Films have presented humans with a new medium of showing evil, whether the characters are based on figures from mankind's past or whether they are completely original works of terror. Today, on Halloween, Movie Critic's Club looks at the best of these evildoers on the big screen. Enter, if you dare, the list of film's greatest warmongers, murderers, and psychopaths. Be prepared to scream in terror as you celebrate the one day of the year where the forces of evil come out on top.
Welcome to Movie Critic's Club's Top 10 Movie Villains.
10. Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes) from Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
"They cast a spell on you, you know, the Jews. When you work closely with them, like I do, you see this. They have this power. It's like a virus."
Nazi's are the epitome of evil in mankind's history. Nazi villain Amon Goeth- the brutal leader of a concentration camp in World War II Poland- remains one the most vicious humans ever seen. During his rule in Poland, Goeth viciously murders dozens of Jews for virtually no reason whatsoever. He feels nothing for them; even his Jewish housemaid, who he becomes fascinated by, is beat on a daily basis just for accusations of "seducing him". Goeth shoots Jews from his balcony, brings orders to dozens of murders, and personally led the devastating liquidation of the Jewish ghetto of Krakow. A monster based on a real-life historical figure, Ralph Fienne's chilling performance of what Spielberg termed as "sexual evil" remains one of the greatest historical performances of all time.
9. Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) from Fatal Attraction (Adrian Lyne, 1987)
"Well, what am I supposed to do? You won't answer my calls, you change your number. I mean, I'm not gonna be ignored, Dan!"
Every adulterous married man's worst nightmare: a stalker mistress who just won't leave him alone. Alex Forrest single-handedly lowered the cheating rate among husbands for a few months in the aftermath of Fatal Attraction. The term "bunny boiler" comes from this vengeful lady determined to get her man. There's no stopping this criminally insane editor, and Michael Douglas certainly tries. It takes several intense fist fights and house intrusions for her to finally slow down, before she truly crosses the line by kidnapping Michael Douglas's daughter from school in an effort to "spend more time with her." Alex still sends chills down men's spines. Beware of cheating. You've been warned.
8. Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) from Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988)
"I wanted this to be professional, efficient, adult, cooperative. Not a lot to ask. Alas, your Mr. Takagi did not see it that way. So, he won't be joining us for the rest of his life... Have no illusions. We are in charge."
7. Maleficent (Eleanor Audley) from Sleeping Beauty (prod. Walt Disney, 1959)
"No you shall deal with me, and all the powers of Hell!"
Singularly the scariest and greatest Disney Villain, Maleficent represents all the jealous rage in the world. Angered by her lack of an invitation to Princess Aurora's birth, Maleficent curses the young princess to touch a spindle on a spinning wheel and die on her 16th birthday. No matter how hard the kingdom tries, Aurora falls victim to Maleficent's cruel curse. Vindictive until the bitter end, the evil fairy turns into a deadly, fire-breathing dragon to combat the courageous Prince Phillip. No other Disney Villain has stuck with viewers more so than Maleficent. Her devastating insanity questions all that we know about what Disney is capable of creating. Maleficent has expanded to even greater evilness through the various expanded universes of Disney, taking the lead antagonistic roles in the video game franchise Kingdom Hearts as well as the Kingdom Keepers book series.
6. T-800 "The Terminator" (Arnold Schwarzenegger) from The Terminator (James Cameron, 1984)
"I'll be back."
With superhuman strength, brilliant logic, an outward appearance of being a simple human, and the ability to mask his own voice for someone else's, The Terminator is the perfect killing machine. For these reasons and more, villainous computer Skynet sends one of their T-800 models to past to kill Sarah Connor- the mother of visionary human resistance leader John Connor. He can't be stopped, he can't be killed, he can't be bargained with. His only purpose and mission in life is to kill. Sarah Connor and her future protector Kyle Reese can barely stop him themselves. Several sequels and spin-offs turned the T-800 into a hero and protector of John Connor, but no other Terminator remains as terrifying as the original T-800.
5. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) from You Only Live Twice (prod. Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, 1967)
"I shall look forward to personally exterminating you, Mr. Bond."
It took four movies for evil organization SPECTRE's leader to show his face. And what a terrifying face he has. With a scar on his eye, and an iconic Persian white cat cradled in his arms, Ernst Stavro Blofeld is the baddest of all the Bond villains. He tries to end the space program, but when he fails, he makes killing Bond his personal mission in life. He's one of the few villains who underestimates James Bond, and although he thinks he can beat him, knows how dangerous a foe James Bond has become.
