Top 13 Movie Villains

"The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness."
- Joseph Conrad

In movies there are always those who stand in the way of what is good and just. They do it for profit, for power, out of spite, or just sometimes for fun. These men haunt our nightmares and make us fear humanity. They become monsters and do unspeakable things that make even the good guys shudder. But this is about who I find to be the baddest bad guys in movies.

13. Gaston from Beauty and the Beast

"It's not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting ideas and thinking."

Gaston is the main antagonist of my favorite Disney film, Beauty and the Beast. He is this movie's perfect bad guy because he is the exact opposite of the Beast: he is handsome and extremely macho while at the same time being a brooding sexist and bully. The strange thing about Gaston is he starts out as just being an obnoxious womanizer who annoys the main hero Belle, but at the end turns into a vicious killer when he finds out Belle is in the love with the Beast. Not only is he found to be a coward, but is a cheap shot artist to boot. But still his fury gets the best of him which leads to his very cliched death. Gaston gets number thirteen for being a surprisingly homicidal jerk.

12. Michael Myers from Halloween

"Just try and understand what we're dealing with here. Don't underestimate it."

Michael Myers is the first face of slasher movies, ironically the face is a recreated William Shatner. But never the less this killer of few words ranks as one of the scariest people to ever earn the title of boogieman. After killing his sister at age six, Michael is imprisoned and eventually categorized by his doctor as "Purely and simply evil". That's what is so scary, there is nothing at all wrong with him he is just evil. He soon escapes however and...Well watch Halloween. Michael has a creepy habit of walking slowly and stalking young girls. The only sound he makes is that of heavy breathing. Oh yeah and he tends to not die. You can stab him, shoot him, burn him, run him down, beat him to a pulp, electrocute him. The bastard doesn't go down. Halloween would've been better without sequels because Michael is scarier when you're left with the thought that he is still out there somewhere.

11. Lucifer from The Prophecy

"Your war is arrogance, that makes it evil...And that's mine."

Out of all of the insane actors to play the infamous role (Al Pacino, Peter Stormare, Elizabeth Hurley) I never would have thought Viggo Mortenson would be the one to play him just right. The Devil himself Lucifer does make an appearance late in the Prophecy to help the heroes defeat a renegade Angel played by Christopher Walken. Lucifer appears in a black suit of course, but also has the essence of a truly animalistic creature. He comes and goes, taunting the good guys while also giving them advice. He states plainly how different he is from his former partner by stating his lack of love or sympathy for humanity. He does what he does only to prevent the main villain from running him out of business. He even describes what hell is exactly. And you will know just how evil he is when he tears out a heart and eats it or when he vanishes into a horde of bats. This Lucifer will paint your world black.

10. Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs

"If they hadn't a done what I told 'em not to do they'd still be alive."

Real name Vic Vega, Mr. Blonde is the cause of a heist gone wrong in Reservoir Dogs. We are told in the movie that Blonde had gone insane when a hostage tripped a silent alarm and began a killing spree that led to an intense shootout. But when we see Blonde he is calm, without remorse and almost passive about the entire thing. Despite the movie being a crime thriller, Blonde moves and acts very much like a slasher villain. For most of the time he is on screen he acts less violent than his comrades. That is until they are gone and he is left to look after a bound cop and does probably one of the most horrifying things ever in 90s cinema. Blonde leaves as abruptly as he enters and by the end of the movie we're still left to wonder just what exactly he did during the robbery.

9. Scar from The Lion King

"Long live the king!"

Disney movies show kids some courtesy and treat us like adults. They don't hesitate to show us a villain like Scar in a movie like The Lion King. Scar is an animal not only because he is a lion, but because he is a conniving, ruthless traitor who kills his own brother for the thrown. He is voiced by Jeremy Irons to boot. After exiling his nephew Simba, he runs his kingdom into the gutter but is in the end the subject of revenge not by the hero but by his own minions. Scar is a bastard of a villain and deserves to be on this list.

8. Early Grayce from Kalifornia

"Hey Bri, ask me some questions! "Do I feel powerful? Do I feel superior?" No I...I feel good."

Rednecks have always made for surreal or scary psychopaths. But at the beginning of his career, Brad Pitt took the cake as a greasy, paranoid serial killer Early Grayce. For a film where characters try to discover what makes a killer tick, Early was perfect because we are left to spectulate what motivates him. There are times when he kills for desperation and another for trivial reasons (A pair of flip flops for his girl). He breaks his parole with his simple minded girlfriend so he can move away from the sight of his murders. He tags along with a yuppie couple and buddies up with the boyfriend, a nonfiction writer, and repulses the girlfriend, a photographer. That is the sadness as Early grows on our hero, that is before he realizes what he is. Early is surprising, vicious and by the end you won't even recognize him as Brad Pitt.

