Movies are full of red herrings — leave it to writers and directors to mislead an audience at their every whim, toying with their viewers by first projecting one version of a character —then another, to keep us guessing. That tactic is as old as screenwriting itself, and is central to our collective investment in a character arc as the audience. The tension between good & evil is heightened dramatically when it exists within a single character. Sometimes they are misunderstood monsters, creepy-but-kindhearted souls, or dictatorial professors whose outward appearance may belie their good intentions.
What’s most interesting about these characters is their appearance across nearly every genre — as tapping into an audience’s fears, whether they are kids or adults, horror fans or comedy aficianados, can yield an even greater reaction when that character turns out to be (at least in part) good-natured. While we love to root for a protagonistovercoming villains or obstacles in their on-screen lives, we tend to get greater drama when a character must overcome them self to find their good nature.
The following are scary movie characters who aren’t villains.
20Ludo in Labyrinth
At first sight,Ludo, a large, hairy creature with pointy horns fromLabyrinth, strikes fear into those who might cross his path. That includes Hoggle (Brian Henson) who goes scampering for cover upon encountering this lumbering lummox. Luckily, Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) is a good judge of character, and befriends Ludo once she realizes what a gentle giant he is. Inside the Ludo suit was Ron Mueck, a creature effects sculptor on Jim Henson’s team, who went on to an incredible career as a hyperrealistic sculptor, having large scale retrospectives at the Tate Modern and Brooklyn Museum years after his memorable movie work.
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19The Pigeon Lady in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
InHome Alone 2: Lost in New York, Kevin finds himself encountering plenty of scary and strange New York City characters. Likely the scariest isThe Pigeon Lady(Brenda Fricker) in Central Park, whom Kevin comes across early in the film, scaring the bejeesus out of him when he glimpses her covered from head to toe in the winged critters. Turns out, the Pigeon Lady is quite sympathetic to Kevin’s plight, and when Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) corner Kevin in a Central Park tunnel, she helps dispatch of them with a blast of bird feed that leaves the bumbling criminals swarmed by a terrifying flock of the dirty birds. Job well done!
18The Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Ron Howard’s live-action 2000 film,How the Grinch Stole Christmas, remained remarkably true to Dr. Seuss' source work, complete with a very grouchyGrinch,played magically by Jim Carrey. Despite initial appearances, the Grinch suffers not from ill-will, but a bruised ego and outsider ethos that, at first, is hard to understand. Sure, the Grinch does himself no favors through his generally Grinchy behavior in stealing all of Whoville’s presents to spoil everyone’s holiday. Once we learn more about the Grinch’s origin, however, we harbor less ill-will towards the green dude.
17Maleficent
What to say aboutMaleficent? Well, for one, donning an outfit that looks like it’s hiding Beelzebub horns,Maleficent(Angelina Jolie) endears herself to exactly nobody, not to mention the casual fact that she wields a scepter and cast spells of the eternal on the daughters of those who betray her. Underneath that thorny exterior, though, is a fairy queen with a heart full of compassion, who, after casting said spell on Aurora (the princess and daughter of her power-hungry ex), Maleficent comes to her senses and does everything in her power to reverse the curse. She may seem a bit terrifying at times, but who wouldn’t be after having their wings chopped off?
16Old Man in Old Man
When a seemingly innocent hiker stumbles upon his cabin in the woods inOld Man, it becomes readily apparent that he’s entered the home of an incredibly prickly dude.Old Man(Stephen Lang) wields a shotgun during their initial encounter, and warns the hiker, Joe (Marc Senter) that his past holds some seriously dark secrets. Throughout the film’s first act, were left to deduce that this hiker is the one at risk, before some shocking revelations explain that maybe the Old Man is the one who should be afraid. This is a film that mines that concept in totality, while setting the drama on a single-set like a stage play.
15Marley in Home Alone
Between hisDuck Dynasty-esque beard, storm-trooper boots, and his ever-present snow shovel,Marley, Kevin’s neighbor inHome Alone, strikes fear into the heart of our embattled young protagonist in the early going. Don’t judge a book by its cover, however, as when Kevin lures Marv and Harry into a well-layed set of boobie traps in his neighbors house, the would-be-burglars finally get their paws on Kevin, explaining all the ways they plan to get their revenge on him. Kevin appears to be out of luck, until old Marley shows up and shows just how handy he is with that snow shovel.
Nux(Nicholas Hoult) provides plenty of reason to fear him in the first act ofMad Max: Fury Roadas he spends most of his time huffing spray paint and jumping onto the back of Furiosa’s (Charlize Theron) stolen gas tanker trying to take down her crew to appease his boss, Immortan Joe. If you can’t beat ‘em, join’em — which Nux does when the tanker becomes stuck and requires his help. The quick change of heart is understandable, given the less than favorable circumstances that Immortan Joe’s army are forced to live under, and his allegiance proves crucial later in the film when the group decides to attack the Citadel.
13Sloth in Goonies
Yes, we at Movieweb remember the sheer terror felt as children seeingSloth(John Matuszak) chained to a chair inThe Goonies, wanting nothing more than a candy bar but surely willing to bludgeon anyone who dares to get in his way. Luckily, Chunk (Jeff Cohen) found compassion in his heart for the lovably deformed Superman, and before you know it, Sloth isn’t a scary monster, at all, but a brave hero and a Goonie himself. Guy just wanted some Rocky Road ice cream and a family that didn’t abuse him. Is that so much to ask? We say “No!”
12Hans Klopek in The ‘Burbs
Hans Klopekdoesn’t do himself any favors when it comes to projecting an uber-creepy appearance to his nosy neighbors inThe ‘Burbs, at one point loading what looks like a dead body into the back of his car, as Ray (Tom Hanks) and Art (Rick Ducommun) snoop on the action, speculating on what secrets the Klopek household might be hiding. Hans’s dad, Werner, is the real evil in this film, however and ropes his impressionable young son into doing his dirty deeds. When their neighbor Walter goes missing, Ray and Art try to get to the bottom of it, only to have their expectations upended over and over again.
11The Beast in The Sandlot
Behind the outfield fence ofThe Sandlotlays a no-man’s-land from where well-struck baseballs never return, thanks to the presence of a terrifying monster known only asThe Beast. The Beast is the stuff of folk legend, said to have killed a local boy intrepid enough to have entered the English Mastiff’s domain. When baseball phenom Benny Rodriguez (Mike Vitar) decides to strap on his PF Flyers and retrieve the gang’s last ball, The Beast doesn’t hesitate to give chase, before becoming trapped by a fence that he clumsily crashes through. Benny frees the surprisingly sweet pup, as they find out he’s a lovable canine named Hercules, who subsequently becomes the team’s mascot and lives to a ripe old age (thanks, epilogue scene!)
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