The Horror Movie Villain 22% Of People Think Is The Toughest To Defeat

Sometimes, characters in horror movies meet their grisly ends because of the dumb decisions they make. But other times, they are up against a baddie that is simply too tough to survive. Whether because of supernatural strength, or vicious cunning, there are some horror movie villains who are a cut above the rest — no pun intended, slasher fans.

In order to determine which of these villains strikes the greatest fear in the heart of your average viewer, Looper conducted a survey to determine which nightmare-inducing killer people think would be the toughest to defeat. Over 650 people responded, and the results were fairly decisive.

It wasn't the world's deadliest interior designer and Saw franchise antagonist, Jigsaw (with 7.9% of the vote), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's hulking Leatherface (10.33%), or the Xenomorph from the Alien franchise (10.79%). Nor was it horror movie Hall of Famers Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers (both with 11.09%). Even shapeshifting nightmare clown Pennywise from It (11.85%) and Chucky, the demonic doll from Child's Play (11.85%) came in a distant second place. So, who slayed the competition and took the top spot?

The horror movie villain people would least like to face off against is none other than Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street series. He won with a resounding 22.19% of the vote, almost double that of the runners up. If you're familiar with his particular brand of menacing terror, that shouldn't be much of a surprise.

There are several key elements to Freddy's approach that put him at the top of the list, and, just like real estate, the most important is location. While the Xenomorph lives in the far reaches of space, Leatherface makes his home in Texas, and Derry, Maine, is the domain of Pennywise, Freddy lives in your dreams. No matter where you go, you will eventually enter his realm when you fall asleep, and, as many unfortunate characters in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies have learned the hard way, there's no way to escape sleep.

Once you are asleep and in Freddy's clutches, it's unlikely that you'll be able to overcome the supernatural aspects of his power. He can shapeshift, bend reality, and use any number of deceptive tricks to slice and dice his victims when they least expect it. Michael Myers and Jigsaw may inspire fear with the brutality of their approach, but their torments are merely physical. With Freddy, there is no way to predict where, when, or how he will attack, which puts him ahead of the pack.

There's one more important thing to note about Freddy's victory: it finally puts to bed the age old philosophical debate that is Freddy vs. Jason.