The 27 Most Evil Villains From Movies, Ranked By Their Vile Deeds
Some evil villains are motivated by greed, revenge, and/or jealousy, while others - like The Joker from The Dark Knight - “just want to watch the world burn.” Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) is definitely one of the most evil on the list, cruel for no reason, cold and heartless, using her position of power to torture the vulnerable patients under her care. On a deeper level, she’s also representative of the corruption in institutional power, like at the psychiatric treatment center where she works.
Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) is another infamous villain, who took delight in the chaos of his crimes, withheld helpful information that could have stopped other killers, and, you know, ate people. Of course, no list of evil villains would be complete without characters like Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) from the Harry Potter films, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) from No Country for Old Men, and Pennywise the Dancing Clown from the It films.
1. Sauron - The Lord of the Rings films
Sauron was the dark lord of Mordor, and he was the one who forged the dangerous “One Ring to Rule Them All” in order to enslave and conquer Middle-earth. Despite losing the ring and his physical form - appearing as just a flaming eye - he still maintained the power to control evil creatures, like the orcs, so that he can continue waging war on the Free Folk of Middle-earth. Like many others on this list, he has a laundry list of crimes, including, mass murder, genocide, high treason, torture, and mass enslavement.
2. Calvin Candie - Django Unchained
Calvin Candie is a despicable and sadistic slave owner who owns a large plantation called Candyland. He enjoys forcing male slaves to fight to the death, viciously killing anyone who tries to get out of it. Despite not being bright himself, Calvin insists on telling Django (Jamie Foxx) and Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz) his disgusting beliefs that people of other races are of lower intelligence. He is guilty of torture, abuse, and murder, among other crimes against humanity.
3. Nurse Ratched - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
A former World War II army nurse, Ratched runs the Salem State Hospital with an iron fist, and an utter lack of empathy for her fellow human beings. She taunts the patients at the psychiatric facility, and embarrasses them into submission. If that doesn't work, she will also use drugs and/or shock therapy, and finally, a lobotomy.
4. Hannibal Lecter - The Silence of the Lambs films
Hannibal Lecter is a brilliant former forensic psychiatrist, who was well-respected before his incarceration. Before his arrest, Lecter was a member of Baltimore's high society, and would frequently host dinner parties, where he prepared gourmet meals from his victims, feeding them to his guests without their knowledge. Lecter also has an eidetic memory, making his brain one of his most powerful weapons. His lack of any remorse or guilt makes him even more terrifying.
5. Hans Landa - Inglourious Basterds
Hans Landa is an Austrian SS officer who - in the film - has the nickname “The Jew Hunter,” because he locates and murders Jewish people hiding out in Occupied France during World War II. He is an arrogant opportunist, and the worst part is that he switches sides in time to avoid really any accountability for his horrific actions. Everything he does is self-serving, and he doesn't believe in anything but himself.
6. Emperor Palpatine - Stars Wars films
Emperor Palpatine, the Dark Lord of the Sith, is the benefactor and cause of the First Order's existence. Darth Maul, Count Dooku, and Darth Vader all report to Palpatine. He aids in bringing Ben Solo to the dark side, and is the puppeteer of Supreme Leader Snoke. Palpatine is obsessed with power, and and wants nothing more than to hold power over the entire galaxy. He is locked in on this goal, and is determined to pursue it no matter who he has to hurt, torture, and/or kill to do so.
7. Annie Wilkes - Misery
Annie Wilkes has a profile similar to those who stalk celebrities. She is obsessed with her favorite romance novels, the Misery series by Paul Sheldon (James Caan), calling herself his “number one fan.” The former nurse at first seems to be saving Sheldon, after a car accident leaves him with two broken legs, but really just ends up kidnapping him. Wilkes is a psychopath and serial killer, who flies into a rage at the smallest slight, smashing Sheldon's still-healing knee because he said the type of paper she had bought him was smudge-prone. In one of the most horrifying scenes, Wilkes breaks Sheldon's ankles with a sledgehammer so that he cannot escape.
8. Damien Thorn - The Omen films
Who’s more evil than the literal spawn of Satan? Damien Thorn, the Antichrist, was born on the sixth day of June at six o’clock in the morning. His nanny kills herself at his fifth birthday party, saying it was all for him. Damien’s crimes include mass murder, infanticide, emotional torture, and malefic, or causing harm and destruction by supernatural means.This is all by the time he is five, so Damien was only getting started.
