What makes a villain terrifying? Well, he must be evil, manipulative, hateful, and lacks a conscience. Sometimes the audience sympathizes with the villains in the film, but the characters on this list of the 10 most notorious movie villains of all time were impossible to like.
Number One: Bane. Movie: The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Actor: Tom Hardy. If I had to choose the best villain voice of all time, it would go to Bane. Bane was powerful, evil and masterful in his attack on Batman. He was the evil twin of Robin Hood; he stole from the rich and only pretended to give hope to the poor.
Number Two: Hannibal Lecter. Movie: The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Actor: Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins played one of the scariest characters in a film. Hannibal Lecter gave people nightmares, and some still may have trouble sleeping due to this intense character.
Number Three: Norman Bates. Movie: Psycho (1960). Actor: Anthony Perkins. Perkins played the creepy, yet insecure Norman Bates. The scariest aspect of Bates was how crazy and out of touch with the world he was. There was absolutely no telling what he was truly capable of.
Number Four: Alonzo Harris. Movie: Training Day (2001). Actor: Denzel Washington. The worst thing about power is if it’s in the wrong hands, it can be deadly. Washington played the intelligent, yet egoistical Alonzo Harris. Harris was a bully who tried his best to manipulate the system and his rookie detective partner.
Number Five: The Joker. Movie: The Dark Knight (2008). Actor: Heath Ledger. Ledger was the best Joker to ever play the role. His evil mind was just as scary as his clown-like face. The Joker was emotionally damaged, and he took his frustrations out on the world. He wasn’t driven by power or money- Joker was simply driven by pure evil.
Number Six: Jack Torrance. Movie: The Shining (1977). Actor: Jack Nicholson. The look in Torrance’s eyes would terrify anyone. The hot-tempered character was unbalanced and lacked sympathy. A person without a conscience is the most dangerous individual.
Number Seven: Darth Vader. Movie: Star Wars (1977). Actor: James Earl Jones. Before his redemption, Darth Vader was full of resentment and evil characteristics. His psychological issues put him in a dark place, and it made him angry and depressed. Vader’s controlling demeanor also made him a destructible being.
Number Eight: Jaws. Movie: Jaws (1975). The thing that made Jaws so frightening is that shark attacks happen each and every year. Sometimes, the shark attacks against humans are fatal. Jaws was smart angry and very determined to kill anyone who entered “his” ocean.
Number Nine: The Joker. Movie: Batman (1989). Actor: Jack Nicholson. Nicholson’s portrayal of The Joker was more comical in his diabolical ways. He killed without reason and thrived on being so evil. The Joker was obsessed with revenge, and it led to his demise.
Number Ten: Keyser Soze. Movie: The Usual Suspects (1995). Actor: Kevin Spacey
We may not have known how wicked Soze was until the end of the film, and that’s what made him so horrifying. Soze managed to fool everyone by pretending to be fragile, naive, and weak. In the end, the audience learns he is a cold-blooded mastermind.