It's a dark, rainy night. You're home alone, lounging on the couch, watching a scary movie. Suddenly, an eerie feeling comes over you. You turn, slowly, to the window behind you and -gasp- someone is standing right outside. The hair stands up on the back of your neck, chills run down your spine. Who could it be?
Are masks necessary for a horror villain to be creepy? Maybe not, but they certainly help. They distort and cover the killer's face, removing their humanity to us, distancing themselves from their victims, and sometimes lending to a deeper message. What makes these individual masks creepy? Why are they so iconic? Let's take a look at this list of ten, not at all ranked, classic horror masks.
1- JASON VOORHEES
I have a soft spot in my heart for Jason. Friday the 13th was the first slasher series I ever watched, and I was absolutely way too young to be watching them. When I'd spend the night at my friend's house, she'd steal the VHS tapes from her brother's room and we'd stay up all night watching them. At this point, I've probably seen them all a gross number of times. I just love them.
So, maybe I'm biased when I say I think Jason's hockey mask is one of the best in slasher horror. He goes through several looks throughout the series, but when I think of him, I think of the mask from Friday the 13th Part IV. The axe mark in the head is the perfect added detail to this thing.
Apparently, it wasn't planned. After the second movie, where we see Jason wearing a burlap sack with one eye hole cut out of it, creators weren't sure what to do with Jason's face covering in the third installment. During a lighting test, 3D effects supervisor Martin Jay Sadoff had some hockey gear with him and they used the mask. They had it remolded and painted with the red marks for Richard Brooker, our Jason in Part III.
Part way through his killing spree in Part III, we see Shelly carrying a hockey mask when he walks into the barn and subsequently encounters Jason. While we don't see their interaction, the next time Jason appears, he is wearing that mask. Later, when he's axed in the head by the final girl, Chris, it gets that mark that becomes a defining feature in The Final Chapter.
Then comes Part V. Jason doesn't even appear in this film. Well, he does but not in any real way. The killer is someone else entirely, evidenced clearly by the different markings on the mask.
We aren't going to worry about how Jason is resurrected in Jason Lives after having been cremated, it just happens. He takes the mask back from Tommy (not very nicely, either), and dons it once again.
In The New Blood, a lot of damage comes to Jason's mask. It has a battle with a motorboat propeller and Tina uses her telekinesis to split it in half. This would technically be the end of this mask, but these movies aren't known for their consistency.
When we arrive to Jason Takes Manhattan, my personal favorite installment if only for how ridiculous it is, Jason picks up a new mask from the Lazarus. Clearly, it isn't the same mask he's worn in the previous films, but it still somehow has that axe mark. At the end of the movie, it's almost completely disintegrated in the acid found in the sewers. Maybe it's because of this that his mask seems to be attached to his face in the ninth movie.
In Jason X, he upgrades to a metallic hockey mask. Why? Because it's the future, and it's in space, I guess.
We see him several times throughout the series without his mask on, and I just think he's better with it. The only purpose it serves is to disguise his disfigured face, but that's about it. With or without the mask, he would be the same unstoppable killing machine.
2- MICHAEL MYERS
Michael Myers' mask is one of, if not the most, iconic horror mask. It seems to have more importance to Michael than the hockey mask does to Jason. Personally, and I know I'm not the only one who shares this opinion, I think Halloween (1978) is an absolute masterpiece. Horror aside, even.
There were a few options for Michael's mask, one of them being a clown mask. Of course, this is a direct reference to what he wore when he killed his sister, Judith. However, the Captain Kirk mask was the way to go. They made some changes to the mask, giving us that completely emotionless face.
Throughout Michael's appearances, the masks is more worn, more damaged, and sometimes plain ridiculous (looking at you, Halloween 4). Still, it only highlights Michael's lack of humanity. We do catch the briefest glimpses of him without the mask, but they go through a decent effort to obscure his face or hide it entirely.
In the recent trilogy (I honestly hate to even include Halloween Ends, but it was made, and we have to acknowledge that), they began to hint that his mask served some higher importance. And, while they did absolutely nothing with this in the end, I do think it was an interesting idea.
