They’re not good, per se, but a compelling villain can be great. Having an effective, interesting bad guy is almost as important to a movie as having a worthy hero. And in some cases, more so. Here are our Top 10 villains in Movie history!
What did you think of the list? Do you disagree with any of our picks? Feel like we left out or mis-represented any of these villains? Who’s the movie villain that gave you nightmares? Which is the villain that made you think?
What other topics would you like to see us cover in future editions of CineFix Movie Lists?
Let us know in the comments!
THE LIST
Sauron
The Lord of The Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit Trilogy (2001-2014)
This guy is pretty much the embodiment of pure evil. Heck, for the majority of the movie, he’s not even an embodiment… just an evil evil all-seeing eye.
Lil Ze
City of God (2002)
First among villains that scared the sh*t out of us, since he’s an unpredictable monster in what’s not strictly a monster movie.
Max Cady
Cape Fear (1962 & 1991)
Max Cady is relentless, literally going to the ends of the earth for revenge. And he’s terrifying in the process.
The Joker
The Dark Knight (2008)
There’s reason Batman and the Joker have been antagonists for the better part of a century: because the Clown Prince of Crime laughing chaos is the perfect foil to Batman’s grim, studied quest for justice.
The Reverent Harry Powell
The Night of The Hunter (1955)
We’re not sure we’ve ever enjoyed hating a movie character more than this self-righteous, yet utterly despicable reverend. Man, we really want to smack him in the face.
Hannibal Lecter
The Silence of The Lambs (1991) and sequels
Dr. Lecter enjoys fine music, is soft spoken, and sympathetic, yet he eats people’s body parts and has to be kept fully restrained. Yet… we still kinda like him. Hannibal’s complexity makes him one of the greatest movie villains of all time.
Hans Beckert
M (1931)
It’s rare to see an honest dose of humanity mixed in with movie villains, much less in 80-year-old films about child murderers, but when we see Hans Beckert’s clearly trapped in his own psychological prison, it changes the entire tone of the story, and that certainly makes it worth a shot on our list.
Anton Chigurh
No Country For Old Man (2007)
Perhaps the only thing more terrifying than realizing the humanity in the villain is coming face-to-face with an utter lack of humanity. And that’s what Javier Bardem manages to portray an Anton Chigurh.
Norman Bates
Psycho (1960)
Norman Bates is certainly a psycho, but it’s a chillingly human kind of crazy. He’s a nice young man who loves his mother, but in the most twisted way imaginable.
Frank Booth
Blue Velvet (1986)
Looking at Frank Booth’s twisted perversions is almost, just, maybe like looking into a dark mirror at ourselves. And that’s what makes him the most frightening - and greatest - villain in movie history.
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What did you think of the list? Do you disagree with any of our picks? Feel like we left out or mis-represented any of these villains? Who’s the movie villain that gave you nightmares? Which is the villain that made you think?
What other topics would you like to see us cover in future editions of CineFix Movie Lists?
Let us know in the comments!
THE LIST
Sauron
The Lord of The Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit Trilogy (2001-2014)
This guy is pretty much the embodiment of pure evil. Heck, for the majority of the movie, he’s not even an embodiment… just an evil evil all-seeing eye.
Lil Ze
City of God (2002)
First among villains that scared the sh*t out of us, since he’s an unpredictable monster in what’s not strictly a monster movie.
Max Cady
Cape Fear (1962 & 1991)
Max Cady is relentless, literally going to the ends of the earth for revenge. And he’s terrifying in the process.
The Joker
The Dark Knight (2008)
There’s reason Batman and the Joker have been antagonists for the better part of a century: because the Clown Prince of Crime laughing chaos is the perfect foil to Batman’s grim, studied quest for justice.
The Reverent Harry Powell
The Night of The Hunter (1955)
We’re not sure we’ve ever enjoyed hating a movie character more than this self-righteous, yet utterly despicable reverend. Man, we really want to smack him in the face.
Hannibal Lecter
The Silence of The Lambs (1991) and sequels
Dr. Lecter enjoys fine music, is soft spoken, and sympathetic, yet he eats people’s body parts and has to be kept fully restrained. Yet… we still kinda like him. Hannibal’s complexity makes him one of the greatest movie villains of all time.
Hans Beckert
M (1931)
It’s rare to see an honest dose of humanity mixed in with movie villains, much less in 80-year-old films about child murderers, but when we see Hans Beckert’s clearly trapped in his own psychological prison, it changes the entire tone of the story, and that certainly makes it worth a shot on our list.
Anton Chigurh
No Country For Old Man (2007)
Perhaps the only thing more terrifying than realizing the humanity in the villain is coming face-to-face with an utter lack of humanity. And that’s what Javier Bardem manages to portray an Anton Chigurh.
Norman Bates
Psycho (1960)
Norman Bates is certainly a psycho, but it’s a chillingly human kind of crazy. He’s a nice young man who loves his mother, but in the most twisted way imaginable.
Frank Booth
Blue Velvet (1986)
Looking at Frank Booth’s twisted perversions is almost, just, maybe like looking into a dark mirror at ourselves. And that’s what makes him the most frightening - and greatest - villain in movie history.
Want to send us stuff?
CineFix
c/o Mike Cruz
PO BOX 351213
Los Angeles, CA 90035
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