There are few elements as imperative to a great story as a truly fantastic villain. However, villains can come in many different forms, from the so bad they’re good type—like Heath Ledger’s the Joker or Christoph Waltz’s Han Landa—to the misunderstood antagonists who intrigue viewers with their shady morality and their complexity, like Blade Runner’s Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer). Sometimes, though, it is just nice to have a big bad who is oh so good at being evil.
From the manipulative and condescending to the outright evil, these villains stand as some of the most contemptible and despicable figures cinema has ever seen. Be they real-world evils of fantasy fiends, antagonists from new-age movies, or devils from decades long past, these 10 movie villains certainly know how to make the audience’s blood boil.
10
Biff Tannen
‘Back to the Future’ Trilogy (1985–1990)
There are few villainous cliques as established and world-famous as that of the schoolyard bully, and there are few schoolyard bullies quite as foul as Back to the Future’s Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson). After he is initially introduced as George McFly’s (Crispin Glover) domineering and malignant supervisor, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) gets the chance to see what Biff was truly like in high school when he travels back in time 30 years and has to scheme to ensure his parents attend the school dance together.
Not only a brutish bully but a conniving opportunist as well, Biff Tannen remains the major villain throughout the whole trilogy, be it through his advantageous manipulation of a futuristic sports almanac, or the presence of his violent ancestor “Mad Dog” Tannen when Marty and Doc (Christopher Lloyd) travel back to 1885. Such disdainful villainy is part of the reason why it is always so good to see Biff get his comeuppance, with George’s famous punch in the original film still standing as one of the most satisfying movie moments of all time.
9
Miss Trunchbull
‘Matilda’ (1996)
Brilliantly directed by Danny DeVito, 1996’s Matilda thrives as a near-perfect realization of Roald Dahl’s children’s book, one rife with all the wonder, charm, and underlying darkness that have made the author’s works so enduring. It also thrives at realizing the utter villainy of Miss Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), the tyrannical and mean-spirited principal of Crunchem Hall Elementary School, who begins to target Matilda (Mara Wilson), a precocious child from a dysfunctional home imbued with powers of telekinesis.
As frightful and assertive as her hulking build would indicate, Miss Trunchbull takes great pleasure in making the lives of Matilda, her fellow students, and even Matilda’s kind-hearted and encouraging teacher, Miss Honey (Embeth Davidtz), as miserable as possible. Made all the more reprehensible by Ferris’ absolutely perfect performance, Miss Trunchbull is something of a highlight of contemptible villainy in children’s entertainment.
Matilda
- Release Date
-
June 28, 1996
- Runtime
-
98minutes
8
Mrs. Carmody
‘The Mist’ (2007)
There are few things as rage-inducing in film as seeing a manipulative and power-hungry villain successfully warp the minds of the masses while posturing as some innocent or good-willed beacon of purity. The Mist executes this spectacularly. Based on Stephen King’s novel, the film sees a father and his young son join several other residents of the small town of Bridgton, Maine, taking shelter in the local supermarket when a mysterious fog descends upon the town, bringing with it a swarm of monsters.
While the initial threat is the man-eating beasts outside, a new horror emerges in the form of Mrs. Carmody’s (Marcia Gay Harden) religious dogma that quickly sweeps through several of the survivors, festering to the point where they believe human sacrifices will save them. The Christian fanatic eclipses even the terrifying monsters to be the major antagonistic presence, with her conniving lust for power and influence making her a despicable extremist who is easy to despise.
The Mist
- Release Date
-
November 21, 2007
- Runtime
-
126 minutes
7
Mr. Potter
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ (1946)
One of the greatest movie villains of Old Hollywood, and probably the single most contemptible as well, Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) is the detestable embodiment of greed and unfiltered capitalism. He is a ruthless businessman who holds much of the town of Bedford Falls in his grasp. The only point of resistance is George Bailey (James Stewart), a selfless and charitable man whose endeavor to help those around him leads him to believe he has missed out on the life he’d rather have lived.
While It’s a Wonderful Life focuses on Bailey’s life—and how Bedford Falls would be different had he never been born—the central conflict is between Potter’s immense wealth, ambition, and power, and Bailey’s resourcefulness and generosity. A wicked and ill-tempered curmudgeon who would merrily walk the people of Bedford Falls into financial ruin to line his own pockets, Mr. Potter is an embittered and selfish old man who, through his unadulterated greed and spitting ire, is one of the most hateable villains of Hollywood’s Golden Era.
6
Captain Vidal
‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)
A breathtaking dark fairy tale that sees the sensational Guillermo del Toro at his commanding best, Pan’s Labyrinth is a flawless marriage of fantasy intrigue and real-world brutality that is one of the best pictures the fantasy genre has ever seen. It follows Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), a young girl in Francoist Spain who, with her heavily pregnant mother, is dragged to her stepfather’s station in the hills so he can be present for the birth of his child while still fighting the rebel faction. At the house, Ofelia befriends a mythical faun who says she can return to her rightful place as princess of the underworld if she completes three tasks.
