildly disturbing. If you’ve seen the film before you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about! What’s interesting though, is that I never noticed Bughuul’s appearance in the film the first time I watched it – not like you notice the demon in Insidious for example. I think that maybe because he appears quickly and so quietly throughout the film that if you aren’t looking for him you won’t notice him – especially in the snuff films that Ellison is watching throughout the film in order to write his book as your eyes are so focused on what is happening to these people. However, on rewatch, I don’t know how I missed him sitting under the water in the pool with his creepy, almost Kiss-like make up! After this, you gradually see him in more and more of the videos as Ellison rewatches them. What I find interestingly disturbing is that Bughuul isn’t truly the perpetrator of any of the murders that take place…they are all committed by the children believed to be missing at the scenes of crime. Because of this, and his night terrors, I thought that it was Trevor the children were coming for instead of Ashley.
Art the Clown
If anyone reading this article is at all squeamish, I highly recommend not watching the Terrifier trilogy! Yes, Art never speaks in these films which is pretty creepy but also oddly hilarious because of his behavior patterns. He’s more like a mime than a clown. Take the scene in the restaurant as an example, the way he smiles and flutters his eyes at Tara you can’t help but laugh, however when he goes completely stone-faced and stares at the two girls, the scene takes on a completely different tone. All of this, along with the way Damien Leone has shot the film, should make it feel really cheesy but it doesn’t at all. Instead, it makes it all feel, in places, much more realistic. I guess Art the Clown not speaking adds to the fear because he never explains why he’s killing these people – he simply stalks them and murders them in what can only be considered as a brutal way. Now, he could have no motive at all, which would be just as creepy but there’s just something about his silence…
Mahogany
We’ve discussed Midnight Meat Train previously when we looked into Bradley Cooper’s previous films and I think I talked about Mahogany a little there but now is the time to put him more in the limelight. Especially considering the quiet, hulking character actually appears very little in the 90 minute run time. Now, I don’t scare easily – however there is something unnerving and rather disturbing about a hulking figure like Vinnie Jones standing silently holding a tenderizer and meat hook. By the end of the film, we discover the motivation behind Mahogany’s killings but until then it just feels like unbridled brutality from a mute madman. I feel like he and Art have a lot in common, just there’s no comedy to be found in this film. Now, this is my second watching of this film and I still don’t quite understand how Cooper’s character could be considered as a fitting replacement for Mahogany! There’s nothing terrifying about this man, and in truth I spent the whole film wanting Mahogany to kill him. I even understand why he kills Jurgis considering he breaks into his apartment…
I think I maybe sympathizing with a killer here….
Snorky
I wasn’t lucky enough to have grown up with The Banana Splits TV show, however I cannot pretend that I wasn’t extremely excited to watch a horror based around these beloved characters! I’ll be honest, I didn’t think any of the Banana Splits spoke but turns out only Snorky is the silent type. In weird kind of way, this film comes across as Five Nights at Freddie’s meets Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Actually, in my opinion this is what Five Nights at Freddie’s should have been – animatronics gone wild on a rather disturbing scale all because they find out the show is getting cancelled. Especially considering they all keep their fluffy exteriors and Snorky still looks like a cute cuddly elephant as he kills people! If I’m honest, the main person Snorky kills – kinda deserves it – considering it’s pretty obvious, even before it is revealed, that he had been cheating on his partner! Well, at least I thought Snorky had killed him! What I didn’t expect however, was for him to end up being a hero! So I guess in the end, he’s not that bad after all, or it goes to show the power of the innocence of children.
In truth, I was expecting this film to be super cheesy but it really wasn’t!
The Creeper
Honestly, this is a villain which, it never crossed my mind that he doesn’t speak! Technically no one gets close enough to have conversation so we don’t know if he can but for the four films of the Jeepers Creepers franchise, he never says a word. It’s rare that I am one for a prequel, however this is a character that I would love for them to make one about. We have no real idea how or why The Creeper is or what he even is – yes, he is an ancient “creature” but where did he come from? For me, he has a better role in the second film than in any of the others in this franchise, possibly because he a bigger role than in the first for sure, especially considering we don’t even see The Creeper until 43 minutes in, but also I guess that’s because I see it as the best film of the set as well. This is a villain that with a simple stare or the way it smells the window of the bus in Jeepers Creepers 2 can strike fear into the viewer. I still remember seeing The Creeper take the police officer’s tongue in the first film and how much it unnerved me!
Pumpkinhead
I have a glaring question about this film – is Pumpkinhead truly the villain or is it the father who evokes him to reap revenge? As technically Pumpkinhead is just a tool to do someone else’s bidding, right? Now, I’m not saying that I don’t understand Ed’s motives behind why he unleashes Pumpkinhead on the dirt bike riders – because they are at fault for his son’s death but you can’t exactly blame the demon for doing what it’s been told to do. We even see in the beginning that this is not the first time Pumpkinhead has been summoned in the small town to exact justice on a killer and he, or it, is considered as a boogeyman to deter children from being naughty. In all honesty, there isn’t a lot of time for chit chat when you have teenagers to kill I guess. Considering this is the second demon to feature in this article – and based on other films of this type that I’ve seen – it is common for them not to speak unless they have taken possession of a human being, like Pazuzu in The Exorcist for example.
