#20
Freddy Krueger (Nightmare on Elm Street, played by Robert Englund)
Even though I have only seen one of the movies in the Nightmare on Elm Street series, which is the first and original, and I do hear that that the character of Freddy Krueger does get more goofy and over the top as the films progress, I think the way he was portrayed in the first movie was quite memorable and left an impact. Now where there moments when he was goofy and over the top in the first film, yes. But still there were scenes involving him that I felt were quite suspenseful and super eerie that actually balanced out with or even outdid the goofy over the top scenes. Like any great villain, Krueger still gets across with an intimidating presence, oozing an eerie atmosphere. A lot of this is thanks to Robert Englund's very memorable performance. He knows just when to be silly and when to be crud your pants terrifying. Because of this Freddy Krueger makes for one great villain, and he's one character you hope you don't run into in your dreams.
#19
Hans Gruber (Die Hard, played by Alan Rickman)
Who said the most devious villains can't be classy? Before he was Snape, Alan Rickman was the German terrorist, Hans Gruber, a man that hid a raging maniacal monster with a presence of slick, calm, coolness. This is the kind of guy, like Dracula or The Emperor, who has everything set in motion and plan. The only thing in his way, is a snarky crude-mouthed cop from New York named John McClane. One of the many things that make this character great is his unbelievably great chemistry with the film's hero. These two can't be anymore polar opposites than they already are. John is a dirty, rugged, foul-mouthed hot head who barely ever has a plan and always goes with sudden instinct first. Then we have Hans who is a collected person who always has a plan to keep being two steps ahead of his enemies. In films it is usually the good guy who is cool and collected while the villain is the over the top hot head, but here things are switched around, which is why both this film and its villain are so great. Rickman is just awesome in this role as well. He performs Hans as the kind of guy who's a badass but does not need to be loud or overly masculine to prove so. Just his words and actions speak for themselves. It's like if James Bond was suddenly German and turned to the dark side. Hans Gruber is one Mother F'er you don't want to mess with!
You know how they say you should respect the elderly, even though at times they can be pushy. An ethical moral, but then there is Henry F. Potter, a man that does not deserve every respect in the world. Mr. Potter is one of the baddies that audiences love to hate. And it is not like the character is written poorly, he is actually written very good, so good in fact that he almost seems real. His dialogue, his expressions, his actions, and all thanks to Barrymore who was able to bring this character to life. And the more life that was put into the character and the more real he seemed to be, makes us have more of an emotional connection to him. And the only emotions we can feel when facing this guy is an incredible amount of anger and disgust. This is a guy who takes advantage of the innocent in order to get his own way. He is the reason why George Bailey's Building and Loan firm lose money, which almost put Bailey in a great amount of jeopardy. Just the way this guy smirks and scowls is just enough to send bad vibes to people. And though he is handicapped, that still does not remove any intimidation he has on the folks of Bedford Falls. He has such a despicable yet ingenious mind in how to manipulate others and get them to do his will. Mr. Potter is truly a man with a not so wonderful life that others would rather choose to ignore.
To some it may make more sense to put Buffalo Bill, played brilliantly by Ted Levine, in this spot, but let's face it Lecter is by far the more iconic. Though he is not really that much of a villain in the film, he actually consults Clarice Starling how to catch Buffalo Bill, he still has this terrifying and ominous presence to him like many other great cinematic villains do. He does not do much in the film, though he does have a couple of good films, but just taking a look at him, you can tell he has pure villainy written all over him. He does not have to do much, yet he can still come across convincing. When experiencing the guy, you figure out his story right away, or at least you think you do, he is that much of a mystery. But the very least you know the reason why he is locked up is because he committed some ungodly crimes. We get that sense of vibe when he is just talking to Clarice whether it would be about Buffalo Bill or her own past. We see that though he is helping Starling catch Bill, he is still impressed and in awe of some of his crimes, and methods he practices to commit them. We also see that he gets some sort of unexplained but sick pleasure upon learning about Clarice's tragic past. This is a guy who embraces misery, pain, and the unethical. He sees it as an art and he admires the talented but dangerous artists who create them. He is basically a mastermind that takes joy in seeing those that seem to follow in his footsteps. His lifestyle and interests maybe scary and bizarre to us, but to him it simply heaven.
