Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most despicable, irredeemable, or delightfully evil cinematic antagonists. We’ll only be looking at live-action films here because, honestly, this list was hard enough to rank.
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00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the most despicable, irredeemable
00:09 or delightfully evil cinematic antagonists.
00:12 We'll only be looking at live-action films here, because honestly, this list was hard
00:17 enough to rank as it is.
00:18 Also, with us discussing bad guys and their various devious deeds, a spoiler alert is
00:23 warranted.
00:26 Love is hard, especially when your beloved is hung up on their ex.
00:43 But seriously, it's like Prince Humperdinck is trying to make Princess Buttercup hate
00:47 him.
00:48 To summarise, he forces her to marry him in exchange for Wesley's safety, but then tore
00:56 up her heart.
00:57 He approaches the man in black instead, and later lies about searching for him.
01:00 Of course, he didn't kill Wesley like the deplorable Count Rugen did to Inigo Montoya's
01:04 father, but Wesley's time in the Pit of Despair is arguably worse.
01:07 What's more, Humperdinck doesn't even have the courage to face the consequences
01:11 of his actions.
01:12 He grovels on the ground, rather than dueling Wesley.
01:15 A fitting end for a horrible man.
01:25 Scoring a hole-in-one in the jerk department, Shooter McGavin is a stuck-up, insecure manchild
01:31 who throws a temper tantrum any time he loses.
01:35 Naturally, he doesn't appreciate Happy Gilmore's, well, happier approach to golf.
01:42 So McGavin proceeds to sabotage his nemesis any way he can, hiring hecklers, using Grandma
01:47 Gilmore's foreclosing house as collateral, and even running him over with a bloody car.
01:54 And all because of a game of golf.
01:55 The sheer pettiness behind McGavin's every move makes it all the sweeter when he finally
01:59 gets his comeuppance on the green.
02:01 A game-winning putt has never been so satisfying.
02:10 This crotchety old man has almost every business in Bedford Falls in his pocket.
02:15 Emphasis on "almost".
02:21 George Bailey, honourable to the end, refuses to sell out, and boy does that make Mr. Potter
02:26 angry.
02:27 He only has eyes on dollar signs, and the so-called slums the Baileys loan to don't
02:31 fit that mould.
02:37 So what does he do?
02:38 Make George's life as difficult as possible, that's what.
02:41 It's more than demeaning meetings and shady deals, though.
02:44 Potter goes as far as destroying George's own honeymoon by instigating a maliciously
02:48 timed stock buyout.
02:50 Not even the Christmas spirit is enough to forgive Mr. Potter for being the perennial
02:53 Scrooge of Bedford Falls.
03:09 It takes a certain kind of sick person to experiment on an adorable baby raccoon.
03:14 Although, calling the high evolutionary a person in the first place is already a stretch.
03:18 The things he put Rocket through are so degrading we can't even put them into words.
03:28 And the worst part is Rocket wasn't the only one.
03:31 The high evolutionary had a whole prison of experimental pets he treated like dirt.
03:36 Then, as if that's not bad enough, he later openly mocked Rocket for daring to care about
03:41 his cellmates.
03:42 Yep, this guy totally deserved what was coming to him.
04:01 Green with envy and evil, this witch takes the wicked part of her name extremely seriously.
04:07 And she makes that clear, as early as her very first scene.
04:10 When Dorothy's abrupt landing in Oz flattens the witch's sister, the fiend lays all the
04:14 blame on the Kansan girl.
04:16 And her little dog, too.
04:23 Partly for revenge and partly for a pair of ruby slippers, the wicked foe hunts Dorothy
04:26 down with utter abandon.
04:28 Monkeys, spells, insults and more, the Wicked Witch of the West has absolutely no redeeming
04:33 qualities whatsoever.
04:35 And if you take it from us, that's part of the charm.
04:37 After all, Margaret Hamilton's evil cackle is legendary for a reason.
04:54 As a kid, Lil Dice stole, lied and yes, even killed for a few precious dollar bills.
04:59 Ten years later, his exploits become so well-known, he had to shed his name entirely.
05:03 From then on, he was Lil Zay, a merciless drug lord who ruled the Brazilian downtown
05:08 with an iron fist and a steel gun.
05:13 With no one to question his tyrannical rule, Lil Zay became judge, jury and executioner,
05:18 no matter if they were his former friends or not.
05:21 Then, just when you think Zay can't sink any lower, he finds a way.
05:25 He may be a protagonist, but Lil Zay is as far apart from a hero as you can get.
05:33 All things considered, a handful of victims doesn't sound like a lot.
