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10 Horror Icons Ranked by Costume

Published

4 years ago

July 8, 2022

Through the years there have been many horror icons that have scared us. Although a lot of them are faceless and silent, they get the job done. That’s mainly because of their costumes and make-up. I don’t think anyone can wear a red and green striped sweater in public anymore as casual fashion. unless you’re attending a horror-con.

Below are some of the most recognized movie monsters in recent history. We’ve ranked them by originality of costume, scariness, and make-up. We have also included the year on which we score. Of course, all of these things are subjective, and we aren’t you, so make your own list and send it to us. We’d love to know your rankings.

10. Chucky (1988)

Making the bottom of our list is the Good Guy Doll, specifically from the movie Child’s Play from 1988. This little guy, dressed in a rainbow sweater and bib overalls gets more frightening over time, but even then he’s only three feet tall. Director Don Mancini designed this original doll. And just because Chucky comes in at number 10 doesn’t mean he’s any less iconic.

9. Ghostface (1996)

Scream gets huge marks for gore and self-awareness. The late Wes Craven gave horror fans an opus for the ages. But when it comes to the killer’s costume it’s just not that scary. In fact, it’s sad eyeholes almost elicit sympathy. It’s the person underneath who’s terrifying.

Costume designer Sleiertin has even said his creation gives off three different emotions: “It’s a horrible look, it’s a sorry look, it’s a frantic look.”

8. Michael Myers (1978)

The modern slasher that started it all. Michael Myers was clad in white hospital duds before he donned the mechanic’s onesie. As we know he stole his signature mask from Nichol’s Hardware Store.

The movie’s production team actually had two masks they were considering. One was a creepy clown, the other was a Captain Kirk mask with the eyebrows removed. They chose the latter because it appeared emotionless.

They made the right decision, but in subsequent years the mask has gone through some changes. Most notably that best value number in Halloween 4: The Revenge of Michael Myers. As for the total look it’s nondescript enough to fade into the background which warrants the nickname The Shape. With that in mind it takes number 8 on our list.

7. Jason Voorhees (1982)

One wonders why Jason felt the need to cover his face whether it be with a burlap sack or a hockey mask. It shows a bit of humanity which isn’t really his strong point.

Whether he’s narcissistic or not, Jason’s golum like stature and Frankenstein feet make him pretty formidable in the dark. He’s fashion forward even though his utility jacket and work shirt have been drowned, electrocuted, stabbed and buried. The hockey mask, although simplistic, adds to his sociopathic tendencies. Extra points for the cool chrome makeover in Jason X.

6. Art the Clown (2016)

Art is fairly new to the genre. Like a demonic mime he’s dressed in black and white and emotes without speaking a word. Actor David Howard Thornton isn’t recognizable behind the make up. His wide mouthed painted grin over large teeth looks like he could swallow you whole. High arched eyebrows, a white bald cap and tiny bowler finish the look and it’s truly disturbing.

5. Pinhead (1987)

Clive Barker has many wierd creatures in his arsenal, Pinhead is probably his most recognizable, an intimidating demon who wants to have sex with you. Unfortunatly the Lead Cenobite doesn’t know the difference between pleasure and pain. So, your call.

The great Doug Bradley plays Pinhead, nee The Priest, the leader of the cenobite clan. It’s been reported that the make up process was so precise he helped the FX team apply it, which earned him an assistant make up artist credit. Described as a former human with no recollection of his earthly past, Pinhead is in emotional limbo, “where neither pain nor pleasure could touch him,” as Bradley said in an interview.

4. ChromeSkull (2011)

ChromeSkull is a badass tour de force. He’s a serial killer with a penchant for high tech. Even his car is hard wired. This costume is basically self explanatory and even then it’s just a mask. But the sinister grin and hollow eyes set in polished chrome are just sleek enough to be novel. This design is not only modern but it’s cool. Director and special effects champion Robert Hall wanted to make a third movie, but sadly he passed away in 2021.

3. Leatherface (1974)

This classic horror face changes from time to time, but it never limits the creepy. In the original film he’s got three faces, one for each task. This makes him the most diverse of everyone on this list. Whether he’s sporting his classic stitched human flesh face faja for killing or invoking an old woman or applying makeup to a younger unit, Leatherface is comfortable in weaponizing his schizophrenia. With a butchers apron and shirt and tie, this icon is one of the scariest ever put on film.