HEEEEEERE'S JACK! My favorite director, Stanley Kubrick, teams with my favorite actor, Jack Nicholson, who oddly enough plays a guy named Jack in the horror masterpiece, The Shining. Nicholson plays a tortured man who progressively becomes more demented while watching over the eerie and deserted Overlook Hotel. The demons and haunts that dwell in the hotel begin to torture Jack's mind as he descends into deep madness, eventually turning on his family. There have been famous criticisms by Stephen King himself, the author of the novel from which the film is based on, that Kubrick made Jack Torrance out to be an unsympathetic villain from the get go, who just need a little bit of a push to become full blown psychotic, while Torrance in the novel was more of a sympathetic and struggling family man who loses his mind and ethics to the apparitions of the hotel. But despite that, this film has to work as a narrative film first before a crystal pure retelling of the book. That is how most film adaptations have to to work. Yes there are some elements that simply cannot be changed or tampered with, because that is imply how the story has to work. But at the same time, the director, or auteur, has to create their own vision on how they see the story. And Kubrick's vision of Jack Torrance, as well as the performance Nicholson was able to bring because of the direction, came off as incredibly iconic and even horrifying. Wendy Torrance, Jack's wife played by Shelly Duvall, has to face one of the greatest fears I believe we all have in some way, and that is facing someone we love we consider family, either practically or literally, who is violently opposing us. And Jack could not be more of a broken down psychotic that no one would dare to come face to face with!
The character you can argue paved the way and even had major influence on infamous psychotic cinematic villains to come, Anthony Perkins as the troubled and dangerous Norman Bates is iconic for his brilliant and intimidating performance as well as the troubling mystery surrounding the character. The twist involving him, though many of you might know, I will still not dare to spoil for anyone who hasn't seen Alfred Hitchcock's thriller masterpiece, Psycho, yet. I highly recommend it! Most thrillers and suspense films with plot twists and twist endings owe it all to this film and the character of Norman Bates. He is the kind of man who you are both curious and afraid of what goes on inside his head. Because by watching him, there obviously something going on. From the things he says, to the actions he takes, to the little quirks and habits he does, you know he is constantly keeping himself busy to restrain or control something dangerous within. He is intriguing, yet dangerous, a deadly combo! He can lure you in with his strange personality, but at the unexpected time he can explode like a time bomb in a second. You never know whether you want to be around or away from him. I personally would choose the latter. Because the more you know him, the more you wish you'd know less.
Considered to be one of the greatest villains in recent cinema, the late Heath Ledger truly made a stamp in Hollywood history when he portrayed the iconic Batman villain , the Joker, in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. I have to be honest the first time watching this movie, I was not floored with Ledger's performance like everybody else was. I thought it was good, but at the time it could not compare to another kind of similar performance that may appear down more on this list. But the more and more I watched the film, the more I realize that this is an entirely new and fresh performance and I began loving it just as everybody else does. Ledger does a great job in incorporating all the other Jokers that have came before him in other media, while at the same time create his own terrifying interpretation. I like to call this a real-world Joker. A Joker that you may hardly see in any comic book or cartoon, but one that may be plausible living in the real world. At the same time though, Ledger understands what this specific Joker and the Joker in general has to be. For example, during the scene or James Gordon is promoted to police commissioner, while everybody in the police department is clapping for his success, the Joker goes ahead and claps along as well, much to everybody's surprise. Well that surprise was a genuine reaction because Ledger actually improvised that. Nolan did not tell him to do that during that scene, but Heath understood his character and the overall character of the Joker so well that he knew what action to take. This is how much of a dedicated performance this was. Ledger prepared for this role for months, and the effort clearly shows. He took a comic book character and made him a frightening reality. Whether moments he is really funny or really terrifying, the Joker managed to strike fear into the hearts of the innocent, an opposite to his worthy opponent.
