Top 20 Most Haunting Serial Killer Performances

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These actors didn’t just play the part — they became the monster.  Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down the most chilling, unforgettable performances of real-life serial killers on screen. These portrayals are so convincing, they’ll make your skin crawl.  Our list includes:  Martin Sheen as Kit Carruthers  Oliver Cooper as David Berkowitz  Zac Efron as Ted Bundy  Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan  Cameron Britton as Edmund Kemper …and more terrifyingly accurate performances.

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the best and scariest portrayals

00:09of historical serial killers. We'll be including both film and TV for this list.

00:13And I knew I was going to kill her. You know, I was honest with myself for the first time.

00:22Number 20. John Cusack as Robert Hansen, The Frozen Ground

00:25Robert Hansen fancied himself a hunter of humans, often releasing his victims into the Alaskan wilderness and stalking them with a rifle.

00:39He murdered at least 17 women before he was apprehended in 1983.

00:43Hansen's bizarre and terrifying stories recounted in The Frozen Ground, with a chilling John Cusack donning his signature glasses.

00:50Cusack embodies an everyday man with a horrifying secret life.

00:53With his understated performance capturing Hansen's dual nature, part meek suburbanite, part brutal hunter of women.

00:59It's a great break from his typical roles, and it shows a darker side of the otherwise lovable actor.

01:04I did not shoot anybody, and I would not hurt anybody, and that's the truth.

01:09Number 19. Dominic West as Fred West, Appropriate Adult

01:13I don't know how long, but it was quick, you know, it was real quick, because it's surprising how long you know somebody.

01:18Receiving eight BAFTA nominations, Appropriate Adult is an acclaimed TV film about the brutal rampage of Fred and Rose West.

01:24In a span of 20 years, the West's killed at least 12 people, although the true body count could be much higher.

01:30In Appropriate Adult, he's portrayed by Dominic West, who's best known for playing a cop on the wire.

01:34Well, here he's on the opposite end of the moral spectrum, drawing viewers into the macabre world of Fred West.

01:40He seamlessly switches between affable and monstrous, which is a disturbing reflection of how killers like West can hide in plain sight and evade suspicion.

01:48West's performance was universally acclaimed, and he walked away with the BAFTA for Best Leading Actor.

01:53And I cut her legs off, and that was unbearable.

01:59Number 18. Tony Curtis as Albert DeSalvo, The Boston Strangler

02:03Mr. Oscarson was to see me. He told me I don't have to talk to you if I don't wanna.

02:08He's right, you don't. You don't have to talk to me. And if you do talk, nothing you say can be used outside this room.

02:15Numerous movies have been made about The Boston Strangler, including one in 2023 starring an excellent David Dasmalchen as Albert DeSalvo.

02:23But the definitive portrayal of The Boston Strangler has to be Tony Curtis's, who played the killer in a popular and groundbreaking film from 1968.

02:31While the movie was criticized for its many inaccuracies, it was also praised as a piece of filmmaking, and that extends to the performance of Curtis.

02:38He gives us glimpses into DeSalvo's fragmented psyche through powerful monologues and eerie silences.

02:43And his intense commitment to the role adds layers to what could have been a one-dimensional character.

02:48He was ultimately nominated for a Golden Globe for his efforts.

02:51I don't belong here.

02:52I guess everybody says that, don't they?

02:57Number 17. Sonny Valescenti as Dennis Rader, Mindhunter

03:03Oh, I didn't realize you were still in the house.

03:06I'm sorry to start with you.

03:07While short-lived, this Netflix drama gave us many exceptional portrayals of serial killers, and believe us, we'll get to them.

03:13First off of Sonny Valescenti is Dennis Rader, better known as BTK.

03:17Unlike the other killers in the show, BTK wasn't given an interview sequence that allowed the actor to chew the scenery with mesmerizing dialogue.

03:24But Valescenti's understated performance is no less impressive.

03:27With his eerie silence often speaking volumes, he depicts the prototypical creep with startling precision.

03:33His silence and awkward mannerisms cluing us into the fact that something is rotten in the state of Kansas.

03:38I can't believe anything.

03:42Negative.

03:44Number 16. Martin Sheena's Kit, Badlands

03:48Where's I shot you?

03:50How that way?

03:52Huh?

03:53While the character of Kit is fictional, he's based on a man named Charles Starkweather, who killed 11 people in just under two months.

03:58For most of these murders, he was accompanied by his young girlfriend, Carol Ann Fugate, and the two became national villains.

04:06Their brutal story is loosely recounted in Badlands, which is notable for being Terrence Malick's directorial debut.

04:12Kit is played by a young Martin Sheen who captures the character's cold-bloodedness, along with the dark charm that allowed him to manipulate his girlfriend.

