Horror is a genre built in part on daddy issues, featuring everything from absent fathers, overbearing patriarchs, to straight-up monster dads. In honor of Father’s Day in the year of our lord 2025, we’re diving into horror films packed with fatherly themes and tipping our hats (and raising our soccer mommy wine glasses) to some of the finest dad bods the genre has ever gifted us.‘Frankenstein’: Old School Horror DaddyWithout question, the ultimate deadbeat dad of horror has to be Victor Frankenstein. Leave it to a teenage Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley to dream up the gothic tale of a guy who cobbles together a son using alchemy, madness, and questionable science, only to ghost him the second he comes to life. It’s both a literary masterpiece and the ultimate cautionary tale for would-be monster dads everywhere.Short of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes, Frankenstein might be the most film-adapted literary character. Still, one of the most heart-wrenching performances of Frankenstein’s abandoned son, made up of a patchwork of dead body parts, is Boris Karloff from Universal Studios’ 1931 classic.Under James Whale’s direction, Karloff’s monster isn’t just abandoned by his dad—it’s a full-blown family affair. The poor creature gets drugged, tortured by his hunchbacked “uncle” Fritz (played by the delightfully sinister Dwight Frye), and even faces an attempted euthanization courtesy of his dad’s mentor, Dr. Waldman (Edward Van Sloan), before he escapes.The final confrontation between Karloff’s monster and Colin Clive’s Frankenstein is one of the quintessential showdowns of classic cinema, a scorned, nearly mute son demanding his negligent father answer for his sins with primordial brute force and fire.Bonus: Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein in Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming Frankenstein for Netflix might propel him into the pantheon of zaddies of horror—creating monsters and stealing hearts simultaneously.‘It’s Alive’: Not Daddy’s Little BoyBecoming a dad is supposed to be all cigars and hearty back slaps, right? But no one mentions the sheer panic some men feel at the thought of fatherhood—especially when the pregnancy wasn’t exactly part of the plan. Worse yet, what if the bundle of joy ends up being 8 ounces of nightmare fuel due to some unforeseen issue?Genre filmmaker Larry Cohen had a knack for taking aim at America’s sacred cows. From skewering consumerism in The Stuff (1985) to taking on organized religion in God Told Me So (1976), Cohen gleefully tackled the topics most red-blooded Americans hold near and dear.With 1974’s It’s Alive, writer-director Cohen takes a wild swing at the chaos of parenthood—this time through Dad’s panicked eyes. How much imperfection can you really overlook in your little bundle of joy, Dad? A tiny quirk? No problem. A health hiccup? Totally manageable. But add fangs, claws, snake eyes, a hankering for human flesh, and a delivery room massacre (yes, Junior takes out the doctors and nurses upon arrival), and suddenly it’s a bit harder to post a proud dad selfie.The thought of an innocent newborn turning into a pint-sized killing machine (courtesy of some dodgy contraceptive pills) plays right into our deepest fears about the unpredictable chaos of parenthood. As the mutant baby racks up a body count (yep, even the milkman isn’t safe), dear old dad (John P. Ryan) faces the ultimate parenting dilemma: whether to help take down the monstrous bundle of terror he brought into the world.Larry Cohen returned to write and direct two sequels, each one upping the stakes and leaning into more mayhem, as horror sequels are required to do. 1978’s It’s Alive Again features not one, not two, but THREE terrible tykes, with It’s Alive III: Island of the Alive sporting an entire tribe of the mutant babies (they even manage to take down a helicopter in what is surely one of the greatest cinematic moments of the late 1980s).Of course, the aughts brought a toothless remake in 2009. It’s to be skipped even by the most steadfast of fathers.When it comes to zaddies of horror, the 1970s truly delivered—and none more iconic than Roy Scheider as Chief Martin Brody in 1975’s Jaws. That sun-kissed tan, that lean, athletic build, and a man in uniform who knows his way around a rifle? Yes, please. Bonus points for rocking a pair of short shorts on the beach that could give Reno 911’s Lt. Dangle a run for his money. Chief Brody, you can aim that rifle my way anytime!‘The Stepfather’: Call Me DaddyNot all dads are biological, and not all were there from the start. Some step in to help raise their partner’s kids, like the unsung heroes they are. But what if that kind, dependable guy you brought into the mix has a hidden agenda?Enter Terry O’Quinn as the titular bad daddy in 1987’s The Stepfather, a pulpy thriller with slasher tendencies. O’Quinn stars as Jerry Blake, a man who sniffs out single moms in search of the “ideal husband”—hardworking, dependable, and totally not a psychopath. But when the family doesn’t live up to his high standards, Jerry ditches the white picket fence dream, crafts a new identity, and moves on to the next unsuspecting town… leaving chaos and carnage in his wake.It’s a sly jab at the baby boomer fantasy of those perfect Leave It to Beaver families. Once the shiny facade of his latest “ideal” family inevitably cracks—this time it’s a widow with a teenage daughter—Blake doesn’t stick around to talk it out. Nope, he’s ready to cut and run…with a much more emphasis on the “cut.”When it comes to ’80s horror zaddies, Lt. Donald Thompson (John Saxon) from 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street is a prime candidate for the crown. Sure, he’s the poster child for “dads who just don’t listen” as he brushes off his daughter Nancy’s desperate warnings about a dream-haunting, teen-murdering Fred Krueger (himself “the son of a 100 maniacs“…). And yes, he’s partially to blame for the whole mess since he, along with the neighborhood torch-wielding mob, roasted Krueger alive back in the day.But hey—those smoldering eyes and kissable plump Italian lips, though! john saxon as donald thompson in a nightmare on elm street 1 & 3 edit / fancam pic.twitter.com/KCKpDYMGfd— lauren!’s edits (@gcsapologist) August 26, 2024Saxon nailed the brooding zaddy vibes so perfectly, he came back for the third and seventh installments to keep hearts racing (and Krueger at bay).‘Daddy’s Head’: I… Let’s Not Go ThereSometimes a father is absent by no fault of their own. Still, in horror, a pesky problem like death might not keep a father away from their son.In the criminally underseen 2024 gem Daddy’s Head, just such a premise unfolds when young Isaac, mourning the sudden loss of his architect dad, gets a visitor—a strange creature from the woods wearing his dad’s face. This unsettling, diminutive humanoid keeps trying to lure Isaac to an ominous structure in the forest. Standing between Isaac and his woodland nightmare is his grieving (and steadily tipsier) stepmom, whose coping mechanism seems to be equal parts booze and bad parenting.Yes, Daddy’s Head shares similarities with 2014’s The Babadook, which also explores grief over a deceased father through a supernatural lens, but the creature design—arguably one of the creepiest of the 2020s—and the eerie atmosphere make it well worth a spin on Shudder.Which brings us to our final horror zaddy: Gabriel “Gabe” Wilson (Winston Duke) from Jordan Peele’s 2019 doppelgänger nightmare, Us. Not only is Wilson a tall glass of water at 6’5, he’s brave, protective, and best of all… irresistibly cuddly. Who knew a man could fight off sinister clones and look like the ultimate snuggle buddy? Yes, Daddy indeed!The post The Baddest Daddies (and Hottest Zaddies) of Horror appeared first on VICE.