We rarely see a maskless Michael in action. In fact, it almost seems like without it, he goes into a nearly comatose state. It's like the mask allows him to be the killer he wants to be and without it, he would have to face the monster he is. The mask allows Michael to distance himself from The Shape. This isn't to say Michael isn't a killer on his own. Clearly it isn't specifically the Kirk mask that makes him evil, as he wears a totally different mask when he murders Judith. I think the main idea is that he needs a mask.
Michael appears to us in Halloween (2018) for the first time in Smith's Grove Psychiatric Hospital. He obviously doesn't have his mask, and seems to be "turned off". He has no reaction to the podcasters, or anything else really, but they have his mask. Uh oh, this clearly sets him off as he later breaks free and hunts them down, seemingly only because he wants it back.
In Halloween Kills, Karen is able to demask Michael and this is when he's attacked and beaten by the entire town. It's been planted in our minds that Michael, on some level, needs this mask. He doesn't really fight back, he's overtaken easily. That is, until he gets his mask back. Things immediately take a horrible turn for the townspeople. Michael rises again and slaughters them.
This, to me, is a really interesting angle to take. What does it imply? What does it say about Michael as a person under the mask? Of course they throw all of this out the window in Ends, so my theories are purely speculation based and the first two movies of that trilogy.
I guess you can take it either way. Michael's mask can be just that, a mask, or it can have some deeper connection to him. At the end of the day, it's a creepy mask. And I would hate to see him peeking at me from behind the bushes wearing it.
3- THE PIG MASK
The Saw movies are another series that are dear to me. Honestly, though, I haven't seen the installments after the final part of the original movie series. You know, some things should just be left alone and that's how I feel about Saw.
Let's face it, the pig mask is terrifying. Imagine opening your closet and seeing that looking back at you.
Like everything else John Kramer does, he picked that mask for a reason. He first wears a more cartoonish (albeit still creepy) mask, but later upgrades it to the monstrosity we see worn by people like Amanda.
The pig mask comes from the Chinese zodiac. When John and his wife were expecting their child, before Jigsaw was created, he had planned for him to be born during the year of the pig. Unfortunately, Jill suffers a miscarriage after Cecil hits her with the door at the clinic. This also seals his fate as Jigsaw's first victim.
John starts his work as Jigsaw during the year of the pig, and picks up two masks at a Chinese New Year festival. Thus, the pig mask came to be.
The version of the mask that is more well known is meant to be a rotting pig's head, symbolizing John's pessimistic view of the world.
4- THE STRANGERS
The premise of this movie is simple: a couple is terrorized by masked weirdos in a home invasion- style attack. Even with this concept, The Strangers (2008) is well done and one of my favorites. It solidified its place in my personal Top 10 when Kristen asks why the strangers are doing this to them and Dollface replies "because you were home". The entire time, I was holding out to see who these intruders were and in the end, it didn't matter. Kristen and James were nothing more than perfect targets for the murderous trio, and there wasn't anything they could have done differently to avoid being their victims.
When it comes to these three, their masks a purely cloaking devices. Bryan Bertino, the film's writer and director, said he picked masks that looked like they could have been picked up anywhere. The strangers are just evil people, plain and simple. There is no meaning or deeper message to the film's violence. They aren't part of some mission, like Jigsaw, nor are they attacking Kristen and James for personal reasons.
The creep factor of the masks almost pales in comparison to the random selection and murder of this couple. I think that's scarier than any mask the killers could have worn. That's the point, though, isn't it? That it doesn't matter who it is or what they look like, they're evil.
5- GHOSTFACE
Up there with Michael and Jason is Ghostface. While I know that both men and women have been behind the iconic mask, I will refer to Ghostface as "he" throughout this section, as I feel like Ghostface is almost a separate identity that the killers take on.
If you don't know, Scream (1996) is inspired by the very real Gainsville Ripper, aka Danny Rolling. This absolute monster brutally murdered five college students in Florida over the course of just a couple days. I don't intend on ever covering true crime on this website because I've designed this whole thing as fun fictional entertainment, and it feels extremely wrong to write about true crime under that premise. However, in cases like Scream, it's definitely important to acknowledge where the inspiration came from. While Rolling didn't wear a mask and robe to kill his victims, his slayings were brutal enough to inspire Kevin Williamson while he developed the script. There are connections to the real case, and the movie also makes fun of itself for being a fictional story based on real events when they introduce the Stab movies in the second installment.
