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- Gladiator
- DreamWorks Distribution
15 Movie Villains Who Were Absolutely The Worst
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Who are the worst villains of all time in movies? That's like asking, how long is a piece of string? The options are endless, as many antagonists have committed despicable and heinous crimes against our favorite heroes. However, there are the rare few who have crossed the decency lines to become the worst of the worst.
From liquifying hapless cartoons to summoning S&M demons from hell, let's take a look at the movie villains who take being bad to another level.
- 1130 VOTES
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Played By: Ralph Fiennes
Who He Is And Why We Hate Him: Possibly the scariest villain on this list, since this monster existed in real life. Deplorable and inhumane, Nazi SS Commandant Amon Göth is remorseless as he commits crimes against humanity, murdering innocents without consequence and still trying to make a few extra bucks in the process. A symbol of pure evil.
Most Ruthless Thing He Did: It's almost impossible to identify a singular scene in which Göth is more heinous than the next, since he's atrocious from the moment he shows up. However, him executing Jewish laborers from his balcony is something that remains seared in our minds. Whether it's him playing sick games with his victims or keeping them in a constant state of fear with the false promise they will be spared, Göth had no redeemable qualities whatsoever. Zero.
- 2120 VOTES
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Played By: Doug Hutchison
Who He Is And Why We Hate Him: A nepo hire and total stooge for the office, Percy Wetmore proves to be one of the most annoying and callous figures in the prison. Instead of serving as a prison guard with dignity and respect, Percy remains sadistic and abrasive - both toward the inmates and his colleagues. In summary, if the dictionary had a picture to define the word “jerk,” Percy's photo would feature (and for all the synonyms, too).
Most Ruthless Thing He Did: While his deliberate botching of Del's execution is disgusting and horrifying, it's the cruelty of his actions beforehand that raise eyebrows - particularly how he goes after Del's pet mouse, Mr. Jingles. When Percy steps on the poor mouse intentionally, he instantly books a one-way trip to Hell. Thank goodness for John Coffey and his powers being able to revive Mr. Jingles.
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- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Warner Bros. Pictures
Played By: Imelda Staunton
Who She Is And Why We Hate Her: Don't let the cute pink outfits fool you. The Devil doesn't wear Prada - it wears pink! Dolores Umbridge's backstory is never clear, but it's obvious she has an insatiable lust for power. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, she plays the political game to climb up the food chain and become the headmistress of Hogwarts. However, she isn't only dangerous behind the scenes, as she's openly hostile and barbaric to her students.
Most Ruthless Thing She Did: Umbridge's superpower is humiliation. After Harry Potter dares to defy her authority, she forces him to write lines and say he's lying about Voldemort. As he writes, "I must not tell lies," Umbridge utilizes magic to make the words carve into his hand. It's as if the punishment isn't enough, and she needs to use a tactic from The Scarlet Letter to further degrade him.
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- 4106 VOTES
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Played By: Joaquin Phoenix
Who He Is And Why We Hate Him: The power-hungry Commodus isn't happy that his father, Marcus Aurelius, sees him as too immature and immoral to be next in line for the throne. So, he proves his father right by murdering him and becoming emperor. Commodus possesses a megalomania like no other, as he wants absolute control of everything, and will do anything possible to attain it.
Most Ruthless Thing He Did: Without question, it's how he murders his own father. Commodus embraces Marcus Aurelius in a hug and suffocates the life out of the elderly man. Even though Commodus displays emotion while committing murder, it shows the depths he will sink to for his own ambition.
- 5104 VOTES
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Played By: Kevin Spacey
Who He Is And Why We Hate Him: Not much is known about John Doe in David Fincher's Se7en, hence the moniker of John Doe. What remains clear, however, is that he's a serious creep obsessed with the concept of the seven deadly sins and uses this theme as inspiration for all his murders. He also loves to toy with the authorities, employing a smug and knowing grin to show he's one step ahead of everyone else.