04:19The casual way he commits murders adds an eerie normalcy to their twisted romance, and Sheen is wonderful in gradually revealing Kit's inner psychopathy.

04:27Of course, Holly and I have had fun, even if it has been rushed.

04:31And, uh, so far we're doing fine.

04:35Hadn't got caught.

04:36Number 15.

04:37Zach Villa as Richard Ramirez, American Horror Story 1984

04:41Is that it?

04:42All of it?

04:43Swear on Satan!

04:44The ninth season of American Horror Story was heavily influenced by the classic slasher films of the 70s and 80s,

04:50featuring, what else, a summer camp and some vicious killers.

04:52These characters are fictional, but nestled within them is the real Night Stalker, aka Richard Ramirez.

04:57The season nicely weaves fictional drama with history, and Villa brings the right amount of

05:02intensity and swagger to befitting Ramirez's public persona.

05:05He also delivers terrifying moments showing just how unhinged the Night Stalker was believed to be,

05:10offering little in the way of basic compassion or human decency.

05:13He was a true monster, and Villa portrayed his monster tendencies perfectly.

05:17That's the deal.

05:19If you break that deal, if you bail, there will be hell to pay.

05:26Literally.

05:27Number 14.

05:28Daniel Henschel as John Bunting, Snowtown

05:30Will anyone miss him?

05:35How do I know?

05:36The Snowtown murders is one of the most notorious crimes in Australian history,

05:40with dead bodies being found inside barrels in an abandoned Snowtown bank vault.

05:44Twelve people died between 1992 and 1999, and the crimes were eventually linked to a small gang

05:50of perpetrators led by John Bunting.

05:52In this little film from 2011, Bunting is portrayed by a pitch-perfect Daniel Henschel,

05:56who walked away with the very first ACTA Award for Best Actor.

06:00The movie does not make for light viewing, with Henschel proving utterly psychotic and manipulative

06:05as the ringleader of the murderous gang.

06:06The movie gives us great insights into his warped psyche,

06:09and Henschel is more than up to the task of delivering his various complexities and motivations.

06:14You don't need a warrior, huh?

06:21Then nobody might.

06:22Number 13.

06:23Richard Attenborough as John Christie, 10 Rillington Place

06:35John Christie is an infamous name in British history,

06:37having killed eight people inside his Notting Hill flat and storing their

06:40corpses in various locations around the house. The address was 10 Rillington Place,

06:44which is also the name of the 1971 film Dramatizing His Crimes.

06:48Christie is portrayed by the legendary Richard Attenborough,

06:51who plays Christie with a disturbingly calm demeanor. Attenborough's mystery lies in his

06:55subtle expressions and quiet delivery. He doesn't need to resort to over-the-top

06:59villainy to evoke unease. Sometimes all you need is a creepy look or a subtly menacing line delivery,

07:04and Attenborough provides in full imbuing the movie with an unbearable sense of dread.

07:09I'm sorry, Jim. These things happen though.

07:13Number 12. Oliver Cooper as David Berkowitz, Mindhunter

07:16I'm not some crazed sex killer. I needed a name that explained who I really was,

07:22that I was being controlled by a 3,000-year-old demon.

07:26While he only appeared in one episode, Oliver Cooper left behind one heck of an impression

07:30playing the son of Sam. Real name David Berkowitz, he terrified New York City throughout the mid-70s,

07:35killing six and wounding many more with his .44 Bulldog revolver. He was eventually caught and sent to

07:40prison, which is where the FBI agents Holden and Bill find him in season two. Cooper's magnificent

07:45as the killer, capturing Berkowitz's eerie mannerisms and unsettling confidence. He's also great at

07:50displaying the killer's manipulative attitude, eventually admitting that he made up the story

07:54of hearing a demon. He just wanted to kill people, and Cooper cuts to the hidden depths of Berkowitz's

07:59terrifying psychology. Sometimes I rolled around in the dirt where they died just to feel it.

08:05Number 11. David Tennant as Dennis Nilsson, Des. We'd like to talk to you about your drains.

08:10That's why the police are interested in drains. Let's talk about that upstairs, shall we?

08:16Many people know David Tennant as the friendly and affable Tenth Doctor, but this role couldn't

08:20be any further from friendly and affable. Tennant plays Dennis Nilsson, a Scottish serial killer who

08:25murdered at least 12 people between 1978 and 1983. Tennant transforms into Nilsson with an

08:31unsettling ease, delivering a nuanced performance that captures both the banality and malevolence

08:36of the infamous murderer. His ability to switch from mundane to menacing proves his remarkable

08:41versatility as an actor, and his startling performance earned him the International Emmy

08:45Award for Best Actor. I don't let me about. Where's the rest of the body? In the cupboard.

