050: We Rank the Scariest Horror Villains

[@arianamaria_]

Ryan calling the peanut butter in a Reese’s cup “the meat” is diabolical 💀

[@T.Florenz]

Has Shane ever considered voice over or narration work? All his voices and inflections add so much color and value to all of his appearances on Watcher! 🧡

[@LindaC616]

V true!

[@realhumphreyappleby]

Yes!

[@zeninrvn]

real

[@yanntardif1665]

i mean there's the hot daga and ph to show that he knows this and already gets to do it all the time

[@elviraramirez7170]

OHMYGOD THE TINY PLANET MV HELP 😭

[@sergiocortes796]

That was like a jump scare for me lol

[@Raye06]

Its a crime we didn't get the full thing

[@lydiawilkinson9998]

Truly cursed!

[@melaniek1984]

Lol, soooooo good !😅

[@ImekaSF]

I laugh every single time Shane tricks Ryan into looking at Smile Dog 😂

[@LindaC616]

I waaaaant to see it!

[@Cass13lee]

@@LindaC616low key me too. I need to know what is so repulsive to Ryan

[@LindaC616]

@@Cass13lee 😄

[@Milfcollector]

Is that what it’s been this entire time? What they bleeped out on other shows?

[@rotundholedpastry]

16:06 the sheer mental image of Steven sitting in the Watcher lunchroom with an entire 10" pumpkin pie and one singular twix.... powerful

[@TheDreamyDragon]

Cant believe Carrie never came up as a female horror character.

[@AJ_Dunn]

Or Annie Wilkes from Misery.

[@erikaalbert929]

I’m mean Carrie is really more of an underdog story, getting her revenge and living her best life

[@alinafigueroa3232]

Yeah, I wouldn’t consider Carrie a horror monster icon. She’s like an antihero

[@StreetFighterHigh]

Ryan arguing for the Ring girl because “she’s never lost,” like she’s a professional athlete has absolutely slain me.

[@noemi_la9329]

😂😭

[@AStupidPersonn]

But that is what they're doing right? Who would win, regular people, even a middle aged woman beat the alien, how do you beat Samara? Lol

[@scribblemyface]

​@AStupidPersonn you make a copy of her tape and get someone to watch it

[@AStupidPersonn]

@@scribblemyface That doesn't kill Samara it just screws over another person. After it gets you lol.

[@bellaxxmuerte]

Gonna be that person, Hannibal was not inspired by Ed Gein, Buffalo Bill was. This has been bugging me for 6 hours.

[@deathbysp0rk]

Hahaha same! And Ed Gein compared with Leatherface… Leatherface is way worse. Ed Gein just barely made the FBI serial killer criteria (two living victims - though his brother may count as a third). Most of the weirdo human parts in his house were gathered from the dead.

[@cattlin6957]

Thank you!!!!

[@nicolepowers8353]

I’m so glad you said that it was driving me crazy too lol

[@dinabaughman8731]

I'm with you. My pet peeve is when people say, "Don't drink the Kool Aid" when it was actually Flavor Aid that Jim Jones used!!!

[@Kberridge]

@@deathbysp0rkwas just about to point this out lol

[@Chanceisafoodie]

That jump cut to Shane was straight out of a fever dream

[@bubbe4209]

Steven doing a Sausage Man cosplay omg

[@gauchegreyhound]

The original Halloween was a masterpiece of low-budget ingenuity that KICKED OFF the entire slasher craze of the 80s. Every other modern slasher owes its life to Michael.

[@LindaC616]

PBS' Monstrum just did a great video on slasher films

[@rayn.t]

Oh man my heart dropped when Shane mentioned Obi has cancer 😢 I had no idea! Sending Shane, Sara & Obi lots of love 🩷

[@LindaC616]

Same. I knew he wasn't in the best of health, but didn't know that. Sorry to hear that, Shane

[@LindaC616]

As someone who taught for over 30 years, I can tell you that Pennywise has spawned one generation, going on two now, where there is an exceedingly high number of people scared of clowns. I taught another language so I used to ask people "what are you afraid of?" To practice vocab. And the number of people raising their hand aany saying "clowns" has increased by leaps and bounds in the last 20 years. Keep in mind that some of that was Tim Curry's Pennywise, there may be more because of Bill's.