MOVING ON... back to creepy masks. Ghostface has such a simple design: white mask, black robe. It's also another example of a preexisting mask turning into the staple of an unrelated horror film. In most instances, learning that the killer's mask has no real personal meaning to the killer makes no impact on the viewer. Well, on me, I guess. But, Ghostface's mask origin is mundane, and that works so well for the tone of the movies.
According to Williamson, no one could agree on a mask for the killer. Obviously, he would need one, but nothing stuck. That is, until they were scouting locations. Williamson had this to say about the mask:
"[We] found Ghostface... in a box of stuff in a garage... Wes immediately looked at it and said, 'This is like the famous Scream painting.' And so we took that to our production and said, '[Make] something like this.' They must've done 20 different designs. [Finally] we were like, why don't we just get the rights to this mask?"
In the context of the film, it makes sense to me that a duo like Billy and Stu would select this mask. It fits their vision, it's creepy, and it conceals who they are.
It also tracks throughout the rest of the series, as it becomes a popular mask that is easily attainable without the killers needing to get the original. It's a costume that anyone can replicate.
I was a kid in the early 2000s, and I remember all the older kids wearing a version of this mask every year on Halloween. Especially the one that had dripping blood.
While we do see versions throughout the series that are more worn or damaged, there's no need for continuity when it comes to the mask's appearance. For that, it's truly a genius design.
6- LEATHERFACE
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) is another masterpiece in horror. It's also another film inspired by real events. Leatherface was loosely based on Ed Gein and his crimes and also, less notably, Elmer Wayne Henley. Ed Gein did have a mask made from human skin, but beyond that, Leatherface certainly takes on his own identity.
Real or not, the idea of someone patching together pieces of their victim's faces to wear as a mask is disturbing, at best. While there was real life inspiration to the mask, I also think it lends to the story itself.
Tobe Hooper has commented on the opening narration claiming the movie is based on real events, saying that he was referencing the lies told by the government about things like Watergate and Vietnam. The news coverage of the war made him think about man being the true monster behind the atrocities, "just wearing a different face," he said, making him decide to give Leatherface the mask.
During my research, I also saw some people comparing Texas Chainsaw to Greek theater, which is a unique take I hadn't encountered before, but I think it works on some level. In Greek theater, masks were used to enhance features and expressions, but also to distort them. In Greek tragedies, the masks were made to look anguished, with large gaping mouths to show their suffering, not unlike what we see below.
Do I think any connection to Greek theater is intentional? No, but it is an interesting parallel when we look at Leatherface and his family. Ultimately, I think the mask speaks more to the pride he takes in his work. He's been the family butcher for most of his life, and it isn't the only thing he crafts with the remains of his victims.
Whatever Leatherface's reasons are for sewing together pieces of human skin and wearing it, it's an iconic look, and certainly unsettling.
7- PLUTO
I'm ashamed to admit it, but I was extremely late to the Us (2019) party. Late meaning I only watched it very very recently. I don't know why it took me so long to watch, I've loved Jordan Peele's other horror movies. If you've seen it, I'm sure it isn't a surprise that this mask is on my list.
There are a lot of things about Pluto that make him creepy, number one being the way he scuttles around on all fours. The mask, though, is a close second.
It is revealed to us why Pluto wears this mask pretty early on in the film, but I don't think it does anything but make the appearance of the mask worse for us as the viewers.
Jason also wears a mask throughout a lot of the movie, but he seems to have a connection to Pluto that the other family members don't with their doppelgangers. Maybe it's because he sees how his actions have affected Pluto and is able to reflect on it. It doesn't help Jason's situation or dissolve the threat, but it does give him a different insight to the tethered than other members of his family have.
With Jordan Peele, it's hard to definitively say that something doesn't serve a higher purpose than it appears to, and maybe I need to reflect on it longer, but it doesn't seem like the actual design of Pluto's mask has any symbolism to it. It also doesn't appear to be an aesthetic choice but rather a comforting one, whether for Pluto's mental or physical benefit.
8- THE GRABBER
Whatever you feel about The Black Phone (2022), the mask that Ethan Hawke's character, The Grabber, wears is eerie. Personally, I enjoyed this film as a whole, though I did think it lacked in some areas- mainly the ending. However, the mask is an instant classic to me and I think that it is more meaningful to The Grabber than it appears on first look.
