Kill Bill Vol. 1
You call that begging? You can beg better than that.
Go-Go is a straight up killer. Maybe only sixteen, but her instincts and skills are second to none. When she finally squares off with the Bride, it’s one point we finally begin to worry about whether or not our heroine is going to make it because Go-Go is that formidable.
I’ll cut his heart out with a spoon!
Alan Rickman played the villain, The Sheriff Of Nottingham, with a maniacal wickedness that played both as evil and even the occasional humorous.
“It’s only a mere flesh wound.”
Not every villain has to be frightening to be a great villain, and The Black Knight is my most keen example of such. As he loses limb after limb and continues to taunt his assailiants it is absolutely hilarious, hence being #49 on this list.
Sleepy Hollow
Chris Walken is the perfect part for this role and he is part of the reason the horsemens becomes so terrifying. Yes, he is headless, but there are flashbacks that we get to see Walkens crazy eyes and frighening teeth. The character is evil and malevolent, a vicious killer with no remorse.
Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom
You are in a position unsuitable to give orders.
The guy pulls still beating hearts out of people while doing some crazy voodoo ritual making himself all powerful. Not to mention he has at his hand evil minions and an army of vicious killers. He almost gets the best of Indie, and though his demise is a violent one, his existence was pretty darn terrifying.
There are children here somewhere. I can smell them.
The child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was terrifying as a kid. Even if you could hide from him, he’d still use his extra large nose to smell you out. Using trickery he catches his victims, but he remains a frightening villain not only for children but for parents as well. And now he has a painful resemblance to Michael Jackson
Fatal Attraction
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!
One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest
The domineering and sadistic Nurse Ratched is the spoiler of all good, and represents all evil. Louise Fletcher picked up this role after actresses like Angela Landsbury, Ellen Burnstyn, and Anne Bancroft turned it down. It was her first film role and she was born to play it. The cold and heartless Nurse Ratched will forever be imprinted on all those who have seen this film.
Wall Street
“Greed captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.”
From the man who says, “Greed Is Good” Gordon Gekko is one of the nastiest character’s to ever grace the screen. Michael Douglas in his absolute prime encapsulates what it is to personify cruelty and live for the glory of success, money, and power. Gekko, the smooth talking slick as rain snake in the grass, is a painful representative of how money can corrupt the soul, the fixation on material things, and having them identify who you are as human being. At the end when Bud says he realized he could only be Bud, and that there was only one Gordon Gekko, he was right. This ruthless scoundrel is about as nasty and heartless as they come, but it’s a fun ride watching him operate.
The Lion King
Well as far as brains go I got the lion’s share but when it comes to brute strength, I’m afraid I’m at the shallow end of the gene pool.
Disney just hasn’t made a film with a villain so malevolent since The Lion King was released. Disney didn’t shy away from darkness and even murder. Mufasa was set up to save his young son Simba from a stampede of wildebeests. In the process his own brother Scar tossed him off the side of the cliff yelling “Long live the king” and watching as his brother was trampled and killed. Simba vainly attempted to awaken his father, shed some tears, and then cuddled up next to him. It was heart wrenching to watch as Scar scoffed in the back round pleased with the results as the audiences gasps in shock and tears.
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Great list so far! Pretty hard to pick out favorites from this group. I was tickled with excitement to see The Black Knight on here.
Nurse Ratched is probably the best villian who did so little. She could just stare at you and evil would pulsate from her eyes. It still amazes me how groundbreaking that movie was. Not only the storytelling and acting, but how it was a first feature film for alot of its actors.
And couldn’t agree more about Scar. Jeremy Irons was perfect for that role. I’m with ya on how Disney hasn’t had a villain on the level of Scar since then. When did they start being afraid of making their movies (somewhat) dark and with depth? I realize it’s animation, but unless it’s Pixar, most of the best animations have flourished because of well done villains and tragedies. I miss the days of having Scar and Jafar taking over movies.
