Throughout history, society has been entranced by the inner workings of the criminal mind, which makes it a perennial subject for compelling cinema. Be it the sickening habits of Hannibal Lecter or the terrifying traps created by Jigsaw, serial killers on TV shows and in movies have unusual psychologies and even more unusual modi operandi.
Generally, the Myers-Briggs® Personality Index is not something that would be applied to these types of characters, but many of the personality types fit quite well. It's true that many famous fictional killers like Michael Myers or Patrick Bateman are intended to be mostly soulless murder machines, so identifying any shred of humanity in them adds another dimension to their identities.
Updated Nov. 19, 2021: The horror genre is experiencing something of a renaissance. With iconic masked killers like Michal Myers and Ghostface returning to the silver screen, horror series like Halloween and Scream are once again at the forefront of the genre. This has reignited interest in the many creeps and killers who've stalked cinemas since the medium's inception. It's hard to get in the minds of these humans-turned-monsters, but even the coldest criminal exhibits some sort of personality.
Ghostface (INTJ - The Architect)
Although Scream franchise, most of the killers have a similar approach to their methods that fall in line with the INTJ personality type.
Specifically, Billy and Stu from the first Scream were arrogant and overly confident in their plan and were more analytical and dismissive of their own and others' emotions, which are weaknesses of the INTJ personality. They're both determined and have devised a strategic plan to terrorize and murder people in their town in hopes of surviving themselves.
Charles Lee Ray (ESFP - The Performer)
The serial killer who escapes death by transferring his soul into a Good Guy doll in 1988's Child's Play, Charles Lee Ray boasts an extreme personality. Torturing and murdering those who get in his way, there's no denying that he enjoys being the center of attention, even if that attention comes in the form of a police investigation.
ESFPs are considered to be "class clowns," and that's a title befitting Child's Play's living-doll antagonist. Resourcefulness is also a trait of this personality type, and possessing a doll to escape mortality definitely counts as resourceful.
Hannibal Lecter (INTJ - The Architect)
Hannibal Lecter has been terrifying audiences in both on the page and on-screen and federal agents alike for decades now in both film and TV. While his affinity for human flesh is horrifying, it’s his quick, logical, and analytic mind that gives him his reputation as one of cinema’s most terrifying killers. Lecter is rarely in a position he hadn’t planned on being in.
Roger Ebert put it best when he said about Dr. Lecter, "He is a disionate, brilliant machine, superb at logic, deficient in emotions." Hannibal Lecter is never held down by the weight of his conscience. He simply knows that he enjoys what he is doing, and he’ll continue to do it as long as he can.
Leatherface (ISFJ - The Protector)
The personality of the almost inhuman, seemingly brain-dead husk that is Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre may seem impossible to categorize, but there's much more to the killer than meets the eye.
Leatherface is bound to his family through strong convictions of both love and fear. He seems to be naturally introverted, a major aspect of the ISFJ personality type, but he also feels that it's his duty to protect the Sawyer home from invaders. In the final sequence, his makeup-caked mask implies that he's trying to fulfill a missing parental role in the family. In a very odd sort of way, he could be seen as warmhearted and caring.
Joe Goldberg (INFP - The Mediator)
Netflix’s You tells the story of killer Joe Goldberg. Aside from all the murder, Joe actually has a lot in common with other creeps and killers. Joe has a rich interior world, and, while that world is odder than an M.C. Escher piece, his inner monologue and his tendency to trail off in his head can sometimes land him in hot water.
Unlike Hannibal Lecter, for example, Joe is led by his ion, his emotion, his expectations of reality rather than reality itself. He is hot-tempered and quick to make life-altering, or, rather, life-ending decisions.
Dexter Morgan (INTJ - The Mastermind)
Dexter is the type of killer who is likely found in his own head more often than not. However, Dexter is also incredibly cautious and very rarely steps outside of his planning, which he considers endlessly.
Dexter is the silent killer, the type of killer who has the patience and forethought to set a kill-room and stalk his victims for weeks on end if necessary. Then again, when hunting other predators, one must be very careful and have a mastermind approach in order not to get caught.
Michael Myers (ESTJ - The Director)
Known by some simply as "The Shape," the Halloween series' iconic killer Michal Myers is completely devoid of emotion or humanity. Masked and mute, he's one of the most enigmatic murderers in cinematic history.
That said, he seems to be compelled by some sense of law or tradition, an idea explored in the oft-disregarded "thorn" trilogy of Halloween films. In the new canon, it's hard to determine concretely why Michael does what he does, but it's safe to say he's compelled by his own principles, a motive in keeping with the ESTJ personality type.
Dr. Martin Whitly (ENTJ - The Commander)
Dr. Whitly is one of the newest fictional serial killers to hit the scene thanks to the TV series Prodigal Son, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t got the experience to back up his title of “The Surgeon." Much like Hannibal Lecter and Dexter Morgan, Dr. Whitly spends a lot of time preparing, growing, and learning about his kill and his preferred method.
It's clear from the beginning of the series that Dr. Whitly has a large personality. He is almost exclusively seen with a smile on his face when his family visits. Like the surgeon’s mask he once wore in operating rooms, this smile hides his dark and violent impulses.
John Doe (INFJ - The Advocate)
By the time that audiences are finally introduced to the serial killer Joe Doe in Seven, he’s already deep into both his own disturbed mind and his master plan. That is to say that there are no pretenses when it comes to John Doe
Like many other fictional killers, John is incredibly introverted. His bubble is so small that it doesn’t leave his skull. He’s decided on a set of values and principles that he believes are correct. When reality doesn’t fit into his ideals, he imposes the ideals onto reality — and other people.
Patrick Bateman (ENTJ - The Commander)
While Mr. Robot’s ambitious Tyrell Wellick.
Patrick is incredibly driven and obsessed with status. He’s got the type of mind that will fixate and overthink on the stock or lettering of someone else’s business card. He’s also the type who would kill that same person while blasting Huey Lewis and the News. While Patrick is generally very composed and contained, as the movie progresses, audiences begin to see the tightly wound killer begin to come more and more undone.
