The terror that's spawned from things that go bump in the night stems from humankind's primordial fear of the dark and what evil lurks within it. Those early humans who strayed too far from the comforting glow of the campfire usually didn't survive very long, ensuring that their ancestors would learn to instinctively recoil from threats they couldn't see. Enter the horror movie mask, promising anonymity to its killer and brutal mayhem to its victims.
Not only do horror masks conceal the killer's identity, they often hide their disfigured faces, or represent a traumatic aspect of their gruesome origins. Movie costumers and production teams work tirelessly to develop masks that will be both symbolic and memorable, ranging from the most detailed to the most simplistic. What lurks beneath the mask may be frightening, but many horror movie masks have become terrifying icons in their own right.
Purge Participants (The Purge)
One of the latest and most robust horror franchises involving masked killers, The Purge has become its own iconic film series thanks to its investigation of chilling dystopian themes and the introduction of masks that at first glance don't appear overtly threatening, thereby concealing their wearer's bloodthirsty objectives.
Though they appear harmless, even friendly with their plastered smiles, their wearers occasionally even mirror their cheerily hollow expressions. The "Polite Leader" has almost the exact same "benevolent" face as his mask, making the concept of his sanguine antics even more terrifying.
You're Next Killers (You're Next)
On the face of things, the masks worn by the killers in You're Next don't seem outwardly horrifying. Their headgear evokes a more bucolic holiday like Easter, not Halloween, with the innocent faces of a fox, lamb, and tiger concealing their true identities but somehow allowing them to still have personalities.
Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett wanted the film to feature masks that would become iconic in the horror genre, but without conveying the notion that the killers spent a great deal of time designing them. Sometimes even in graphic home invasion movies, less is more.
Pig Mask (Saw Series)
Jigsaw's pig mask, while not as firmly associated with the Saw series as the spiral-cheeked marionette on the tricycle, still managed to convey a similar level of unease. It went from sporting two large eyes with long lashes, rouged cheeks, and a dopey grin to being made of more realistic materials that evoked the actual skin of a pig.
That the pig mask became more disgusting-looking with each addition to the films series, complete with puss around the eyes, wasn't as significant as the fact that viewers learned it had such a personal significance to John Kramer, who had lost his baby son during the Year of the Pig thanks to Cecil Adams, his first victim abducted at a Chinese street festival.
Sam (Trick 'R' Treat)
Trick 'r' Treat is one of the greatest anthology films in the horror genre, and represents a perfect balance of dark humor and savage slayings. Each chilling tale is linked together by Sam, the omnipresent "Spirit of Halloween" as represented by a small child in a homemade Halloween costume.
Sam, or "Samhain", might resemble an innocent trick-or-treater, but beneath his adorable pumpkin-inspired costume, he's a brutal trickster willing to do whatever it takes to enforce the traditions of Halloween. In the vein of films like Gremlins, Sam is both cute and evil, just like his mask, which was intended by director Michael Dougherty to be as representative of the Halloween holiday as Santa's hat is to Christmas.
The Strangers (The Strangers)
When a young couple retreats to a beautiful cabin for a remote vacation, they don't anticipate being stalked by soundless masked killers in one of the most chilling home invasion films of recent years. They come to find that perhaps worse than being attacked is never knowing the reason why they were targeted.
The strangers appear to kill without motivation, appearing suddenly and silently behind their victims, only to disappear moments later to amplify the feeling of dread before their final attack. Their masks are simple, homespun, and provincial, representing a baseless evil that lurks just beyond the periphery of human morality.
Ghostface (Scream Series)
For a ubiquitous Fun World! Halloween costume found at any local drugstore, the Ghostface mask became forever tied to Wes Craven's Scream franchise when it was used by the killer who threatened, "I'm going to kill you," from behind its despairing countenance.
The mask, based vaguely on Munch's "The Scream" painting, has become as recognizable a mask as Michael Myers' from Halloween. Despite the fact that none of Ghostface's victims seem to take him seriously, his lamenting expression is the last thing they see, mirroring their hopeless desperation as they die.
Hannibal Lecter (The Silence Of The Lambs)
Though the notorious Dr. Hannibal Lecter only wore his mask for a brief period in The Silence Of The Lambs, its visual impact has been burned into the subconscious of horror fans for decades. Though it was simple and efficient, it reminded viewers how dangerous he was, and that beneath his erudite gentility he was still a savage monster.
He only wore the mask when he was transported from his cell, and viewers weren't treated to its appearance until almost the end of the film, but it was nevertheless effective since by that time, they had all been under the spell of Anthony Hopkins' urbane cannibal.
Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
Some horror films are released decades before their time and may not be appreciated for the cinematic trendsetters they are until long after their release. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was one of those films, ushering in the slasher era with a story based on one of America's most notorious serial killers, Ed Gein.
Gein was infamous for wearing his victims' skin and fashioning lamps, chairs, and other pieces of furniture from it as well, making Leatherface's mask a gruesome reminder of the horror behind America's homegrown serial killers.
Jason Voorhees (Friday The 13th Series)
That Jason Voorhees, the towering menace introduced in the Friday the 13th horror franchise, didn't don his iconic hockey mask until the third installment almost doesn't matter, because his headgear remains so synonymous with slasher and horror films that it's all anyone remembers.
It was 1982's Friday the 13th Part III, filmed with 3D in mind, that was the impetus for Jason donning the mask, giving him a tangible entity to shock and awe in a new cinematic medium. Never before had a mask intended to protect become so associated with something that causes harm.
Michael Myers (Halloween Series)
Despite deranged mental patient Michael Myers sporting a mask depicting a human face, it manages to convey no outward emotion. As a touch of irony, it's infamous for being modeled after one of the most expressive actors in genre acting, William Shatner, who so reliably hammed it up as Captain Kirk in Star Trek: The Original Series.
A Kirk mask was taken by John Carpenter and painted a sickly pallor, offering Michael a physical form but no humanity. He shambles slowly towards his victims, remorseless, as they sprint from the embodiment of their impending doom.