Thanks Red.
I’m still depressed with the direction Disney has taken. It once was magical and powerful, and now is just another animated business.
I’m a sucker for Monty Python. It wouldn’t be right not to have the Black Knight.
Love to see Scar in your top 50. It was and still is so uncommon to see such an evil villain in a Disney movie. I’m also looking forward to seeing Gordon Gekko again in Wall Street 2. Great list Heather.
Looking forward to the top 40!
Thanks Castor.
I’m so happy to see Scar getting all this love. But……he does deserve it.
This must be a very evil list if Scar is only #40.
I intend to get as evil I can Fitz!
Go go was one of the best parts of Kill Bill, in my opinion. Glad to see she made it.
She may have had a small role, but certainly one of my most memorable when it comes to Bad Guys. If I was evil, I’d aim to be her.
Good lord, that’s an awesome list so far. Go-Go? Great call! Lookin’ forward to the rest of ‘em. That Nurse Ratched was SUCH a bitch, too.
Ratched was so subtle about her evil, and her portrayal was done with such realism, that she probably scared all the crazies sane that watched Cuckoos Nest just so they wouldn’t run into a crazy biznatch like her.
The Black Knight and the Headless Horseman? YES and YES. My love of Mel Brooks makes me hope that the Sheriff of Rottingham might get a spot on here, but that’s wishful thinking!
I can’t wait to see who else you picked, and I’d love it if Gene Hackman (as Little Bill Daggett in “Unforgiven”) or maybe Casanova Frankenstein (“Mystery Men”) showed up for the party.
By the stars, I forgot about the Sheriff Of Rottingham. Men In Tights is by far my favorite Mel Brooks flick.
I hope I can live up to your anticipation!
What is the deal with all the LEGO photos lately?
Either way, I’ve always kinda dug Mola Ram, and even more so feared Nurse Ratched. She’s one evil bitch.
I’m obsessed with LEGO, and I think it’s fun that it’s embracing the art of cinema to it’s goodness!
I second the thought that this list must be EVIL if Scar is so low. FYI, though, I liked Scar. Sure he’s all evil and everything but I COMPLETELY get his motivations, and he’s sort of sad in that way.
And can I just echo Ms. Close when she says Alex is NOT a villain! Damn, I was rooting for her all the way. She she popped up from the bathtub I was cheering.
Okay, I think I’ll go sit in the corner and ponder my weirdness…
You know, maybe that’s what makes Scar so terrifying in the first place. He has real life motives, and his character isn’t all superficially evil like Ursula or Jafar (even though they both are still scary as shat!), and I totally see what you are saying about him being sad.
Alex on the other hand was bonkers. A small amount of sympathy until she went there with the rabbits. She was batshit crazy.
Liking this list but need to see the TOP 40 to make a good comment here. LOVE Mola Ram and Go-Go… could do without the Headless Horseman and Black Knight… and Nurse Ratchet is a TOP 10, no??? I’m intrigued!
There are some goodies and surprises to come. I’ll do my best not to let you guys down Kai!
Nice, I expect No Country for Old Men, The Shining and the Horror greats like Pinhead, Freddy and Leatherface on here. Can’t wait!
You’ll get some of your mentions I’m sure of that Cello, but don’t expect it to be too typical a list!!!!!!!!!!
That child catcher gave me nightmares for years, actually looking at him now, he still does!
I used to hear in my head, “I can smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell them”. Even now his character is pretty unnerving.
Not sure I would classify The Black Knight as a villain…or Gecko for that matter. Sure Gordon is as slimy as they come but I think he falls far from being titles a “villain”. Great calls on Scar, and Nurse Ratched:)
The Black Knight is surely a villain! Just a funny as hell one! I can see the argument for Gecko though.
how in the HELL is frank booth not on this list? thats absurd
I think they should have put the villain ManBat in the top 50.