9. Anton Chigurh - No Country for Old Men
Anton Chigurh is described as a violent psychopath with an incredibly high pain tolerance. He wagers people's lives with the flip of a coin, and kills without remorse. Chigurh tries to kill just about every person he encounters in the film. He uses a captive bolt pistol - which is typically used on cattle - to blow out door locks and windows, and to kill his victims, because it doesn't make much noise, and leaves basically no evidence behind. He is calculated, dangerous, and apathetic.
10. Lord Voldemort - Harry Potter films
Lord Voldemort is so evil, those in the wizarding world dare not even speak his name. He tried to kill a literal baby when he went after Harry, but instead killed both of his parents. He loves to hurt and murder “muggles” - non-magical people - for his own amusement. He's power-hungry, racist, and obsessed with becoming immortal. He split his own soul into pieces so that he could live on. Voldemort has no empathy, no shame or guilt, and is unable to understand love.
11. Rose Armitage - Get Out
To be clear, everyone in the Armitage family is pure evil. However, Rose and her brother are the ones used (as adults) to kidnap and/or trick Black men and women into coming to their parents' home, so they could continue the grandfather's work of the Order of the Coagula. Rose almost seems more sinister, because while her agro brother hunts his prey like an animal, she lures them into a false sense of not only security, but love, pretending to be their girlfriend. Her family's work is so horrifying, because not only are they kidnapping these people and stealing their lives, but they're not even dead - they are forced to live on in the “sunken place,” aware of what is happening to them, but unable to do anything to stop it. The Armitages as a whole are one of the most sinister families in film.
12. John Doe - Seven
John Doe is inspired by the seven deadly sins in how he kills his victims. Just a couple of his gruesome crimes include forcing someone to eat themselves to death for gluttony, and making someone cut a pound of flesh for greed. He has no remorse for any of his actions, because he just wants the attention. However, his worse crime, by far, is killing and beheading Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), who he knew was also pregnant at the time.
13. Pennywise the Dancing Clown - It films
It is a malevolent cosmic entity that is billions of years old, and rises from the sewers of Derry, Maine, every 27 years to feed on the fear of children. It disguises itself as “Pennywise the Dancing Clown” to try to trick children into trusting him and coming closer, so it can capture and then kill them. It is also known to take the form of each child’s biggest fear. It sees humans as inferior, and delights in tormenting and mocking them, before killing them. To make matters worse, It is clever, and good at manipulating situations to its benefit.
14. Jigsaw - Saw films
Jigsaw is like John Doe from Seven on steroids. He kidnaps and torments people he believes take life for granted. Supposedly Jigsaw doesn't kill people, because he gives them the chance to save themselves via demented tests he create to maim and mutilate them. He wants to test their will to live, but who made him the judge, jury, and executioner? Also, forcing someone to kill someone else in order to live is also taking lives for granted. Jigsaw has no empathy for his victims, and doesn't even believe he is doing anything wrong.
15. Scar - The Lion King
Scar is heartless and cruel. Not only did he kill his own brother, Mufasa, but he also blamed the death on his young nephew, Simba, letting him live with that horrible guilt. He destroys their home due to his poor leadership, and forces the animals to starve (until Simba returns). Scar has a laundry list of crimes, including - but not limited to - fratricide, unlawful imprisonment, attempted nepoticide, and mass murder.
16. Darth Vader - Star Wars films
Darth Vader is one of the most infamous and recognizable movie villains of all time. He is guilty of mass murder and destruction, war crimes, treason, blowing up entire planets, unlawful imprisonment, and more. As if that weren't bad enough, he also has his powers, like telekinesis, the force choke, mind probe, and mind control, to make him all the more difficult to defeat.
17. Alex DeLarge - A Clockwork Orange
Alex DeLarge is so evil because all of the horrible things he does are done simply for his own amusement. He is a sociopath who robs and assaults people for fun. He is smart enough to know that what he is doing is wrong, and yet cannot fathom why anyone would want to rehabilitate him. He has his own gang - called “droogs” - who help him in what he calls “ultraviolence.” He likes to listen to classical music while thinking of torture and slaughter.