2. Pennywise (1986 & 2017)

Talk about extreme, Pennywise is the second clown on this list, he’s more colorful and more manipulative, less of a slasher and more supernatural, Pennywise uses your fears against you. The legendary actor Tim Curry was first to play this evil clown and it is one of the most terrifying depictions to ever grace the small screen. Bill Skarsgård took it further in the 2017 update. His Pennywise was even more sinister, a monster so terrifying his evil painted grin drew a fine line between comical and pure evil.

1. Freddy Krueger (1984)

Whereas the previous selections are mostly masks, A Nightmare on Elm Street really torqued the movie monster character. Burned and scarred, Freddy is a menace. He’s terrifying to look at and can transform into your darkest nightmares. His signature red and green sweater is iconic on its own, but add the fedora and the razor glove and you have one helluva iconic movie monster.

Honorable mentions:

Candyman (1992)

Hannibal Lector (1991)

Sadako The Ring (2002)

Kayako The Grudge (2020)

Frankenstien (1931)

Valak the Nun (2016)

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This Week in Horror: DC Goes Full Body Horror, A24 Has Its Chainsaw Man, and The Bone Temple Is Finally Yours

Published

12 hours ago

April 24, 2026

Luna Gray

Good week. The Clayface trailer dropped and made DC relevant to this website for the first time in a while, A24 put a director on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reimagining, and we got some interviews worth reading. Here is all of it.

Clayface Has a Trailer, and It Is Exactly What You Want

The Clayface trailer landed Wednesday, and it is DC’s first real horror film. Not horror adjacent. Not dark. Horror. Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, an actor whose face gets disfigured by a gangster. He turns to a scientist, played by Naomi Ackie, who transforms his body into clay. Then the body horror starts.

James Watkins directed, which is the right choice. He made Speak No Evil and before that The Woman in Black, and he understands how to make dread feel physical. The screenplay is by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini. That combination should tell you everything about the tone they are going for.

A24 Has a Director for Texas Chainsaw Massacre and His Last Film Cost Under a Million Dollars

Deadline confirmed that Curry Barker is writing and directing A24’s reimagining of the 1974 original. Barker made Obsession for under a million dollars. Focus Features paid north of fifteen million to distribute it. It sits at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. A24 hired him before it even opens, which opens May 15.

Kim Henkel, who co-created the original with Tobe Hooper, is executive producing his own creation’s reimagining. That is either a blessing or a haunting. Probably both.

Astrolatry Is Going to Cannes and We Talked to the Actor Who Faced the Creature

Astrolatry is heading to the Frontières Buyers Showcase on May 16-17. The film has a sentient severed penis that grows into a ten-foot practical creature with spiky teeth. We interviewed star Ethan Daniel Corbett about what it was actually like to act against it. Short answer: genuinely terrifying. Long answer is on the site.

The Bone Temple Is Home

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple hit 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on Tuesday. If you held out from the digital release in February, now is the time. The 4K presentation is supposed to be great. Extras include audio commentary and a deleted scene. If your gonna watch The Bone Temple, why not watch it where the snacks are better.

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Astrolatry Built a Ten-Foot Practical Penis Scorpion

Published

18 hours ago

April 24, 2026

Luna Gray

A sentient severed penis grows into a ten-foot creature with spiky teeth. Genre cinema is doing fine.

Astrolatry follows Elliot, played by Ethan Daniel Corbett, who is every ingredient for quiet catastrophe assembled in one man. Socially isolated. Physically isolated. Craving dopamine and finding it in the wrong places. The romance guru pipeline, followed to its logical conclusion. Elliot does not just spiral. He loses a piece of himself, literally, and that piece does not cooperate.

Corbett described it as “a horror satire, a trippy mind-fuck roller coaster” and “a modern retelling of Maniac,” both of which are accurate and neither of which adequately prepares you. Director David Gordon is making his feature debut after shooting 14 films as a cinematographer and he is swinging for the fences.

The Creature

The effects company behind the creature has festival circuit work Corbett had already seen before signing on. He knew what they could do but he was not ready. “When I saw it in person it was kind of mind-blowing,” he said. “Everything that you see in this movie is practical. Very, very little else. It was genuinely terrifying to have a ten-foot creature coming at you with a big mouth and spiky teeth.”