Though Arnold Schwarzenegger was a pretty good villain in the first Terminator film, Robert Patrick as the T-1000 elevated the villain status. Not only does the T-1000 have many upgraded abilities than Schwarzenegger's T-800, like transforming into liquid metal, and shapeshifting into sharp objects and people, but he is a lot scarier. Like the T-800, he has the unstoppable determination to complete the mission and assassinate his target, but added he has the abilities of the best killer in the world, making for a dangerous combination. He is a being that cannot be bought or reasoned with, all that matters is his mission to terminate the future leader of the Resistance, John Connor. On top of that he also poses as a great threat to the T-800, who is a hero this time around trying to protect John, because of all the advantages he has. Robert Patrick does a great job in portraying this killer with his cold dead eyes, but also having the ability to adapt to the personalities of every day people. He has the talents to blend in to the crowd, which is not great if you are trying to hide from him. If hundreds of these are marching around in the future if the machines and SkyNet take over, I believe all hope is lost. Because there is almost no way to outsmart or say 'hasta la vista' to this unstoppable monster!
Speaking of tortured and mentally conflicted characters, here is a prime example. Though Sauron is the main villain of the trilogy, I see him more as a big over the top Saturday morning cartoon villain than a legitimate threat, with that big glowing lizard eye on top of the tower and Dr. Claw-like voice, despite that I still really love these movies because everything else is above expectations. But I believe that Smeagol, or Gollum as he is now called, is one of the few antagonistic characters in this film series that truly outshines them all, as well being one of the best written characters period. Like Ramses he never intended to be the villain, but it was the power of the One Ring that possessed him, and ultimately make him have an unhealthy obsession. This character was tortured by the Ring for what had seemed to be an eternity of loneliness and loss of ethical thought and memories. This gradually make him develop a split personality of his innocent side and his dark obsessive side. The way they play around with this in the movies is just brilliant, and Andy Serkis' terrific acting and expressions just adds to how real this character felt. Yes, most of us, including myself, loves to do silly impressions of this character and his voice, but the darkness of this character's story, the groundbreaking motion-capture animation, along with Serkis' brilliant acting truly gave us a villain that I would like to call...precious!
#18
Mr. Henry F. Potter (It's A Wonderful Life, played by Lionel Barrymore)
You know how they say you should respect the elderly, even though at times they can be pushy. An ethical moral, but then there is Henry F. Potter, a man that does not deserve every respect in the world. Mr. Potter is one of the baddies that audiences love to hate. And it is not like the character is written poorly, he is actually written very good, so good in fact that he almost seems real. His dialogue, his expressions, his actions, and all thanks to Barrymore who was able to bring this character to life. And the more life that was put into the character and the more real he seemed to be, makes us have more of an emotional connection to him. And the only emotions we can feel when facing this guy is an incredible amount of anger and disgust. This is a guy who takes advantage of the innocent in order to get his own way. He is the reason why George Bailey's Building and Loan firm lose money, which almost put Bailey in a great amount of jeopardy. Just the way this guy smirks and scowls is just enough to send bad vibes to people. And though he is handicapped, that still does not remove any intimidation he has on the folks of Bedford Falls. He has such a despicable yet ingenious mind in how to manipulate others and get them to do his will. Mr. Potter is truly a man with a not so wonderful life that others would rather choose to ignore.
#17
Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs, played by Sir Anthony Hopkins)
To some it may make more sense to put Buffalo Bill, played brilliantly by Ted Levine, in this spot, but let's face it Lecter is by far the more iconic. Though he is not really that much of a villain in the film, he actually consults Clarice Starling how to catch Buffalo Bill, he still has this terrifying and ominous presence to him like many other great cinematic villains do. He does not do much in the film, though he does have a couple of good films, but just taking a look at him, you can tell he has pure villainy written all over him. He does not have to do much, yet he can still come across convincing. When experiencing the guy, you figure out his story right away, or at least you think you do, he is that much of a mystery. But the very least you know the reason why he is locked up is because he committed some ungodly crimes. We get that sense of vibe when he is just talking to Clarice whether it would be about Buffalo Bill or her own past. We see that though he is helping Starling catch Bill, he is still impressed and in awe of some of his crimes, and methods he practices to commit them. We also see that he gets some sort of unexplained but sick pleasure upon learning about Clarice's tragic past. This is a guy who embraces misery, pain, and the unethical. He sees it as an art and he admires the talented but dangerous artists who create them. He is basically a mastermind that takes joy in seeing those that seem to follow in his footsteps. His lifestyle and interests maybe scary and bizarre to us, but to him it simply heaven.