08:54Number 10. Zac Efron as Ted Bundy. Extremely wicked, shockingly evil, and vile.

08:58You know, police, they just want to solve crimes, and sometimes they don't think things all the way

09:02through. They are willing to take the convenient alternative.

09:05Talk about breaking typecasting. How about that Zac Efron as Ted Bundy? The man with the boyish

09:10good looks found immense popularity with the high school musical movies, but here he sheds that

09:14youthful charm and steps into the mind and body of a notorious serial killer. Efron captures Bundy's

09:20manipulative allure and superficial charm with incredible precision, but he's also capable of

09:25revealing the underlying malevolence that makes Bundy one of the most infamous killers in American

09:29history. He was always a very tough man to read, and Efron capably portrays his complexities by allowing

09:34us to see both the attractive man and the monster hiding underneath.

09:38Come on, you know that I'm not capable of these crimes. I would never hurt a woman. Have I ever laid a hand on you?

09:45Have I ever raised my voice?

09:47Number 9. Kathy Bates as Delphine Lalaurie. American Horror Story Coven.

09:52You can't control me, mother.

09:53The hell I can't! The hell I can't!

09:56We return to that wonderful mix of drama and history that makes American Horror Story so endlessly compelling.

10:02The third season takes place in New Orleans and stars Kathy Bates as Delphine Lalaurie,

10:06a local socialite who's believed to have abused and killed the people in her employ.

10:10Bates proved with misery that she could play the unhinged psychopath,

10:13and she returns to that mold by portraying the historic serial killer.

10:16Her mastery over conflicting personalities is commendable,

10:19often masking Lalaurie's sadistic nature with that ever-charming southern hospitality.

10:24Whether she's delivering wickedly sharp dialogue or grappling with the character's historical

10:28atrocities, Bates ensures that every moment crackles with intensity.

10:32Bastien, you wanna rut like a beast? Then we're gonna treat you like one.

10:40Number 8. Damon Harriman as Charles Manson, Mindhunter.

10:43You don't see it, but the only truth is now. Now is the only thing that's real.

10:48There are pitch-perfect casting choices, and then there are casting choices that seem like

10:52benediction from the TV gods. Damon Harriman as Charles Manson is one of them. Watching Harriman work is

10:58indistinct from watching the real Charles Manson, and if you put the two side by side,

11:02you'd be hard-pressed to figure out which one is which. Of course, the hair and makeup department

11:05deserves a ton of credit, but Harriman's performance is simply out of this world,

11:10capturing the infamous killer's every little nuance and vocal mannerism. Watch him in Mindhunter,

11:14and then watch him as the bumbling Dewey Crow in Justified and see just what an extraordinary actor

11:19he is.

11:20We know that no one in the family acted without your approval, Charlie.

11:23Well, if you know, you know. You don't need to talk to me.

11:26Number 7. Brian Dennehy as John Wayne Gacy to catch a killer.

11:30I know where we can find some real handcuffs, boys and girls. Wait right here. I'll be right there.

11:36Not too many people have heard of his little TV movie, but they should watch it if for no other

11:40reason than seeing Brian Dennehy at work. He plays John Wayne Gacy, one of America's most notorious

11:45serial killers and a man responsible for at least 33 deaths. Gacy is famous not because he took so many

11:50lives, but because he hid in plain sight, acting as a productive member of society and even

11:54cozying up to the First Lady of the United States. Dennehy richly captures all the nuances of Gacy,

11:59both his charming good guy veneer and that signature malevolence hiding just underneath the surface.

12:04It's no surprise that he received an Emmy nomination for his performance. It's brilliant.

12:08There may be other charges, Mr. Gacy. Like what? Well, it depends on what the lieutenant finds in your

12:14house. Oh, he's in my house. Oh, wow. Number 6. Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan,

12:21The Assassination of Gianni Versace, American Crime Story. Guess who I met?

12:25Andrew! Guess! You have to guess.

12:32Gianni Versace. Darren Criss had a monumental task in front of him by playing the elusive

12:36of Andrew Cunanan. It was so difficult because no one really knew the real Cunanan. He was a master

12:41manipulator, the type of person who reads someone and gives them what they want to see instead of

12:45what he truly was. And to this day, no one knows why he killed Gianni Versace. Despite all these

12:50glaring questions, Criss was up to the task, expertly embodying Cunanan's many different masks and

12:54personas. Watching Criss bounce from one mode to the next is utterly spellbinding, and it's no surprise

12:59that he walked away with the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series.

13:12Number 5. Paul Walter Houser as Larry Hall, Blackbird.

13:15In my dreams, I, in, in my dreams, I like, kill women.