05:37 But, it's not John Doe's body count that's so chilling, it's the how behind them.
05:42 Namely, that he committed unspeakably horrific murders, each representing one of the seven
05:46 deadly sins.
05:47 Oh, and his last victim, it's none other than Mills, a detective on the case who's
05:51 forced to become the epitome of wrath.
05:57 John Doe's disturbing methods are only surpassed by his inherent mystique.
06:01 We don't even know his real name.
06:03 The only thing we can say for sure is that John Doe has way more than just seven sins.
06:13 Manipulation?
06:14 Perjury?
06:15 Gross misuse of power?
06:16 Yeah, it may be called a code red, but there's no grey area in this crime scene.
06:21 When a lagging Marine threatens his unit's performance, Colonel Nathan Jessup orders
06:24 a swift and violent wake-up call.
06:34 Sadly, the victim never ends up waking up at all.
06:37 Rather than accepting his role in the scandal, Jessup pins the blame on two of his recruits,
06:42 even lying on the stand about it.
06:43 His complete lack of remorse is appalling, especially since he was more than willing
06:47 to ruin two other lives to save his own skin.
06:50 If anyone can't handle the truth around here, it's Jessup himself.
07:05 Meeting the in-laws is hard enough, even when they aren't sadistic, body-swapping elitists.
07:09 Or that's what makes the Armitage family one of the most disturbing in horror history.
07:18 Set aside the constant microaggressions and underhanded comments, when these guys get
07:22 under your skin, they do it literally.
07:24 That's right, the Armitages steal the bodies of unsuspecting black people.
07:27 The metaphor there is as obvious as you can get.
07:36 Even worse, this isn't a one-off occurrence.
07:39 As Rose proves time and time again, this is basically the family business.
07:43 One that's been proudly owned and operated for way too long.
07:58 Parents always say they can't pick a favourite kid.
08:00 Denenthor bucks that trend.
08:01 He essentially worships his eldest son, which leaves little love for his youngest, Faramir.
08:06 He even sends the book-smart kid on a hopeless mission for no other reason than to get him
08:10 out of the picture.
08:14 Afterwards, Denenthor's absolute power over Gondor ends up corrupting him absolutely.
08:20 Then again, the over-confident steward never needed any help in the madness department
08:24 anyway.
08:25 Vile to the end, Denenthor tries to go out in a somewhat literal blaze of glory, but
08:29 all it does is underscore how obsessed he is with his own pride.
08:33 Against this guy, Sauron is positively tame in comparison.
08:40 Back to the future franchise.
08:46 Past or future, old or young, at school or at work, you should always cross the street
08:51 when you see a Tannen coming your way.
08:53 Using petty insults and the occasional stint of time travel, they've been a thorn in
08:57 our hero's side for generations.
08:59 All Tannens are built the same; selfish, egotistical, and willing to do anything to get what they
09:04 want, even if it means pulling out a gun.
09:11 While each generation of Tannen is amusingly played by the same actor, they're each uniquely
09:15 awful in their own special ways.
09:17 Although, for our money, Biff is the biggest butt-head of them all.
09:28 This villain goes by many names; Colonel Joe Moore, Immortan Joe, sadistic cult leader,
09:34 I mean, take your pick.
09:35 Joe's coming for you either way.
09:41 He controls the gang's water supply, and as a result, he's basically a god amongst
09:45 men.
09:46 But, with one look at his terrifying mask, it's obvious that Immortan Joe won't be
09:49 using the power for good.
09:51 In his attempts to create the perfect offspring, he impregnates just about any woman he can
09:55 get his hands on, no matter if they consent or not.
09:58 If our options are living with him or braving the apocalyptic wasteland, we'd take the
10:02 sand dunes every single time.
10:14 When people say artificial intelligence is dangerous, they're talking about Agent Smith.
10:17 He's motivated by a singular goal; to protect the Matrix from threats.
10:21 For example, this bloke, Neo.
10:23 But, in a twist of fate, Neo wins their first fight, freeing Smith from his programming
10:28 and giving him a chance at redemption.
10:34 And how does he decide to spend his new lease on life?
10:37 With more murder, of course.
10:39 His unstoppable army of clones decide the world would be better off without any kind
10:42 of sentient life at all.
10:44 You can't blame Smith too much, though.
10:46 Clearly, being a menace to society is just in his blood.
10:50 Or rather, his code.
10:56 At a certain point, it's hard to decide which is scarier; being trapped outside with
11:03 man-eating monsters, or spending the rest of your days with Mrs. Carmody.
