Since launch, Behaviour Interactive’s asymmetric multiplayer horror gameDead by Daylighthas seen the debut of three iconic horror movie villains, with the likes ofHalloween’s Michael Myers,The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Leatherface, and most recently,A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger joining the fray.
AsDead by Daylight’s popularity grows, fans can expect Behaviour Interactive to reach out to more film studios in the hopes of using their characters in the game. And while there are decades of horror films and quality villains to sift through, we think the five listed here would make the finest, most frightening additions toDead by Daylight.
5Ghostface
Ghostface is a unique slasher movie villain in that it’s more of a title than a specific person. Over the course of fourScreamfilms and an MTV series, multiple characters have donned the Ghostface persona, using it to play mind games with their victims before cutting them into ribbons. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whichScreamcharacter ends up behind the mask inDead by Daylightsince they would presumably be in full costume the entire time, but it would be a nice touch if the Ghostface’s identity is revealed in-game.
Then again, anyone that has seen theScreammovies knows that there is usually two killers in every film. Perhaps Ghostface could be a special killer that changes up the 4v1 dynamic ofDead by Daylightby adding a second “killer” to online matches to make things a bit more complicated for the survivors. Alternatively, Ghostface could have a special ability that clones himself for a limited period of time to create the illusion that there are two Ghostface killers running around the map.
4Candyman
While its sequels were critically panned, the originalCandymanfilm is notable for being well-received by both audiences and critics, praised for its social commentary as well as its scares and gore. The film is the story of an urban legend come to life, with the titular Candyman murdering his victims with a hook to keep people believing in his legend. With theFreddy Krueger DLC, Behaviour Interactive proved it can think of clever ways to incorporate Freddy Krueger’s nightmare gimmick, so it would be interesting to see what it could dream up to tie in Candyman’s Bloody Mary-style summoning process withDead by Daylight’s gameplay.
3Pennywise the Clown/It
Scary clowns are all the rage nowadays, which can be attributed to a couple of different things. In 2016, random people decided it would be funny to dress as clowns and scare people,which included unsuspectingPokemon GOplayersin some cases. And then in 2017, Stephen King’sIthit theaters to rave reviews and unprecedented box office success, solidifying Pennywise the Dancing Clown (a.k.a. It) as the most iconic horror movie clown in history.
Pennywise’s method of killing its victims, not to mention its preference for children, may make it a bit trickier to add to theDead by Daylightroster. But popularity and the fear of clowns may convince Behaviour Interactive to attempt to bring Stephen King’s terrible monster to life in video game form.
2Pinhead
Originally conceived by Clive Barker in his chilling novellaThe Hellbound Heart, Pinhead is an extradimensional Hell Priest and the leader of the Cenobites. The Cenobites, for those that don’t want to sleep tonight, are disfigured monsters that like to inflict horrifyingly extreme pain on people in pursuit of some kind of twisted sexual pleasure. Anyone that has seen theHellraisermovies knows just how terrifying Pinhead can be, and his articulate, intelligent nature could make him a unique addition toDead by Daylight’s growing roster.
1The Wolf Man
Sometimes it’s just hard to beat the classics. When it comes to classic movie monsters, some may prefer to see Count Dracula or Frankenstein’s Monster added toDead by Daylight, but The Wolf Man’s raw animal intensity seems like it would make for a more interesting fit. And just in case Universal doesn’t want to share The Wolf Man inDead by Daylight, a generic werewolf could work too, as the monster has a deep history in popular culture, including some notable video game appearances over the years.
Besides the killers listed here, other villains were considered. The Creeper fromJeepers Creepers, with its grotesque appearance and wings could make for a unique killer, and it would be cool to see more classic villains join the roster as well, like the aforementioned Universal monsters and Norman Bates fromPsycho.
A horror movie villain that sounds interesting on paper but ultimately wouldn’t work inDead by Daylightwould be Chucky from theChild’s Playseries. While having a doll-sized serial killer chase after players sounds like it has potential to be terrifying,Dead by Daylightrevolves around killers placing their victims on meat hooks throughout its maps. Chucky’s size would make this impossible without looking hokey, and so unless some new modes or major changes come to the game, the psychotic doll joining the likes of Freddy Krueger,Leatherface, and Michael Myers seems very unlikely.
