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These scientists, often snappily dressed and good-looking, are all the more sinister for their outward charms. If one finds themselves in the company of a rich, philanthropic, charismatic scientist, they should run - fast. It’s a mad, mad world out there.
10 Howard Howe - Tusk
Though often panned by critics, Tusk remains a fantastic example of the Mad Scientist movie. Howard Howe, in an attempt to reconstruct the walrus that once saved his life, sews Wallace Bryton (played by a mustachioed Justin Long) in a suit of his own flesh - then attaches tusks to his face.
It’s a bizarre and gross film that, despite its flaws, is a love letter to Carpenter-era moviemaking in its use of practical effects, makeup, and campy writing.
9 Dr. Jekyl - Dr. Jekyl And Mr. Hyde (1941)
A true classic, Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde is the quintessential Mad Scientist movie. To prove man’s evil nature, Dr. Jekyl concocts a formula and tests it on himself, which unleashes his inner monster - Mr. Hyde. This transformation, of course, conflicts with his relationships, perhaps most notably with the ever-beautiful Ingrid Bergman (whose character makes a strong case as one of the first final girls in the genre).
Beyond moviemaking or genre-building, the movie’s most lasting legacy is its serious - and often disturbing - commentary on mental illness and domestic violence. It’s not for the faint of heart.
8 Burke - Aliens
He may work for the company, but don’t let that fool you - Paul Reiser’s sleazy Weyland-Yutani goon is really an okay guy.
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Well, he’s an okay guy when he’s not busy locking women and young girls in a room with a Facehugger. Though not a “scientist” in the same sense as most other folks on this list, Carter Burke is nonetheless guilty of experimentation - he is, after all, engaging in the scientific method.
7 Victor Frankenstein - Frankenstein (1931)
The original Mad Scientist was Mary Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein, whose misunderstood monster captured the hearts of moviegoers in 1931. Boris Karloff’s image as Frankenstein’s Monster is indelible and has remained synonymous with the horror genre since the movie premiered.
Though many have tried to recapture the magic of this original classic, it hasn’t quite worked out, with Mel Brooks’ parody, Young Frankenstein, being the rare exception.
6 Sitterson And Hadley - Cabin In The Woods
When Cabin in the Woods hit theaters in 2011, it was a breath of fresh air after a mediocre decade for the genre.
One of the elements that make the movie unique is its willingness to poke fun at its own subject matter. The humor emerges throughout the movie, but none so much as through engineers Sitterson and Hadley, whose nonchalant commentary offer audiences a breather in between scares.
But by that same token, their casual attitude toward systematic murder adds to the tension of the movie even as it causes audiences to laugh. It’s this delicate balance that the movie is praised for, and rightfully so.
5 Dr. Heiter - The Human Centipede
The Human Centipede is a bizarre case study in testing an audience’s gag reflex. It’s like watching a car crash - no one can keep their eyes off it - except the cars are people sewn together to form one horrific creature.
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Dr. Heiter is the perpetrator of and mastermind behind these gruesome experiments, played with maniacal intensity by the late Dieter Laser. There’s an argument to be made that the scriptwriters should be here instead, but Dr. Heiter is a fine stand-in.
4 Dr. Moreau - The Island Of Dr. Moreau (1977)
Continuing the theme of a Mad Scientist turning people into not-people, The Island of Dr. Moreau is a harrowing take on The Most Dangerous Game, as the eponymous doctor hunts some unwanted guests on his island. It’s an overlooked gem from a decade packed with classics, and it still holds up today.
3 Herbert West - Bride Of Re-Animator
Though Herbert West may be a goofier take on the Mad Scientist tradition, Re-Animator and its sequel, Bride of Re-Animator, are undisputed cult classics that spearheaded the genre long before Cabin in the Woods reminded audiences that horror could still be funny.
In Bride, Herbert West’s insanity is on full display in the movie’s explosive third act, as his mutilated, twisted creations burst through a wall and start causing havoc in his laboratory - to which he has only one thing to say to his assistant: “Make a note - tissue rejection!”
2 Dean Armitage - Get Out
Jordan Peele’s Get Out is remarkable in how it turns what appears to be the first act of a romantic comedy into a horror movie - and at the center of both is the family headed by Dean Armitage. Spoilers below!
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Armitage’s brain-imprinting surgeries place him firmly in the Mad Scientist archetype, and, unlike some others on this list, his experiments actually work, making him all the more sinister. Meeting the future in-laws is never fun, but getting your brain meshed with someone else’s is on a whole new level.
1 Steve Lift - Sorry To Bother You
Bankrolling the mad scientists is essentially the same thing as being a mad scientist, and Steve Lift has paid for an awful lot of mad science. It’s a bizarre third-act twist in an already bizarre movie, so no spoilers here, but suffice it to say that Steve perfectly embodies the Mad Scientist archetype in his obsessive vision and relentless pursuit of it.
Sorry to bother you, but horror enthusiasts who skipped over this movie should do themselves a favor a give it a watch.
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