Most Ruthless Thing He Did: All of Doe's murders are gruesome enough to turn the stomach into a washing machine. However, his final act to ensure David Mills (Brad Pitt) turns into the embodiment of wrath is a harrowing level of wickedness. He severs Mills's wife's head and sends it to him in a box, encouraging the detective to shoot him and complete his serial masterpiece. Sadly, Mills plays right into his hands, and does so.
Played By: Tony Jay
Who He Is And Why We Hate Him: As Paris's Minister of Justice, Claude Frollo already has a major messiah complex in how he conducts himself. Believing himself to be judge, jury, and executioner, he hides behind religion as the excuse for his cruel actions, believing the sinful need to be punished. According to his messed-up logic, the greatest evil is the Romani people, so they must be eradicated at all costs.
Most Ruthless Thing He Did: Frollo has a serious body count for a Disney movie. However, the most disturbing moment occurs when he stumbles upon a farmhouse while searching for Esmeralda. The owners explain to Frollo how they will help any travelers, including the Romani. While they aren't hiding anybody in their home, Frollo reacts for their admittance of helping the Romani. He locks the family inside their house and tells the guards to burn it down. The Devil needs to come collect his homie, because Frollo is out of pocket here.
- 762 VOTES
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Played By: Marcia Gay Harden
Who She Is And Why We Hate Her: Oh boy, does anyone need a religious fanatic and fearmonger screaming about Armageddon when people are in a bit of a pickle? Unfortunately, that's what the townspeople of Bridgton, ME, need to deal with in terms of Mrs. Carmody. The worst part is this fool actually assembles her own legion of followers, sabotages others, and wants to decide who should be sacrificed. To be fair, she's pretty much the prototype antagonist from The Walking Dead.
Most Ruthless Thing She Did: Besides being utterly annoying the whole time with her holier than thou schtick, it's the scene in which she orders her followers to grab Amanda and the 8-year-old Billy and instructs them to kill the rest of the group. Fortunately, there was someone with enough common sense to finally put her down.
- 855 VOTES
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Played By: Mo'Nique
Who She Is And Why We Hate Her: Mothers are meant to protect and love their children, not treat them worse than dirt. In fact, treating Precious like dirt would be an improvement compared to what her mother, Mary Lee Johnston, does. Abusive and abhorrent, Mary inflicts a laundry list of crimes and trauma on her daughter. She also proves to be a master in gaslighting, trying to convince Precious that she's worthless and it's her own fault these things happen to her.
Most Ruthless Thing She Did: Pretty much every interaction between Precious and Mary. However, there's one scene that had every audience member gasping in horror. When Precious returns home, Mary asks to hold the newborn baby, Abdul. Out of nowhere, Mary throws Abdul to the floor and begins to attack her daughter for reporting the abuse and affecting the welfare checks. Blow up planets, try to take over Hogwarts, or even kill Superman, but don't throw a baby on the floor! What a monster!
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Played By: Louise Fletcher
Who She Is And Why We Hate Her: As a medical professional, Nurse Mildred Ratched should apply compassion and kindness to her treatment of her patients. Instead, she's disinterested, obtuse, and does whatever she can to make life unbearable for everyone around her. The worst part about her is that she's the queen of passive-aggression, and uses her co-workers to do her bidding as she rules the mental health care facility with an iron fist
Most Ruthless Thing She Did: It could be argued that Ratched's order for Randal McMurphy's lobotomy is cruelty personified, but there's something far colder and sinister that she does earlier in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. After catching Billy Bibbitt with the sex worker Candy, she threatens to tell his mother what he's done. Knowing how shy and insecure Billy is, she makes him feel terrible and worthless. Without a doubt, this leads to Billy taking his own life.
- 1088 VOTES
Played By: Christopher Lloyd
Who He Is And Why We Hate Him: Fun fact: If someone is named Doom in a movie, they are definitely not a heroic or nice character. The same holds true for Judge Doom, the human judge of Toontown, in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The humorless judge has every toon running for cover, as they fear he'll place them in the chemical vat known as the Dip to permanently end them.