18. President Snow - The Hunger Games films
President Snow is the tyrannical leader of Panem, who is dead set on retaining the violent and unjust status quo by any means necessary, even telling Katniss he is not above killing children. No one is safe around Snow, who even kills his closest allies if they make one misstep. He is guilty of mass murder, coercion, starvation, torture, brainwashing, terrorism, kidnapping, stalking, and more.
19. Ultron - The Avengers: Age of Ultron
Though Ultron began as AI designed by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) to head a peacekeeping program, it takes the biggest left turn ever, becoming determined to eradicate humanity. Ultron is a sentient android with a god complex who turns on the Avengers, trying to kill them off to finish its evil plans. It terrifyingly has the ability to keep evolving physically thanks to vibranium, and can manifest within other Stark droids.
20. Judge Doom - Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Judge Doom is a hateful, cruel person who wants to destroy Toontown and everyone in it just for fun. In one particularly traumatizing act, Judge Doom shows how ruthless and cold-blooded he is by dipping an innocent Toon Shoe character into “The Dip,” a combination of Acetone, Benzene, and Turpentine, that he created for the genocide of all of the toons. He also killed Eddie Valiant's (Bob Hoskins) brother, and then taunted him about it.
21. Vidal - Pan's Labyrinth
Captain Vidal is a sadistic totalitarian who takes delight in torturing captives, abusing his power, and murder - even of children. He’s a terrorist, and an abuser - physically and psychologically - of both his partner, and children. The ruthless, cruel man harms others for his own enjoyment, and seemingly has not even an ounce of empathy or tact. His demeanor, beliefs, and the disgusting crimes he committed solidify him as one of the most evil villains for sure.
22. Commodus - Gladiator
When Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) denies his son Commodus his claim to the throne, he kills him, and goes after Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe), because he was the one his father had chosen to replace him. Commodus is driven by the desire for power, and has no problem abusing anyone to get it - including his own family. The list of his crimes is long and horrifying, and includes mass murder, blackmail, treason, patricide, psychological abuse, and torture.
23. Thanos - The Avengers films
Thanos is a genocidal warlord who wanted the Infinity Stones so that he could snap his fingers and eliminate half of all living creatures. He enjoyed waging war on other worlds, and killing anyone who opposed him. Thanos is responsible for a laundry list of crimes, including, but not limited to mass murder, torture, brainwashing, kidnapping, terrorism, war crimes, and mass slavery. He has superhuman strength and abilities that make him a fearsome foe, even for the Avengers.
24. Amy Dunne - Gone Girl
Amy Dunne’s husband Nick (Ben Affleck) was admittedly not a great guy. However, that certainly doesn’t justify the elaborate plan Amy creates to frame him - and his sister - for her murder. Nick learns she has done things like this before, framing an ex for rape after he broke up with her. She later changes her plans, reaching out to a man she had reported for stalking, and hiding out in his home, before framing him for kidnapping her, and slitting his throat. Finally, she inseminates herself with Nick’s sperm from a fertility clinic, forcing him to keep her lies a secret and stay with her to raise the child.
25. Chucky - Child's Play films
Chucky is another name for brutal serial killer Charles Lee Ray, who transferred his soul into a “Good Guy” doll as he was dying. He is a sociopathic wolf in sheep’s clothing, and is happy to kill, whether it is to save himself, or simply just for fun. He is foul-mouthed, sadistic, and egotistical, and guilty of mass murder - including of children - torture, animal cruelty, uxoricide, and stalking, just to name a few. Thanks to voodoo, he also continually comes back to life, no matter how many times people try to stop him.
26. Hans Gruber - Die Hard
Hans Gruber has been called one of the most iconic villains of all time. He is a former German terrorist leader, and in the film, he takes over the Nakatomi Plaza, taking 30 employees hostage, so that he can steal $640 million in bonds. Gruber is calculated, highly intelligent, and has no qualms killing anyone who gets in the way of his plans. He is ruthless, yet very calm and calculated.
27. The Joker - The Dark Knight
The Joker is a self-professed “agent of chaos,” a criminal mastermind who expertly uses psychological manipulation and strategic planning to rise in the Gotham criminal underworld. He planned to murder innocent people every day until Batman unmasked himself for all of Gotham to see. He is obsessed with his own unhinged form of justice, and is willing to kill anyone even if only to make a point. The Joker absolutely cannot be reasoned with, and feels no remorse.
This article was originally published on Ranker.com.