11:07 The religious zealot manipulates her way into something of a messiah to the survivors, and
11:12 she uses her power to exile anyone who threatens her rule, children included.
11:22 She is utterly reprehensible, especially since she has the gall to turn around and start
11:26 criticising everyone else's sins.
11:28 Though, to be fair, that's just how Stephen King rolls.
11:38 From Margaret White's unorthodox parenting to Annie Wilkes' obsessive hobbies, the
11:41 horror extraordinaire really knows how to make you hate a character.
11:45 With
12:07 a name like that, it really shouldn't come as a shock that Darth Sidious is just plain
12:11 evil.
12:12 No ifs, ands or buts about it.
12:13 There's just no way he can come back from executing Order 66, which nearly wiped out
12:17 the Jedi altogether.
12:19 Although, something tells us Sidious doesn't want to be redeemed anyway.
12:22 After all, he willingly infiltrated the Jedi Order just to make his eventual betrayal sting
12:27 even more.
12:28 Oh, and don't even get us started on all the emotional duress he put on young Anakin.
12:40 No matter which corner of the galaxy you look, every shed of evil leads back to Darth Sidious.
13:02 Sociopath is too nice of a word for someone like Captain Vidal.
13:05 Barbaric Monster is probably much more fitting.
13:08 He mercilessly disposes of anyone he even suspects of being a rebel, and their deaths
13:13 aren't quick either, with Vidal opting for all things cruel and unusual.
13:17 And to top it off, he's Ophelia's new stepfather.
13:20 It would have been better for her if he was neglectful, but instead, Vidal goes out of
13:23 his way to torment the ten-year-old in every vile way imaginable.
13:35 Eventually he even puts her in the ground, permanently.
13:38 Vidal's horrific actions will leave you seeing red, but at the very least, he gets
13:42 what's coming to him.
13:52 There is no honour in this Coliseum.
13:55 At least, not while Commodus is in charge.
13:57 If you want proof, just remember that Commodus' own father deemed him unfit to rule.
14:01 Then, to prove him wrong, Commodus murdered him in cold blood and took the throne by force.
14:13 All things considered, that's a pretty good indicator of how he rules, with fear, violence
14:16 and a whole lot of unend hubris.
14:22 It's ironic, since the power-hungry crybaby can't even win a rigged fight.
14:30 When Commodus finally steps into the ring, he sabotages Maximus with an underhanded strike,
14:35 and still ends up on the wrong side of history.
14:37 But believe us, no-one's shedding tears for Commodus.
14:49 Don't be fooled, this isn't a mental institution.
14:51 It's a prison, and the warden goes by the name of Nurse Ratched.
14:55 She's a callous, unforgiving woman who relishes asserting dominance over her patients.
15:09 If they dare question her authority, Ratched lets them know who's boss by withholding
15:13 their food, toiletries, entertainment and even medication.
15:17 Her disgraceful treatment of others is irredeemable, no matter how you look at it.
15:21 Let alone the fact that these people are at a mental health facility.
15:24 In fact, it gets so bad, one patient even decides to end it all.
15:28 After witnessing something like that, there's no question why Nurse Ratched is considered
15:32 one of cinema's finest villains.
15:42 For running a place called Candyland, Calvin J. Candy is anything but sweet.
15:47 Not only does he enslave black people, and force them to perform back-breaking labour,
15:52 but he also makes the men fight for his own twisted enjoyment.
15:54 Oh, and he sells tickets to those fights too, just in case Candy wasn't repugnant enough
15:58 already.
15:59 And don't think female slaves get a pass.
16:08 They're spared the violence, but are used in other, more intimate ways.
16:12 Quentin Tarantino is known for writing unhinged antagonists.
16:15 Kill Bill didn't get its name for nothing.
16:17 But even against all that, Calvin Candy is just on another level.
16:44 Whoever let this woman around children, needed to re-evaluate their priorities ASAP.
16:54 Umbridge is supposedly a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Magic, but you wouldn't
16:58 be able to tell based on her teaching methods, which include everything from public humiliation
17:02 to genuine corporal punishment.
17:14 It's not like the wizarding world needed more insidious villains, either.
17:17 Bellatrix Lestrange, anyone?
17:19 Or how about Voldemort, a wizard so evil most people don't even say his name aloud?
17:23 Honestly, it's kind of impressive that Harry Potter leaves you hating a school headmaster
17:27 more than a so-called Dark Lord.
17:29 Umbridge really is that bad.
17:37 And that's our list!
17:38 What villain do you love to hate?
17:39 Let us know in the comments below.
17:53 Bye!