Blofeld's most evil act comes not from You Only Live Twice, but rather On Her Majesty's Secret Service. In that film, after Bond foils yet another one of his plots, Blofeld plots the ultimate vengeance against 007. On the way home from his wedding, James Bond stops the car for a brief moment to check something out. But, during the stop, another car comes speeding past his vehicle. In this speeding car is none other than Blofled and his henchman Irma Blunt, who riddles the car with bullets. Bond is untouched, but his wife, Tracy, is dead, a bullet right through her head. Blofeld is the one enemy who actually defeats James Bond, and ensures that the British secret agent will never have a normal life. And for this, Blofeld joins the ranks of pure evil.
4. Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) from Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
"We all go a little mad sometimes."
One of cinema's most shocking villains, Norman Bates demonstrates all that can go wrong by being a little to close to your mother. Hitchcock shows how easily we can be misled as movie goers. We honestly believe that Norman is a good boy, misguided but still ultimately kind and lonely. We sympathize with him, all the way up to the shattering revelation of his true mindset. With the screeching violins in the background, and the quick cuts to a shadowed "mother" and the screaming Marion Crane, the infamous shower scene still terrifies women to this day, and changes what we know about the movie villain.
Psychologically challenged and hopelessly obsessed, Norman tries so hard to move past his mother. But, as the psychologist explains, he both wants and hates the part of him that is his "mother". Alfred Hitchcock's brilliant marketing campaign, which forced moviegoers to keep both silent and punctual, added to the terror that was Norman Bates. Anthony Perkins may have been snubbed an Oscar nomination, but his performance has gone down in history as one of the craziest.
3. Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) from The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991)
"A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti."
Named the greatest film villain of all time by the American Film Institute, it's hard to argue that Dr. Hannibal Lecter isn't one of the best. Anthony Hopkins is both chilling and haunting as the brilliant psychiatrist Hannibal, and has amazing chemistry with leading heroine Clarice Starling. People love quoting his creepy lines, from his fava beans dinner all the way up to his final, parting promise of having "an old friend for dinner."
What makes Hannibal such a great villain is his sheer memorability. In the 118 minutes of The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins only physically appears in 16 minutes of the final cut. He's in a cage for most of the film, causing people to associate the character as a monster who has to be caged. Hannibal's escape is one the single greatest sequences in movie history, and the famous face mask is an iconic film prop. Hopkins even won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1991 for his role. "Hannibal the Cannibal", as news tabloids affectionally called him, has terrified audiences for two decades, and promises to do so in the next decade and beyond.
2. The Joker (Heath Ledger) from The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
"Why so serious?"
Some of you may ask, "how could a character from a movie made only four years ago rank so high on the greatest film villains ever?" Well, you've answered your own question. It's the fact that Heath Ledger is still so memorable after only four years that he ranks so high on this list. The Joker is pure evil, pure and absolute madness. He epitomizes all that is wrong in the world, and represents our darkest fears of the unknown, the random, and the anarchy of life itself.
Heath Ledger's highly entertaining performance, which surpasses all other Joker incarnations before him (yes, Jack Nicholson included), will go down as one of film's best. His delightfully maddening demeanor makes for a fantastic villain. He tortures Batman in almost every way imaginable, right down to making him choose between saving the love of his life or the one man who can save Gotham City from total corruption. The Joker's sheer randomness makes him impossible to predict, and as such forces the heroes to work harder than ever before, and rightfully takes his place among the greatest film villains of all time.
1. Darth Vader (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones) from Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (created by George Lucas, 1980)
"No. I am your father."
The ultimate movie villain, Darth Vader should at no surprise top the list of the greatest movie villain of all time. The Dark Side of the Force is strong with this one. During his sophomore appearance in The Empire Strikes Back, Vader single-handedly kills two of his leading generals, tortures and freezes Han Solo, cuts Luke Skywalker's hand off, and plots to turn his only son into an evil henchman of The Emperor. Top that, other movie villains.
George Lucas created Darth Vader to be epitome of villainy. The classic good vs. evil tale of Star Wars allows room for Darth Vader to truly conquer all aspects of being a bad guy. And, just when we thought we knew him so well, Vader throws a plot twist by saying that he's the father of Luke Skywalker. At subsequent viewings of the film, we see a whole other angle to Darth Vader. We realize that he's not merely a villain, but an anti-hero we can't help but sympathize and fall in love with. A favorite amongst most moviegoers of all ages, no one can top the Dark Lord of the Sith: Darth Vader.
Thank you for joining us today on Movie Critic's Club's Top 10 Movie Villains. Happy Halloween!
Here are some villainous runner-ups:
Phyliss Dietrichson, Double Indemnity
Mrs. Iselin, The Manchurian Candidate
Scar, The Lion King
The Shark, Jaws
Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
*NOTE: I am crediting the following characters and their
respective films with both the actor who portrayed them and the member of the
crew most responsible for that character’s development in the accredited film.
In most cases this crewmember is the director; however, for Sleeping Beauty, You Only Live Twice,
and Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back,
I have listed either the producers or the creators of the character, as I feel
that they have had the most creative impact on the development of the villain.
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