While Ofelia’s journey is rife with both wonder and harrowing horrors, much of the film’s dramatic suspense comes in the form of her stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergi López). A deranged psychopath who takes great delight in inflicting pain upon others, Vidal is among the most brutal villains cinema has ever seen. This, coupled with his complete disregard for others, his authoritative totalitarianism, and his devotion to Falangism, makes Vidal one of the most violent and abhorrent characters to have ever graced the screen.
5
Percy Wetmore
‘The Green Mile’ (1999)
Humanity as a whole holds a particularly searing hatred for squeamish and skulking cowards who coast by on the influence of their relatives while using every little bit of the authority they have to antagonize those under them. There has perhaps never been a more potent realization of such a character as Percy Wetmore (Doug Hutchison) from Frank Darabont’s outstanding adaptation of Stephen King’s The Green Mile.
Set on death row at the Cold Mountain Penitentiary, the film follows Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) and his fellow guards as they develop a bond with John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a black inmate with supernatural healing powers who is accused of murdering two young white girls. A violent and domineering guard, Wetmore takes great delight in antagonizing the inmates and his fellow guards, only to wriggle free from facing the consequences of his actions by flaunting his connection to the governor.
4
Nurse Ratched
‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ (1975)
One of the most famous villains of all time, Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) proves to be so detestable and aggravating an antagonist due to her cold and condescending demeanor and her embodiment of complete authority. She is the head of the medical ward at the mental institution where Randall Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is sent when he feigns psychological illness to avoid jail time after being charged with statutory rape.
As McMurphy tries to stir up an air of energized rebellion among his fellow patients, Nurse Ratched defies him with her rigid regime of order and control, one that she imposes on the patients through fear and intimidation. While her iron fist rule may be deemed a callous necessity rather than an evil abuse of power, Ratched affirms herself as one of cinema’s most terrible villains through her overbearing method of control, resulting in Billy’s (Brad Dourif) suicide and her involvement in having McMurphy lobotomized.
3
Commodus
‘Gladiator’ (2000)
A mesmerizing revenge epic set against the mighty backdrop of ancient Rome, Gladiator is a rousing story of one man’s vendetta and how it changes the landscape of an entire civilization. Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) is a general in the Roman army and a loyal servant of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris). However, when the emperor is killed by his own power-hungry son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who has Maximus’ family slaughtered and Maximus himself thrown into slavery, the soldier takes to gladiatorial combat to pave a pathway towards Rome and vengeance.
The film is a technical masterpiece on every level, but a huge reason why it is so engrossing is Phoenix’s outstandingly repulsive performance as Commodus. Not only a conniving traitor who commits patricide to become emperor, but an abusive creep in love with his own sister as well, Commodus is a manipulative and cruel figure with grand aspirations to dissolve the Senate so he can rule Rome alone. His demise at the hands of a weakened Maximus gives Gladiator a rewarding albeit bittersweet climax.
Gladiator
- Release Date
-
May 5, 2000
- Runtime
-
155 minutes
2
Professor Umbridge
‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ (2007)
There are few characters as ceaselessly irritating and repulsively duplicitous as Professor Delores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton). Ironically, she isn’t even close to being considered the main villain of the extensive Harry Potter franchise, but her disdainful presence in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix marks one of the most aggravating characters in the saga. Implemented by the Ministry of Magic as Hogwarts’ Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Umbridge maintains a watchful eye over Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends—particularly Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon)—as they try to prepare for the return of Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).
A wickedly cruel witch, Umbridge embraces the full breadth of her authoritarian position to inflict torment and physical pain on students while conducting invasive inspections on key personnel at the school to report back to the Ministry of Magic. The fact that she does this all beneath the pretty pink veneer that is her cozy aesthetic only makes her even more despicable. As far as fictional villains go, she is the single most contemptible character cinema has ever seen.
1
Amon Goeth
‘Schindler’s List’ (1993)
Not only the most hated villain in the history of film, but a disturbing and depraved real-world evil as well, Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes) is as haunting as he is loathsome as he occupies the major antagonistic role in Steven Spielberg’s harrowing WWII classic, Schindler’s List. The film focuses on Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) as he uses his factory workshops and his influence with the Nazi high command to recruit Jewish workers so that they may be spared the horrors of the concentration camps.
With Fiennes’ arresting and confronting performance, Goeth permeates every scene he appears in with a ruthless and unpredictable evil. Psychotic, sadistic, and completely unaffected by the heinous things he does, Goeth is as monstrous a figure ever put to screen. His brief moments of contemplation and his conflicted affection for his Jewish maid bring nuance and complexity to his spite, but it also only makes him all the more reprehensible. Fiennes’ incredible feat of acting that juggled a complicated psyche with pure evil went on to be nominated for an Academy Award, while his portrayal of Goeth marks the most despicable character in film history.