13:24Nothing much is certain about Larry Hall, a suspected serial killer and Civil War aficionado who traveled

13:29all across the country for reenactments. While Hall recanted all of his confessions,

13:33investigators believe that he murdered up to 50 women, which would make him one of the most

13:37prolific killers in American history. In Apple TV's Blackbird, Hall is portrayed by an outstanding

13:42Paul Walter Houser, who dons stringy hair, a whispery voice, and a magnificent set of mutton

13:47chops. Houser's both literally and figuratively unrecognizable, embodying Larry Hall in all of his

13:53maliciousness and cloudy ambiguity. Houser would eventually win the Emmy for Supporting Actor,

13:57beating out the likes of Richard Jenkins, Ray Liotta, and Jesse Plemons.

14:01She was riding her bike, and I drove up and I stopped to talk to her. She was so very nice.

14:08Number 4. Michael Rooker as Henry,

14:10Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer.

14:12Did you really kill your mama?

14:14What?

14:16Did you really kill your mama?

14:20I guess I did.

14:21Michael Rooker has enjoyed a long and storied career, now known for The Walking Dead and the

14:25Guardians of the Galaxy films. But long before either of them,

14:28he was donning a white tank top as serial killer Henry. He's loosely based on Henry Lee Lucas,

14:33a man who confessed to hundreds of murders, but who likely committed just three.

14:36This highly controversial film is based more on the legend of Lucas rather than the man himself,

14:41with Michael Rooker portraying one of the most vicious and merciless psychopaths in cinematic

14:45history. The movie has long garnered controversy for its extreme violence and gritty realism,

14:50with Rooker's horrifying performance being far too realistic for comfort.

14:53I'd like to kill somebody.

14:56Say that again.

14:58I'd like to kill somebody.

15:00Must mean you go for a ride on this.

15:02Number 3. Charlize Theron as Eileen Wuornos,

15:05Monster.

15:05I'm not a bad person, I'm a real good person, right?

15:10One of the most eye-popping transformations in movie history comes via Charlize Theron playing Eileen

15:15Wuornos. Theron is literally unrecognizable in the role, using a new accent, wearing

15:20fake teeth, shaving her eyebrows, and gaining 30 pounds. That all results in a startling and

15:24convincing transformation, which sees Theron not just portraying, but becoming the mentally ill

15:29serial killer. While the movie attracted some controversy for its sympathetic depiction of

15:32Wuornos, Theron's performance was universally lauded and she won virtually every major award in

15:37the industry, including the Oscar. In fact, Roger Ebert called it one of the greatest performances in

15:42the history of the cinema, and that man knew his stuff.

15:45We can be as different as we want to be, but you can't kill people.

15:48Number 2. Cameron Britton as Edmund Kemper, Mindhunter.

15:52That's when I started burying the heads in the backyard.

15:55Sure.

15:56Right underneath mom's bedroom window, their faces looking right up at her window while she was at home.

16:01Of all the exceptional actors to star in Mindhunter, Cameron Britton was the breakout star,

16:05playing the gigantic and utterly deranged Edmund Kemper. This is one of the scariest serial killers

16:10America has ever seen. An imposing man standing six foot nine inches and killer of ten people,

16:16including his paternal grandparents and mother. Britton certainly has the body for the role,

16:20but he's also a tremendous actor, expertly towing the line between polite indifference and complete

16:25madness. When he speaks, we listen with rapt attention, and when he threatens an FBI agent,

16:30we hold our breath, knowing full well the extent of his depraved capabilities.

16:33I could kill you now pretty easily. Do some interesting things before anyone showed up.

16:40Then you'd be with me in spirit. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell

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17:01Number 1. Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer.

17:03Monster. The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

17:06I just bought you Boone's Farm, and I'm going to give you money.

17:14And all I want to do is take some pictures.

17:16The name Jeffrey Dahmer is synonymous with evil, and many people have played him throughout the years,

17:21including a marvelous star turn from Ross Lynch and My Friend Dahmer. But that movie tells of the

17:25killer's teenage years. If we want the quintessential Dahmer experience, we have to turn to this popular

17:30Netflix drama and the acclaimed performance of Evan Peters. Having won the Golden Globe for his portrayal of

17:35Dahmer, Peters nails all of his awkward mannerisms and his quiet, reserved demeanor. When it comes

17:40time for the violence, Peter doesn't hold back, depicting a man unhinged and desperate for blood.

17:45The rapid swings and mood are tremendous, and Peters is deftly capable of portraying all sides of the

17:50infamous killer. I told you not to go in there! That is my route! That is my stuff!

17:56Can you think of any other great serial killer portrayals? Let us know in the comments below.

18:00The only way I could have those girls was to kill them, and it worked.

18:04Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,

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