Most Ruthless Thing He Did: Doom loves to show off his power to others, flaunting it in their faces and provoking them to try and do something about it. Nothing hits quite as hard as when he picks up a cute cartoon shoe to make an example of it, even though it did nothing wrong. He dips this toon in the Dip and everyone needs to watch in horror as this poor shoe dissolves and evaporates into nothing.
- 1166 VOTES
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Played By: Sergi López
Who He Is And Why We Hate Him: A Falange officer, Captain Vidal serves his cause to the fullest - and shows himself to be a deranged psychopath who tortures and abuses the prisoners he captures. He instills fear into others and only considers his wants and needs, especially his legacy.
Most Ruthless Thing He Did: There are countless examples of his brutality, but one of Vidal's final acts - and the most heartbreaking - involves him shooting and fatally injuring Ofelia. She is merely a child, his own stepdaughter, but he shows that he cares about no one but himself and his own misguided legacy.
- 1292 VOTES
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Played By: Pam Ferris
Who She Is And Why We Hate Her: Agatha Trunchbull despises children, which makes it even more concerning that she's the headmistress of Crunchem Hall Elementary School and surrounded by the pesky little critters all day. Tyrannical and unkind, Miss Trunchbull uses her athletic background to inspire her punishments. Whether it's throwing children out of the window or hurling them by their hair, Miss Trunchbull is a bona fide demon in the education system.
Most Ruthless Thing She Did: For an unknown reason, Miss Trunchbull hates pigtail hairstyles. When Amanda Thripp shows up at school with pigtails, the teacher takes exception and reacts aggressively. She grabs the girl by the hair and hammer-throws her through the schoolyard. Fortunately, Matilda is around to aid Amanda, but still. Yikes!
- 1350 VOTES
Played By: Sean Chapman
Who He Is And Why We Hate Him: Frank Cotton is here for a good time, not a long time. After trying to push the boundaries of pleasure and opening Pandora's box - quite literally - he finds himself at the mercy of the Cenobites who turn him into a ghoul. Subsequently, he uses his brother's wife, Julia, who harbors an unhealthy crush on him, to lure in men and sacrifice them so he can regain his human form.
Most Ruthless Thing He Did: Frank not only betrays his brother, Larry, by hooking up with his wife, but also commits the ultimate sin: He kills Larry and wears his skin. The less said about his intentions towards his niece, Kirsty, the better.
Played By: Gary Oldman
Who He Is And Why We Hate Him: What's worse than a dirty cop? A dirty cop who uses their power and influence to set up their own shady enterprise and get away with it. Unpredictable and extremely violent, Norman Stansfield lurks on screen and menaces in every single scene. While he might come across as unhinged (because he is), he also has the uncanny ability to know when people are lying or keeping information from him. Needless to say, he doesn't forgive easily if he believes someone crosses him.
Most Ruthless Thing He Did: There's a disgustingly operatic quality to Stansfield as he walks into Mathilda's apartment to murder her family. He gets high and saunters in with a shotgun, blasting Mathilda's mother and sister to kingdom come before turning on her father and shooting him several times in the back. Oh, and he's also responsible for the murder of Mathilda's baby brother for added measure.
- 1519 VOTES
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Played By: Leandro Firmino
Who He Is And Why We Hate Him: From childhood, Li'l Zé has only looked out for number one. He possesses an extremely violent streak and isn't afraid of sacrificing others for his own benefit. In adulthood, he establishes himself as a drug lord and blithely executes the competition before they can establish themselves as a threat.
Most Ruthless Thing He Did: Zé's violent streak results in numerous murders and attacks. However, his most disturbing moment happens at Benny's party. Zé flirts with a girl who rejects his advances, but he doesn't leave it there. In retaliation, he beats the girl's boyfriend to a pulp, then has his way with her.