[@JessicaGuzman-u1d]

Shane’s teeny tiny music video is giving Fegan Floop from Spy Kids.

[@ceciliaalbino498]

YES

[@jackroberts4361]

You know Shane would have a gang of Thumb Thumbs to do his bidding

[@janfields4816]

There have been so many terrifying vampire movies BECAUSE there was Dracula. He is the father of so much terror, while some of these are iconic without being progenitors of so much horror.

[@cattlin6957]

Feeling like a ghost trying to communicate through the spirit box and failing every time they get a movie fact wrong. (The xenomorph is female! Near Dark is the Bill Paxton vampire movie!)

[@watchersleuth]

I was gonna say ... isn't the xenomorph female? (in as much as an alien can be a gender ya know)

[@jackroberts4361]

​@@watchersleuthThe xenomorph queen is at least

[@kristen8052]

I’ve always imaged that xenomorphs work kind of like bees (when they were arguing about dracula turning people it was killing me like Ryan you’re right‼️)

[@atrain2177]

Ryan you nut. The Xeno changed horror and sci fi for the past 45 years. I'm not mad just disappointed. Love you guys!

[@Thebogeybro]

Gotta go with the Asian abd pander cause it's a women like they have to be pc

[@michaelcollins4534]

​@Thebogeybro bro it is not that serious

[@heatweve]

@@Thebogeybro just shut up.

[@Amanda-if7ey]

"Samara is the only lady on the list" The disrespect shown today for the queen xenomorph is unacceptable. Also multiple Ghostfaces have been female.

[@corynnlumley]

Also Bride of Chucky 😉

[@loremipsum9372]

Also why does it matter?

[@Hathawayhoney]

The immediate elimination of Ghostface hurt but I respect it, Dracula is pillar of the horror genre.

[@manakauai4891]

“…128, 256 I’ll keep going…512, 1028, I CAN DO MATH”😂 8:11

[@gauchegreyhound]

LMAOO Teeny Tiny Planet is CURSED

[@nicotheniner]

I’ve read Dracula three times at this point, and it is incredibly unclear how he creates new vampires. I think it mostly has to do with him slowly feeding off of victims and kind of “infecting” them until they eventually die from blood loss etc but their souls are tied to him or something. There is a scene where he forces a character to drink his blood so that is probably what inspired other interpretations like interview with the vampire!

[@rachaelbuirge3160]

Steven was indeed the people's princess here! As someone who doesn't know most of these horror movie characters/has never seen the movies, he represented us well (starting with the girl from the ring).

[@dinabaughman8731]

I feel that Steven is the third wheel.

[@stewboyq5216]

@@dinabaughman8731In this ep for sure he might as well not be there

[@Thebogeybro]

Hes annoying and basically useless... brings up himself and his own shows or Asian people shows and shoves in down our throats

[@spoopyandedgy4319]

He's input should matter less then... And representation should have NOTHING to do with this bracket... Just WHO is the best horror character. It's that simple.

[@jackroberts4361]

Samara is a good pick too even if he chose randomly

[@tyrauje_]

Can't believe yall didn't have The Grudge on here & another female horror villain is Tiffany (Chucky's wife)

[@WoodgodGbaby]

Yall not having jeepers creepers is insane

[@OneNoobMan]

That thing shook me to my core when I was younger! The ending of the first movie stayed with me for a long time

[@susanthrush9714]

Xenomorph is waaaaaay more iconic. I think of the grudge before I think of the girl from the ring. Then immediately Ryan switches up his judging for Frankenstein! Frankenstein is an icon but way less scary than the murderer behind jigsaw. Jigsaw has killed wayyyy more people

[@melissaspade357]

@@susanthrush9714 srsly I think of the grudge before Samara. And srsly Frankenstein is not as scary as the guy behind Jigsaw. Frankenstein is honestly the jolly giant compared to Jigsaw

[@Rab1dllama]

Shane's right about the makeup on the two Pennywise variations. I've said the same thing about Curry being scarier because he looked more like a normal cutesy clown. Bill just looked creepy right off the bat, and I couldn't believe any kids would have gone near him.