#16
Jack Torrance (The Shining, played by Jack Nicholson)
HEEEEEERE'S JACK! My favorite director, Stanley Kubrick, teams with my favorite actor, Jack Nicholson, who oddly enough plays a guy named Jack in the horror masterpiece, The Shining. Nicholson plays a tortured man who progressively becomes more demented while watching over the eerie and deserted Overlook Hotel. The demons and haunts that dwell in the hotel begin to torture Jack's mind as he descends into deep madness, eventually turning on his family. There have been famous criticisms by Stephen King himself, the author of the novel from which the film is based on, that Kubrick made Jack Torrance out to be an unsympathetic villain from the get go, who just need a little bit of a push to become full blown psychotic, while Torrance in the novel was more of a sympathetic and struggling family man who loses his mind and ethics to the apparitions of the hotel. But despite that, this film has to work as a narrative film first before a crystal pure retelling of the book. That is how most film adaptations have to to work. Yes there are some elements that simply cannot be changed or tampered with, because that is imply how the story has to work. But at the same time, the director, or auteur, has to create their own vision on how they see the story. And Kubrick's vision of Jack Torrance, as well as the performance Nicholson was able to bring because of the direction, came off as incredibly iconic and even horrifying. Wendy Torrance, Jack's wife played by Shelly Duvall, has to face one of the greatest fears I believe we all have in some way, and that is facing someone we love we consider family, either practically or literally, who is violently opposing us. And Jack could not be more of a broken down psychotic that no one would dare to come face to face with!
#15
Norman Bates (Psycho, played by Anthony Perkins)
The character you can argue paved the way and even had major influence on infamous psychotic cinematic villains to come, Anthony Perkins as the troubled and dangerous Norman Bates is iconic for his brilliant and intimidating performance as well as the troubling mystery surrounding the character. The twist involving him, though many of you might know, I will still not dare to spoil for anyone who hasn't seen Alfred Hitchcock's thriller masterpiece, Psycho, yet. I highly recommend it! Most thrillers and suspense films with plot twists and twist endings owe it all to this film and the character of Norman Bates. He is the kind of man who you are both curious and afraid of what goes on inside his head. Because by watching him, there obviously something going on. From the things he says, to the actions he takes, to the little quirks and habits he does, you know he is constantly keeping himself busy to restrain or control something dangerous within. He is intriguing, yet dangerous, a deadly combo! He can lure you in with his strange personality, but at the unexpected time he can explode like a time bomb in a second. You never know whether you want to be around or away from him. I personally would choose the latter. Because the more you know him, the more you wish you'd know less.
#14
The Joker (The Dark Knight, played by Heath Ledger)
Considered to be one of the greatest villains in recent cinema, the late Heath Ledger truly made a stamp in Hollywood history when he portrayed the iconic Batman villain , the Joker, in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. I have to be honest the first time watching this movie, I was not floored with Ledger's performance like everybody else was. I thought it was good, but at the time it could not compare to another kind of similar performance that may appear down more on this list. But the more and more I watched the film, the more I realize that this is an entirely new and fresh performance and I began loving it just as everybody else does. Ledger does a great job in incorporating all the other Jokers that have came before him in other media, while at the same time create his own terrifying interpretation. I like to call this a real-world Joker. A Joker that you may hardly see in any comic book or cartoon, but one that may be plausible living in the real world. At the same time though, Ledger understands what this specific Joker and the Joker in general has to be. For example, during the scene or James Gordon is promoted to police commissioner, while everybody in the police department is clapping for his success, the Joker goes ahead and claps along as well, much to everybody's surprise. Well that surprise was a genuine reaction because Ledger actually improvised that. Nolan did not tell him to do that during that scene, but Heath understood his character and the overall character of the Joker so well that he knew what action to take. This is how much of a dedicated performance this was. Ledger prepared for this role for months, and the effort clearly shows. He took a comic book character and made him a frightening reality. Whether moments he is really funny or really terrifying, the Joker managed to strike fear into the hearts of the innocent, an opposite to his worthy opponent.
