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Everyone loves a bad guy.
Compelling villains have been a staple since tribes gathered around fires and told stories.
Here are 32 of the greatest movie villains of all time.
Alonzo Harris (Training Day)
It’s not often when “mentors” are also the bad guys.
But in the hands of Denzel Washington, Alonzo Harris is something else.
A symbol of the aristocracy being blood-sucking predators over the poor.
Count Dracula is sexyandsinister, the only one of the original Universal Monsters who could steal your breath away.
Gordon Gekko (Wall Street)
Greed is good.
So Gordon Gecko believes.
HAL9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)
Truly nothing is more terrifying than an A.I.
saying the words: “I’m sorry, I can’t let you do that.”
As generative artificial intelligence rapidly evolves, HAL remains an eerily foreboding figure.
Elijah Price, aka “Mr. Glass” (Unbreakable)
They called him “Mr.
In 2021, the Marvel Cinematic Universe invited Shang-Chi to its expansive sandbox.
Rose Armitage (Get Out)
Villainy has never been so…white.
Just watch how she eats her cereal.
While Disney has spawned other like-minded villainesses like Maleficent and Cruella De Ville, the Queen still reigns supreme.
But really, he’s just in it for the money.
His actual goal, however, is to steal hundreds of millions in bearer bonds from the Nakatomi vault.
He would get away with it, if a certain shoeless cowboy wasn’t at the party too.
Just because he’s not imposing doesn’t mean he isn’t powerful.
We all want happy endings, but Anne Wilkes is doing whatever it takes to get hers.
(Turns out, water and machines don’t mix!)
To get around its malfunctions, Spielberg only showed the shark in key moments throughout the movie.
Scar (The Lion King)
Be prepared!
Max Cady (Cape Fear)
Max Cady isn’t just vengeful, he’s brilliantly petty.
And he’s got the muscle to overpower all who stand in his way.
Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
Sometimes, it’s all in the name.
The Joker earned his place in cinematic history.
That Ledger died months before the film’s release added a haunting aura to his acclaimed portrayal.
The T-1000 (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
Talk about heavy metal.
In various interviews, Robert Patrick revealed he studied hawks to inhabit the overall vibe of a predator.
Michael Myers (Halloween)
All slashers owe a debt to John Carpenter and his creation, Michael Myers.
In 1978, Carpenter unleashed Halloween, still one of the most defining horror movies ever made.
Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs)
“Hello, Clarice.”
Clarice is resolute and determined to uphold justice, but she is permanently changed by the darkness of Hannibal.
It’s no wonder Hopkins took home the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance.