[@nataliebroadhead7704]

them saying pennywise is “new to the horror scene” compared to chucky is actually crazy. the IT book came out before the first chucky movie

[@Angel-Gia-Joy]

For a minute there I thought Steven was Sausage Man from Ryan's Comic LOL

[@abbypatten1577]

steven makes me feel so seen as someone who doesnt really watch movies at the level that ryan and shane do

[@jarnold1789]

Steven makes me want to stop watching this. He’s never heard of Leatherface? Why is he even on the podcast

[@cutecple23]

The teeny tiny planet video is going to give me nightmares lol

[@LindaC616]

I don't know, I'm looking at Shane shaking his hips in the background... I think it's funny😅

[@calamitylol647]

Great Beetlejuice impression Shane!

[@kennyj9559]

It's Shanetime!

[@jackroberts4361]

I love to hear Ryan and Shane talk about the Halloween production lore. It's very interesting stuff!

[@kermut]

Ryan and Steven are insane for choosing the Ring girl over a Xenomorph 💀

[@Cass13lee]

Ikr… I saw the ring in theater, and I don’t remember any teleportation, and she kills with fear, so don’t be afraid…duh. Xenomorph is going to tear you apart in .5 seconds and laugh with its tiny head while doing it.

[@freshcoffeebug]

After seeing this first round I want Ryan to play Alien: Isolation for Survival Mode. Samara is scary and iconic, especially for people under 30-35, but there's no way you're surviving an encounter with a xenomorph. These things made scifi-horror a genre.

[@cattlin6957]

The xenomorph was robbed imo

[@joeb3505]

🙏👽

[@danipickard4612]

25:20 as someone who knows a lot of pop culture, and is a film person, but doesn't watch horror movies or care about them, Samara is much more recognizable and talked about than the ones from alien. The movie alien and the stomach birthed alien are iconic, but I didn't even know about what the creatures look like or what they were called lol

[@natashanganga3801]

So much love from Nairobi, Kenya. Can't wait to listen to this as I cook. Perfect ending to a Monday ✨

[@maiaduirwyn1152]

Matt, softly: He *is* just like Bane

[@watchersleuth]

Thanks Matt for organizing this bracket! It was a fun ep! Happy Watcherween 🎃

[@karlathebarla]

Very true! This was such an entertaining episode they should do more tournaments of other topics!!

[@sarahg2533]

Michael, Freddy, and Jason are the equivalent of Pikachu, Charmander, and Squirtle

[@luzt8587]

Chucky is such an icon, bro. Like what would the horror genre be without it?

[@craigconley2529]

Upsetting! Jason and Micheal should have been east and west and met for the finals

[@JessiMaylovesCheese]

I also used to wrap a blanket around my neck while I slept when I was a kid to keep vampires at bay. You’re not alone, Ryan.

[@Therealmykag]

A lot of cultures have some sort of blood sucking monster, plus immortality and definite weaknesses (adds to a good plot and good lore). Also, I would say Dracula is kind of the representative of all vampires. Dracula has to take it for me.

[@LindaC616]

Monstrum has covered these

[@aquahexlive]

I have the exact opposite fear, Ryan. I'm terrified of zombies. If a vampire bites you and, depending on the lore, feeds you their blood, you live forever. If a zombie bites you, you either turn into a mindless shambling corpse of worse you get eaten alive. That's the part that terrifies me. Getting eaten alive.

[@alinarodgers]

Agreed. I adore vampires and could write a thesis on the various lore across cultures. But I have a legitimate phobia of zombies and they're a reoccurring nightmare of mine 😂

[@serenagilbert1483]

such a great ep! So shocked no ones done this before tbh, great idea

[@OnePolishMoFo]

It blew me away that you went with the American version of The Ring. When I think of the ghost of that story it's always Sadako Yamamura. Feels like a disservice.