7. John Doe from Se7en

"You're only alive today because I didn't kill you."

Evil at it's finest. The worst evil is the kind that considers itself to be good. John Doe, a mystery of a murderer, kills because he believes it is God's work and that he is shedding light on sin. His victims are chosen based off of the seven deadly sins. His agenda is unknown until the end and when it happens it is something truly ingenius and horrifying. Doe believes strongly that the people he kills are guilty and evil and that he is a necessary evil. He goes to extreme measures to prevent an error in his plans and to make his victims die "right". The film does the write thing by not showing him until the end. We may never know who he was exactly but we will never forget what he did.

6. The Joker from The Dark Knight

"This city deserves a better class of criminal. And I'm gonna give it to them."

Oh yes, Heath Ledger outdoes even Jack Nicholson when playing Batman's arch enemy. Here The Joker is shown to be a raving terrorist and mass murderer who is obsessed with showing the world to be as insane as himself. His mouth was cut ear to ear in the past under mysterious circumstances, making a permanant grin. Now he exists only to be a duality to Batman, or more so the perfect duality to good. He kills brutally and without pause and is above nothing. No one knows when his plans will end. One thing is known however he will only stop when he dies, and he isn't the least bit scared of death. In fact he encourages it. The Joker ranks as one of the most menacing villains in recent years.

5. Lestat from Interview With The Vampire

"Don't be afraid. I'm going to give you the choice I never had."

Yeah forget Dracula, this is the charming vampire I fear the most. Lestat, played by Tom Cruise, is a manipulator and a self made creature of the night who at times seeks companionship for his dark path. He gleefully kills rich women for sport but is annoyed with concepts such as kindness and spirituality. His motivations are blood and luxury. He is an interesting vampire as nothing seems to kill him, even drinking dead blood which he claims usually does the trick. Lestat goes through a lot and over the centuries he experiences as much misery as he has joy. If one is unfortunate enough to meet him he may give you an opportunity to be like him which is a win or lose situation.

4. Noah Cross from Chinatown

"Most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the right place they're capable of...Anything!"

Noah Cross, here is a villain who I knew was sinister but never could have imagined he'd turn out the way he did. Cross is a shady millionaire industrialist who runs his operations in 1930s Los Angeles. He however becomes involved in his son in law and business partner's murder and it is soon revealed what kind of a man he truly is. Cross is an unspeakable monster who has one thing more than any of these villains. Absolute power. The police can't touch him, therefore the hero can't either. That is the sadness of Chinatown: Noah Cross can't be stopped.

3. Darth Vader from Star Wars

"I find your lack of faith disturbing."

The hand behind the galactic Empire. Vader is a former hero who crossed over to the Dark side and now reigns supreme. He is known for wearing a black metallic suit that keeps him alive and his mask causes him to breathe heavily. He has the upper hand often by using his mastery of the force and lightsaber to destroy his enemies. Vader is a force to be reckoned with but also has a deep connection with his primary enemies. This is one everyone remembers and always will rememer because of his epic evil he represents.

2. Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men

"You stand to win everything. Call it."

This in my opinion is evil personified. Unflinching, uncaring, relentless evil. Anton Chigurh is a hitman who is assigned to what others can't. He has an extreme sense of honor, if he is dishonored you will die. That means fighting him, annoying him, wasting his time, or sometimes being near him. No one sees his face and lives and if they do they become "accountable". There isn't much he won't do to get the job done. There are times when he is confused when his code is questioned. This is his way and he knows no other way to live. There is some zen mystery to him as we don't know where a man like this comes from. What could make a man like this. So evil.

1. Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs

"Oh Clarice, you're problem is you need to get more fun out of life."

Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter is all that is insane. He is at first a manipulator and the source of fear is within his disturbing behavior and his reputation. Until he is biting into a police officer's face, you won't know how monstrous he is. What makes Hannibal so infamous, is how charming and intelligent he is. There are points when you want him to win. He has been known to help the authorities catch similar killers, while at the same time playing with their minds. He is also a master escape artist. One may be lucky enough not to be a victim of his as he tends to eat the rude whenever he can. So smart is he that if you had him at gunpoint he could convince you to shoot yourself in the head. A killer that can get inside your mind as well as your flesh. People who go head to head with Hannibal Lecter are immediately on his menu, save for pretty young FBI agents.

This has been a recollection of badness from Your Modest Guru. Thanks for reading.