A CG creature asks an actor to imagine something. A ten-foot physical creature on a set asks nothing. It just arrives. The fear on Corbett’s face in those scenes is not a performance. It is the normal reaction to a scorpion dick with sharp teeth.

Elliot

Corbett went into the character through the body. “I mainly focus on the physicality of it. Who this character is and who he is wholly. I strive in those kinds of moments as an actor.”

Gordon was explicit about the concept, the “nice guy” archetype and the overtly toxic one are the same problem, both aimed at the same object. That reading lands because Corbett does not play it as a reading. Elliot is not a symbol. He is a person.

Where It Is Going

Astrolatry is heading to the Frontières Buyers Showcase at Cannes on May 16-17. “To be able to get into that kind of room on David’s first feature is incredible,” Corbett said. “To be in front of buyers and to showcase the film and potentially get distribution through that.” Frontières is the correct room. It is full of people who understand that the most extreme premise, executed with precision, is not a punchline. It is an argument.

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ShoStak Opens the Door for Filmmakers to Build and Own Their Stories

Published

2 days ago

April 23, 2026

Anthony Pernicka

A new player is stepping into the space, but ShoStak is making one thing clear right away.

It is not trying to be the next Netflix. It is not chasing TikTok.

“Cinema does not need another platform. It needs a new model.”

That idea sits at the core of what ShoStak is building. Not just a place to watch content, but a system where creators and audiences connect in a way that feels very different from what we are used to.

The First 150 Competition Is Already Underway

ShoStak is kicking things off with its First 150 Competition, giving filmmakers a chance to present their story worlds and compete for the opportunity to move into production.

Projects are introduced as series concepts or pilots, then advance through multiple stages. Audience voting plays a role, but it is only part of the process.

Selections are ultimately shaped by a mix of audience engagement, creative execution, and overall project readiness. It is not just about popularity. It is about building something that can actually move forward.

For creators, it is a rare chance to get in front of both an audience and a structured development path at the same time.

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One Platform, Built Around a New Model

Everything now lives under ShoStak.tv, where both creators and audiences come together.

Creators can sign up, develop their projects, and begin building their audience. Viewers can discover new series, follow story worlds, and engage with projects as they evolve.

ShoStak describes this as a cinematic ecosystem. Stories are not treated as disposable content designed to spike and disappear. They are built to grow over time.

And that growth happens in public.

Ownership Without Losing Structure

One of ShoStak’s core ideas is giving creators more control over what they build.

Filmmakers are positioned to:

Retain ownership of their intellectual property
Build direct relationships with their audience
Grow projects based on real engagement

At the same time, this is not a free-for-all.

There is still structure. Projects are evaluated, developed, and refined through a process that blends audience input with creative and strategic decision-making.

Instead of removing the system entirely, ShoStak is reshaping how creators move through it.

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Development Happens in Public

This is where things start to separate from the traditional model.

Instead of developing behind closed doors, ShoStak allows projects to evolve in front of an audience.

Creators introduce their ideas, build a following, and expand their worlds over time. As engagement grows, so does the project.

It is less about waiting for approval and more about proving momentum.

Over time, that turns the platform into something larger than a development program. It becomes an open ecosystem where creators and audiences push stories forward together.

More Than Just Testing Ideas

Micro-series are a big part of ShoStak’s approach, but they are not just a testing ground.

They can be the final product.

The format allows creators to:

Tell complete stories in shorter form
Build long-term story worlds
Expand into larger projects when it makes sense

It is not about proving an idea and moving on. It is about giving that idea room to grow in whatever direction fits.

Why This Matters for Horror

Horror has always thrived outside the system.

Some of the most memorable films in the genre came from creators taking risks, working with limited resources, and finding their audience without waiting for permission.

ShoStak’s model fits naturally into that mindset.

It gives horror creators a space to:

Build original story worlds
Connect directly with fans
Grow projects without losing control

And with early content like Civilian and Liminal already rolling out, it is clear the platform is aiming for more than just quick-hit content.

A Different Path Forward

ShoStak is not trying to compete by doing the same thing better.

It is trying to change how stories are created, developed, and sustained.

By combining creator ownership, audience engagement, and a structured development path, it offers something that feels closer to a creative ecosystem than a traditional platform.

Whether it works long-term is still unknown.

But for filmmakers looking for a new way in, it is opening a door that has been closed for a long time.