[@WatcherWiki]

We were inspired by the mention of a spooky season bracket on the previous pod, so we're running a Tournament of Puppet History Guests on our WatcherWiki tumblr with a new round every day until Halloween!

[@LindaC616]

Should you have had this pinned?

[@WatcherWiki]

@@LindaC616 This is a fan account so we can't pin things on Watcher's videos 😊

[@LindaC616]

@WatcherWiki ahhh, gotcha, thx. Wasn't sure

[@insommniak]

Funny enough our icebreaker at work today was “who’s your favorite Halloween villain” and I was the only who said Sadako (Japanese version). No one knew who that was so I said “just put down The Ring girl” lol. As much as I love her I gotta side with Shane for that first round, because the Xeno is so iconic, especially the monster design!

[@libby5108]

for dracula I think it was like he forced them to drink from him, so it was necessary to drink from him to become a vampire but it wasn't exactly a choice

[@kaylamroch3539]

They used actual slaughterhouse audio for the screams in tx chainsaw massacre. That’s why they were so realistically unnerving

[@jasMjuarez]

I 💯 felt all the feels that Shane felt for our Xenomorph - I was right here screaming at Ryan and Steven !

[@justinneal6585]

I've lost all respect for Ryan tbh

[@katiekins17]

Like, if you didn’t watch the video, Samira would never get you. A xenomorph is going to get you regardless.

[@nicolepowers8353]

Same!!!!!!

[@osakarose5612]

Same here! Xenomorph changed sci-fi movie horror for all time! I'm with Shane; brackets suck and I quit!

[@endless_del]

havent finished the ep yet, but MY horror icon will forever be ghostface. i also love the xenomorph, but i think her true icon status stands within the realm of sci-fi first and horror second. her imagery went on to influence more sci-fi stories than horror ones.

[@sydneyquick2839]

7:33 listened on spotify came to the video just to see teeny tiny planet and it did not disappoint! also while listening i would forget they were dressed up and it’s so funny to think back of the episode and realize Steven was a brat the whole time lol

[@Soyjackhumanman]

I'm with Shane and getting angry the higher Samara made it up on the bracket. But it's kinda wild when you look into the Ring lore and it's revealed that the world is a computer simulation and there's sentient smallpox and shit

[@camradical]

No shame Ryan, I used to do the same thing to protect my neck from Vampires and Zombies.

[@Code2237]

Fun fact: it's implied that Jason is a Deadite via an Easter egg. In Jason Goes To Hell when they're going through Pamela Vorhees' stuff our favorite book, The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, is in the background. I know it's most likely just a cheeky nod from one horror ip to another, but it's led to theories

[@jessxmonique0615]

guys for female horror icons yall forgot annabell, the nun from the conjuring, carrie

[@VideoGamePhilosopher]

@@jessxmonique0615 Carrie! That’s a good one; Also, better than the Ring.

[@LindaC616]

In a sense...the Exorcist. And the first Frida the 13th, slasher was really Jason's mom. Then there's Annie from "Misery".

[@jarnold1789]

@@VideoGamePhilosopher Carrie isn’t a villain

[@JABurtin]

It wasn't Hannibal Lecter himself but Buffalo Bob from Silence of the Lambs that was based on Ed Gein due to the fact that he was making a woman suit out of skin.

[@PeacocksEye]

Candyman was not a remake- it was a sequel!

[@sethmandel1584]

Just something I have to say. I was listening to the beginning of the match ups, and I had a 15 min drive to work, and they took the whole 15 to get through the first decision. I think that shows how indecisive Ryan is😂 love y’all tho

[@jazminf1364]

i fear this is the most anticipated pod watcher ep for me

[@FenrirsFangz]

I am as exasperated as Shane. I hate brackets 😂

[@rainharrow9285]

im with shane i almost tapped out when yall voted samara over the xeno. but i'm glad for the NEAR DARK shoutout, my favorite vampire film ever and one that is tragically underrated. overall good picks and fun costumes and another great ep

[@VideoGamePhilosopher]

@@rainharrow9285 I did tap out but I’m shallow. Hopefully this is discussed in the following show.

