I’m more influenced by movies than by manga, so when asked to draft up a list of favourite villains, movie villains fly to my mind. Most of my stories don’t have villains, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like seeing thoroughly evil, interesting people on the silver screen. Oddly enough, I dislike seeing mad, bad villains in manga. I also dislike seeing mad, bad villains in movies which I don’t believe are up to my high standards (I tolerate bad manga, but I don’t tolerate bad movies). The exact reason for this is difficult to pin down… it could just be down to influences. Being influenced by movies rather than manga, in my opinion, is a good thing. Helps me avoids the pitfalls of manga cliches.

I have made some strict rules for my compilation of this list:

 

• The villain must be a MOVIE character. This includes animation, ofcourse.
• They cannot be the film’s main character. They must be a secondary character. Sorry, Travis Bickle from “Taxi Driver”.
• They have to be irredeemably bad/evil, and not just “misunderstood” or “tortured”. Therefore, characters who are just enemies of the protagonists in a movie may not necessarily qualify.
• They have to be humanoid, or at least exhibit characteristics of a human. That rules out the Aliens in the “Aliens” Trilogy, King Kong from “King Kong, the Shark in “Jaws”, and countless other creatures that go bump in the night.
• They have to be distinct, unique individuals. They can’t be vague entities or energy masses that other antagonists in the movie channel as inspiration for bad behaviour. Out goes Satan and friends in endless films, including “The Exorcist” and “Rosemary’s Baby”.
• They must be memorable, or at least have something about them that makes them memorable. This is arbitrary, but I’ll justify my choices. Being ordinarily evil isn’t good enough to make this list.
• They had better be in a good movie in the first place. Again, this is arbitrary. And I’ve never encountered a superhero villain that wasn’t corny in some way, either.

 

Other than that, there are no limits on when the movies were made, where they came from or what language they speak (if they speak at all).

 

Best Movie Villains (In No Particular Order)

Reverend Harry Powell (Night of the Hunter, 1955)
Yes, first on the list is a guy you’ve probably never heard of. The exploits of the sinister and thoroughly evil Reverend Harry Powell, however, has since passed into legend. Maybe you’ve heard of him without knowing it. Take his hands, for example, on which are tattooed the words “L-O-V-E” and the word “H-A-T-E”. And then he’ll say, in that smooth-talking, unsettling manner of his, “Do you want to hear the story of left-hand and right-hand”? That he’s in a movie which resembles a nightmare only adds to the effect. Night of the Hunter has some scenes in it that has become a prototype for endless other similar scenes in lesser horror movies.

 

 

Rotwang (Metropolis, 1926)
Ah, the grand-daddy of all mad scientists. Metropolis was made in 1926, decades before anyone had conceived of “special effects”, and yet, it is one of the most visionary sci-fi movies ever made. The hellish skyline of Metropolis became a prototype for zillions of other sci-fi movies, and from its chief antagonist, Rotwang, came legions of synthetic-limbed, shuffling loonies with over-the-top mannerisms and bubbling beakers. Rotwang is actually more sympathetic than the other characters on this list, but seeing that he inspired so many other unsympathetic characters, he still scores second place.

 

 

Darth Vader (The Original Star Wars Triology, 1977)
No list of Movie Villains will be complete without Darth Vader. I personally don’t like the Star Wars movies much (I’m so going to get flamed for this), since I prefer my sci-fi cerebral and complex – but Darth Vader is just so cool. His black facial armour and sinister breathing manner totally ownz Luke Skywalker. And he has a better light sabre too.

 

 

Bill (Kill Bill, 2003/4)
Apart from the dastardly Bill, this spot also includes Elle Driver, Oren Ishii, and Gogo Yubari. Bill and co are the epitome of the mad, bad villain – and I love charismatic and flamboyant villains over sinister and psychotic ones. They strut, they look good in leather, they are sonuvabitches (or just bitches), and they make no apologies for killing people left, right and centre. This may sound shocking, but I love characters who kill indiscriminately, stylishly, and with minimal angst and mess for housekeeping to clean up. Bill and co embody that (unfortunately, the Bride doesn’t. Too messy).

 

 

Norman Bates (Psycho, 1960)
Not the new Psycho, but the original one directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Psycho was one of the most shocking films of the 60s, and it’s villain, Norman Bates, was an original for that time period. If you already know the story then you’ll know why. Norman Bates falls strongly into the “mad slasher psycho” category, but is way more memorable because he (a) actually has a personality of sorts and (b) genuinely appears to be a likeable young man. Recent slasher movies always introduce the chief antagonist as some no-personality, hooded stalker who conspicuously wears sub-arctic gear in tropical climates (meanwhile, teenaged female victims run around screaming in wet T-shirts). Their motives for mass slaughter are always murky and at the convenience of the plot. Psycho, on the other hand, makes Norman into someone with an agenda, and even has him interact with the other characters as a normal person would – hence, is one of the best thrillers ever made. The last shot in the movie, or Norman, creeped me out. One of the few serial killers in movies that I find genuinely scary (instead of funny).

 

 

Hannibal Lector (Silence of the Lambs, 1992)
Hannibal the Cannibal only scores a number 6, and only the Hannibal from Silence of the Lambs count. Hannibal was alot scarier when Clarence was the main character and he was a psychopath who did artful things with people’s faces. That he was in the same movie as another psychopath called Buffalo Bill didn’t minimise his charisma, as Hannibal almost stole the movie. Part of his appear is because as a hyper-intelligent psychologist, he gives the impression he can dissect a person’s brain without even laying a fingernail on them. Hannibal would make interesting conversation at boring cocktail parties (if he doesn’t eat everyone there).

 

 

HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968)
Not a psychopath, and not a flamboyant villain. But a coldly logical, homicidal computer. HAL 9000 is thoroughly evil, because while he knows the logical definition of “goodness” and “morality”, he deliberate chooses to act against it. His behaviour is a result of his flawed programming, which amongst computers, I believe, makes him a psychopath. HAL gets points for singing “Daisy” better than I can. It happens to be the only villain on this list with a moving “death” scene.

 

 

T-1000 (Terminator 2, 1991)
Arnold Schwarzneggar gets battered by it, and it would waste that totally lame terminator in Terminator 3 (which has all the menace of a walking, talking Barbie). Nothing beats the Mercury Man. As evil machines go, the T-1000 doesn’t have as much personality as HAL 9000, but it makes up for it by being utterly unrelenting and almost impossible get rid of. Almost impossible, that is.

 

 

Wicked Witch of the West (Wizard of Oz, 1939)
I used to be scared of this green-faced creature. Ofcourse, now it’s just a laughing matter, especially when you see her dissolve into a puddle of goo when splashed with water. Nevertheless, the Wicked Witch remains a staple of villainy in a film that has been seen by more than 2 billion people on this planet. On the other hand, the musical “Wicked” turns her into a heroine, so it’s interesting to see that there’s a lot of sympathy for her out there.

 

 

The Evil Queen (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937)
I hated Snow White in that movie. She voice sounded so sickenly sweet that I wanted to barf when she started singing. The Evil Queen, on the other hand, was much more interesting. Just look at her, I mean, especially when she waves her hands in front of the Mirror Mirror, and then plots Snow White’s death. My favourite scene is when she flees from the dwarves. One of the greatest animated films out there, and a sad reminder of the crap that Disney churns out these days.