Hannibal voted scariest killer of all

Hannibal Lecter has been voted the scariest serial killer of all time in a new film poll.

Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, topped the list of the movie world’s most evil murderers for his starring role in The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal.

The flesh-eating killer – who famously boasted of eating a victim’s liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti – will soon be terrifying audiences a third time in Red Dragon.

Se7en serial killer John Doe, played by Kevin Spacey, came second for his string of gruesome murders which culminated in him leaving Gwyneth Paltrow’s severed head in a box.

Michael Myers, the knife-wielding psychopath from the Halloween movies, was third followed by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) for his performance in the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho.

Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, played by Gunnar Hansen, was fifth in the poll carried out by movie magazine Total Film.

Other nightmare-inducing killers who made the list include the mask-wearing murderers from Scream, American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman and Jason from Friday The 13th.

Besides Hopkins, British names on the list include Michael Caine for his performance as Dr Robert Elliott in Dressed To Kill, and Richard Attenborough for his role as John Christie in 10 Rillington Place.

Only one woman makes it into the Top 25 – Juliette Lewis is in 18th place along with Woody Harrelson for their roles as Mickey and Mallory Knox who go on a deadly crime spree in Natural Born Killers.

Total Film editor Matt Mueller said: “Anthony Hopkins has created such a fantastic, indelible character with Hannibal Lecter. His strong showing is no surprise, and proves his enduring place in moviegoers’ affections even though he is a homicidal maniac.”

Hopkins earned an Oscar for his role in The Silence of the Lambs and returns in the prequel Red Dragon, which is released next month.

Ed Norton replaces Jodie Foster as an investigator trying to track down The Tooth Fairy, played by Ralph Fiennes, a serial killer who murders families and bites out their eyes.

Top 25 Movie Serial Killers as voted by Total Film readers:

1 Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) – The Silence of The Lambs (1991), Hannibal (2001)

2 John Doe (Kevin Spacey) – Se7en (1997)

3 Michael Myers (various actors) – Halloween series (1978 -)

4 Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) – Psycho series (1960-1990)

5 Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

6 Henry (Michael Rooker) – Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

7 John Ryder (Rutger Hauer) – The Hitcher (1980)

8 Benoit (Benoit Poelvoorde) – Man Bites Dog (1992)

9 Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) – Friday The 13th (1980)

10 Billy Loomis and Stuart Macher (Skeet Ulrich and Matthew Lilliard) – Scream (1998)

11 Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) – American Psycho (2000)

12 Jack the Ripper (David Warner) – Time After Time (1979)

13 Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm) – Peeping Tom (1960)

14 The Scorpio Killer (Andy Robinson) – Dirty Harry (1973)

15 Reno Miller (Abel Ferrera) – The Driller Killer (1979)

16 Jame ‘Buffalo Bill’ Gumb (Ted Levine) – The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

17 John Christie (Richard Attenborough) – 10 Rillington Place (1970)

18 Mickey and Mallory Knox (Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis) – Natural Born Killers (1994)

19 Dr Anton Phibes (Vincent Price) – The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971)

20 Dr Robert Elliott (Michael Caine) – Dressed To Kill (1980)

21 Carl Rudolph Stargher (Vincent D’Onofrio) – The Cell (2000)

22 Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre) – M (1931)

23 Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane) – Dead Calm (1988)

24 Joseph Ambrose Hilditch (Bob Hoskins) – Felicia’s Journey (1999)

25 Dr Decker (David Cronenberg) – Nightbreed (1990)