[@TeriyakiTakeout]

Something to do with veins is what gets kids scared. As a kid I was worried any uncovered major vein or artery outside of my blanket would get cut when I was asleep. Dunno why, but similar to vampire stuff- I would cover all my wrists, neck, etc

[@MiaAngridere]

The novel "Frankenstein" is one of the most depressing books I've ever read. Also, Beetlejuice vs. Pennywise would just be an older married couple squabbling all the time.

[@harpermorin1538]

In the original Frankenstein book, Frankenstein, Or The Modern Prometheus, the monster was NOT just playing, nor a good guy. He murdered Viktors little brother out of anger at Viktor then framed the Frankenstein family maid for it. He then murdered Viktors best friend, next he killed Viktor's wife. He was not a good guy, he was a monster, and while Frankenstein himself wasn't much better, at least he didnt murder anybody or frame people for a murder because he was mad at being created

[@ghostkid1118]

The Terrifier is relatively new, but he's already more of an icon than most of these characters he should definitely be on here

[@WoodgodGbaby]

Nothing could’ve prepared me for Shane’s music video

[@justlikeametaphor7291]

It would have been cool if the brackets had been themed. Like a creature feature pair with the Thing and the Xenomorph, a Japanese horror pair with Sadako and Kayako, a Classics pair, a horror-comedy pair. This one was mostly just slashers, not a very wide selection.

[@aahanaTk4ever]

Epic as always !!!! All the love to podwatcher ❤❤❤❤❤ HAPPY HALLOWEEN 🎃 IN ADVANCE 🎉

[@rampantrapture]

Scream is absolutely horrifying. Purely because there's a real murder that's really similar. I'm not sure which one inspired the other but they're definitely tied together and it really made me rethink so much. 😅😅

[@alexpatmore7315]

It was the Gainesville Ripper murders committed by Danny Rolling

[@jarnold1789]

The real life killings inspired the movie, scary stuff. The killers being human in Scream makes it scary to me, it’s realistic on a level that most of these are not

[@Jimbotheexplorer]

You guys should just change the podcast to this model! So entertaining

[@karlathebarla]

So real!!

[@elijahbonilla96]

We got a Halloweenie on set 😂

[@PeacocksEye]

Pinhead arguably isn’t a villian- you call forth him and the cenobites and they just answer your call… it just happens to be a one sided agreement 😅

[@neahautakoski1550]

Side note: every time I hear the monster mash I’m reminded of Shane 😂 It’s such a Shane vibe

[@T.Florenz]

You are so right

[@simplyjess9689]

honestly Samara had every right to keep moving forward in the bracket. I vividly remember clicking a facebook link as a child that was supposed to be to a cute video & it instead being a picture of Samara & being traumatized. Her face still haunts me so put some respect on my girl.

[@LegPressWhizzer]

I was afraid to turn my back on the TV for weeks after watching The Ring for the first time

[@ft.jackjimmy7282]

I understand the love for Alien, but I don't consider it as horror, it feels more monster sci fi action when compared to the Ring. The Ring is the reason why we are all afraid of loose hair in the shower

[@VideoGamePhilosopher]

@@ft.jackjimmy7282 the first alien is sci fi monster horror similar to “the thing” . The second is action. Three is horror and the rest are whatever.

[@atrain2177]

You probably weren't around in the 70's. The reaction to the first alien film was true blue horror. That's the gold standard that changed sci-fi and horror cinema for the past 40 years. This selection is insanely bad. Love the spirit but damn dude.

[@jinkim6626]

this is a wild take. alien is a sci fi horror film. it's really more a horror film in a sci-fi setting. narratively, it fits perfectly as a haunted house movie. there are other movies in the alien franchise that strayed from horror that might be tainting the IP for you, but xenomorphs are 100% a horror icon. both the ring and alien were horror powerhouses of their time, and if we're talking about which is more iconic, i can't even wrap my head around how it's even an argument.