A few things in The Black Phone indicate that this killer is ashamed of what he has done. Perhaps he doesn't have the willpower to stop himself, the urge to kill being too overwhelming. He knows he's doing something wrong, partly shown through him ignoring the ringing of the phone. Some people have suggested that disposing of the bodies elsewhere also lends to this idea, but that could also be chalked up to keeping himself from getting caught. This also doesn't make much sense considering the dumping grounds legally belongs to him as well, but I'm not here to poke holes in the plot.
It's really the mask that showcases this idea of heavy guilt. He needs for the victims he kidnaps to behave in a way that justifies his behavior, allowing The Grabber to distance himself from his crimes. The mask is also used as a tool for this. It hides his identity and simultaneously allows him to separate who he thinks he is as a person versus a killer.
He can alter the mask in many ways to display his emotion to his victims. The bottom half is detachable, and we see him changing out the wide grin for other expressions. He also wears just the top or bottom half, giving him the freedom to show his own emotion. He uses these variations to put on a show of sorts, distorting his crimes into a bit of theater rather than the cruel acts that they are. I imagine this is for his own personal comfort.
This villain's mask is way more of an homage to Greek theater than Leatherface's, being a nearly direct representation of what we know as Greek masks.
The Grabber's mask differs from others on my list because he's seen without it a few times. It doesn't seem that he needs it to exist day to day, or that he needs to hide himself all the time. He really only wears it in the presence of his victims, which further solidifies the idea that he uses it to hide from his actions and is ashamed of himself.
I think that this mask is one that will take place with that of Michael, Jason, and Leatherface. It's creepy, it's recognizable, and I do like that he can customize it as he wishes while still keeping the same overall look.
9- YOU'RE NEXT
Another group of masked killers makes the list. Is it cheating to lump three masks into one? Eh, who cares.
2011's You're Next is a movie in line with The Strangers, though it takes a drastically different turn.
Like the other killer trio, these masks don't have a deeper meaning or implication in the movie's story. They were part of the intruder's design from the film's conception, but there wasn't much direction on what they should actually look like. All that writer Simon Barrett had described was a tiger, fox, and lamb.
Adam Wingard, the film's director, wanted to keep it simple. In the end, we were left with the generic animal masks that, while not being anything especially gruesome, are able to accomplish exactly what they were meant to.
10- THE MINER
My Bloody Valentine (1981) features a distinct killer, the Miner. His design is exactly what you would expect it to be, and it's creepy because it completely conceals his identity. While there was a remake in 2009, and the character design is essentially identical, I'll be referring only to the original here to avoid having to explain any potential differences.
No, this mask doesn't have some symbolic meaning. Back in the day, Harry Warden was a miner and the only survivor when the tunnels collapsed. He resorted to cannibalism and, understandably, the experience left him in a bad mental state.
No doubt feeling anger and hostility for those responsible, Harry murders the supervisors that left their posts that night and leaves their hearts in boxes of chocolate. This is meant to serve as a warning to the town. Harry doesn't want them to ever have their Valentine's Day dance again, lest they want him to return and kill more people.
Harry was locked up, the memory of the tunnel collapse was lost to time, and eventually the town brings back the dance, only to be terrorized by the Miner once more.
I don't want to spoil anything else about this movie, it really is a fun watch. I even enjoyed the remake. It's a gory slasher flick with an ominous villain, what more could you want?
The mask, the headlamp, the hose, it all works to amplify the Miner as some supernatural force when he's anything but. I think his design lends to the fear that he's unstoppable because, like we've discussed, it removes his humanity. He's a faceless miner attacking people around town with a picaxe. It morphes his image into that of a boogeyman, especially since there's a bit of legend associated with him. He's a figure from the town's history that many people shrug off as a myth of some kind, never believing that he could come back to keep his promise.
IN THE END...
Masks are an incredibly useful tool in slasher horror. It makes the villain unknowable and highlights an overarching idea that anyone can be evil. The man behind the mask could be your neighbor, your best friend, or a complete stranger hell bent on ruining your night. The mask is the threat that lurks outside your window, faceless and inhuman.
There's a lot to be said about masks in horror and their importance in the villain's imagery, and many I've left off this list. Their significance can range from none at all to pivotal in understanding the killer and their motivation. This is certainly a topic that could warrant a second part, so maybe we'll pick up there at some point. For now, that's my list of ten iconic and creepy horror masks.
Comments