#13
The T-1000 (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, played by Robert Patrick)
Though Arnold Schwarzenegger was a pretty good villain in the first Terminator film, Robert Patrick as the T-1000 elevated the villain status. Not only does the T-1000 have many upgraded abilities than Schwarzenegger's T-800, like transforming into liquid metal, and shapeshifting into sharp objects and people, but he is a lot scarier. Like the T-800, he has the unstoppable determination to complete the mission and assassinate his target, but added he has the abilities of the best killer in the world, making for a dangerous combination. He is a being that cannot be bought or reasoned with, all that matters is his mission to terminate the future leader of the Resistance, John Connor. On top of that he also poses as a great threat to the T-800, who is a hero this time around trying to protect John, because of all the advantages he has. Robert Patrick does a great job in portraying this killer with his cold dead eyes, but also having the ability to adapt to the personalities of every day people. He has the talents to blend in to the crowd, which is not great if you are trying to hide from him. If hundreds of these are marching around in the future if the machines and SkyNet take over, I believe all hope is lost. Because there is almost no way to outsmart or say 'hasta la vista' to this unstoppable monster!
#12
Ramses (The Prince of Egypt, voiced by Ralph Fiennes)
This is one of those tragic villains that were never intended to be a villain, but gradually became one because of close personal issues. Ramses grew up with the adopted Moses and the two were like brothers, in fact they were brothers and they refer to each other as that. But until Moses runs away and then returns back to Egypt only to tell his once brother to free the Hebrew slaves, Ramses is hurt and finds that the only way to deal with Moses and to stay as a strong Pharaoh, is to refuse his request, no matter how many plagues terrify Egypt. Actually the plague sequence and song number dives into Ramses thinking as well as the heated conflict between him and Moses. Ramses still loves his brother and wishes for things to go back to normal, but the fear of being the weak link in the dynasty and not living up to his father's as well as the people's expectations of him overshadow that. He cannot be seen as non-powerful king. It's the conflict between tradition and the love of his brother is what ultimately drives him to the deep end, and what really makes this character interesting. I think the final straw that broke the camel's back (get it because it's in Egypt?), was when the final plague killed all the first born sons of Egypt that ultimately killed Ramses own son. This is what drove him to pure vengeance against Moses and the Hebrews. On top of that, Ralph Fiennes' voice performance is just chillingly good, in addition to the great animation. Ramses is a major factor to why The Prince of Egypt is such an amazing film. It presented us with a villain that is very relatable and explores the darkness that the human mind can take when in personal conflict and when we choose pride and hate over love and good memories.
#11
Smeagol/Gollum (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, played by Andy Serkis)
Speaking of tortured and mentally conflicted characters, here is a prime example. Though Sauron is the main villain of the trilogy, I see him more as a big over the top Saturday morning cartoon villain than a legitimate threat, with that big glowing lizard eye on top of the tower and Dr. Claw-like voice, despite that I still really love these movies because everything else is above expectations. But I believe that Smeagol, or Gollum as he is now called, is one of the few antagonistic characters in this film series that truly outshines them all, as well being one of the best written characters period. Like Ramses he never intended to be the villain, but it was the power of the One Ring that possessed him, and ultimately make him have an unhealthy obsession. This character was tortured by the Ring for what had seemed to be an eternity of loneliness and loss of ethical thought and memories. This gradually make him develop a split personality of his innocent side and his dark obsessive side. The way they play around with this in the movies is just brilliant, and Andy Serkis' terrific acting and expressions just adds to how real this character felt. Yes, most of us, including myself, loves to do silly impressions of this character and his voice, but the darkness of this character's story, the groundbreaking motion-capture animation, along with Serkis' brilliant acting truly gave us a villain that I would like to call...precious! 
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