[@Thebogeybro]

Same can be said about the ring ..... it could never be real

[@medukameguca8529]

@@atrain2177 I was around in the 70's, albeit a child. I always found Alien to be silly. Samara was more terrifying to me. Ryan is afraid of ghosts, so obviously he's going to be more prone to find the undead vs an alien scary.

[@briannapiercey6393]

AS A DEEP PINHEAD FAN YOU DID THEM A DISERVICE PUTTING THME AGAINST FREDDY ROUND 1!

[@isha4591]

oh my gos y'alls reeses convo reminded me that my highschool comp sci teacher once randomly interrupted class to pull out a tier list he just had ON HAND on every type of reeses candy that had come out thus far and explain why he ranked it like that. wild day

[@lorib360]

Midnight Mass is the best thing I've seen in years. Highly recommended!

[@gauchegreyhound]

55:29 YESSSS The Dourif/Mancini partnership is ❤❤❤❤ Honestly don't LOVE the movies but I love the family behind the franchise

[@wap1051]

That music video was fucking scary 😂😂

[@tasfiakp23]

Everyone is very funny, so listening to this while doing my mechanical engineering homework makes it much more exciting. Keep being yourselves, and thank you for sharing this with us!

[@jadedk1tten]

hearing shane talk about the chucky franchise including the show made me sooo happy to hear

[@sunshinekaciee]

loved this episode !!! i love horror and i love them talking about it !

[@FlanTravolta]

Despite a few bad takes that I had to rant about, this was a fun episode.

[@spoopyandedgy4319]

Also, the scary movie test? Trying to work scream or I know what you did last summer with Alien? That would never work.. They can't fit it all in any way... and there have been many other parodies of alien outside of scary movies... Way more than the Ring... I've lost some massive respect for them today.

[@jenellenelson4447]

Kayako "the grudge" or "ju-on", is another top female villain you completely skipped.

[@989meechy]

Yall just crumbled in the Final Four

[@Alsterz09]

Shane, I love your Beetlejuice. Ryan, I too had the same fear of vampires growing up. I did the exact same neck thing for a while then it escalated to covering my entire head, Because if I couldn't see it I was safe. Mine stemmed from documentaries on discovery, a&e and maybe history, pbs specials. My dad was BIG on educational type TV growing up. Another topic these often featured was aliens. They freak me out, they're real, I keep asking them to take me but my husband is convinced they don't want me 😅 I freaking LOVE Ghostface Skeet is so 🔥😋 yes he trips a lot but have you seen his cape/cloak thing.

[@melissairvin1640]

I flipped when Ryan said he used to wrap his neck in a blanket because he was afraid of vampires. I used to do that too! Ok, I still do to this day, but More so out of habit. Was already a Boogara, but now I feel like we are soulmates 😂

[@ianjamesindignation9136]

Some takeaways: Matt: Passive Aggressive Comments Shane: Likes to argue if he is correct. Always has a reason if in the wrong Steven: Just there Ryan: Thoughts are all over the place

[@regiyang8023]

shane being a hannibal (nbc) stan is v real

[@LindaC616]

Charlotte airport is a nightmare. When they added Terminal E, they never adapted the time between flights. So you have farther to go to make your connection, but the same short amount of time (niece used to live in southern NC and her hubby is a pilot, Ive jogged through that airport on the moving sidewalks more than once)

[@GreedRunsall]

The fact that the xenomorph is even a devate is ridiculous

[@terrafensterseifer5956]

gringos don't know there are like 8 ring movies 2 tv series idk how many manga adaptations, 3 american movies, a korean movie, 2 video games, idk man

[@VideoGamePhilosopher]

@@terrafensterseifer5956 there are ring video games? WHY?

[@Pagyptsian]

Absolutely loved this episode!

[@RM13741]

Steven is just sitting there trying to stay awake in his hotdog outfit

[@kristycargile6917]

This should have been a rank vote here.