We all have our favorites, those we love to hate more than others. Here's my picks for the worst of the worst, in no particular order:
-MOLA RAM, INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. It would be sacrilage to leave out the guy who practically invented the PG-13 rating. I still look away when he performs his hideous act when we first see him. The fact that anyone would so willingly torture innocent children in the cause of world domination (his pal "Beardy", whom Indy later has crushed on the conveyor belt, must have had a horrific childhood) appals me through and through.
-RICHARD VERNON/ED ROONEY. Both of our least favorite educators are on a dark enough level that I couldn't choose between the two of them, and thus include them both here. Both openly cross the line in their pursuit of extracting justice on the members of the Shermer High student body they dislike so much during hte course of their repective films. And I get the impression they'd go even further if they'd have the opportunity, including harming the students bodily if they knew they'd get away with it.
-JUDGE DOOM, WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT. It's also hard to leave off a man (or in this case toon) who's essentially a genocidal madman--against his own kind, no less. Christopher Lloyd's a master of offbeat villainry, and Doom's his prize example. There's a dark coldness about him all through the film that contrasts well with the ludicrousness around him, which makes him seem even more sinister.
-THE DARK OVERLORD OF THE UNIVERSE, HOWARD THE DUCK. Nobody will ever top Jeffrey Jones for being the best at being evil, and not least because of his less than exemplary life off camera. Although his character's a little shallow, and his lines are at times a little corny (I always crack up when he warns the trooper before he disintegrates him, "I have no licence. I am not Jack."), he's still threateningly dangerous to Howard and friends.
-OFFICER HANK HALLECK, MOVING VIOLATIONS. When people have nothing left to lose, they become very dangerous. Walter Hill made this statement in regards to Geronimo, and it applies to Halleck as well. He's not a terribly sympathetic person when he's on the bright side of the law, and his obsessive hatred for Dana Cannon after he errs and gets himself sent to traffic school makes him significantly threatening. There's a bond that we as average citizens have with the law that they'll serve us in a trustworthy manner. Halleck overtly violates this bond when he breaks the law to destroy Dana once and for all. Had he caught Cannon and his friends at the end of the chase, it might have gotten bloody. What's even more frightening as that his slide is one that we could take ourselves if the wrong sequence of events happen.
Your thoughts on the matter?
Posted by rocksteadyflamethrower (Member # 1065) on :
Gary Busey's Mr. Joshua from "Lethal Weapon" is an all-time fave 80s villain of mine.
He's a cruel, unflinching psycho. I think the definitive proof of this is when Ed O'Ross' character's lighter is flicked on and put to Joshua's skin. He doesn't cower from the flame...Instead, a look of psychopathic determination crosses his face as if to say "Is that all you have?"
Sincerely,
John Kilduff
Posted by Anna Sullivan (Member # 4010) on :
Nice topic.
Freddie Kruger from the Nightmare on Elm Street series
Posted by PaulShrimpton (Member # 1022) on :
Alan Rickman in Die Hard.... archetypal bad guy...
Posted by Bionic Bigfoot (Member # 2490) on :
Darth Vader
Posted by Bionic Bigfoot (Member # 2490) on :
Ming The Merciless - Flash Gordon Khan - Star Trek II The Terminator Jaws General Zod - Superman II Arcane - Swamp Thing Master Control - Tron Maxamillion - The Black Hole
Posted by raggedyman (Member # 4065) on :
ah yes, the baddies...
Nekron - FIRE & ICE
Hans Gruber - DIE HARD
Wez - THE ROAD WARRIOR
The Terminator - THE TERMINATOR
Clarence Bod****er - ROBOCOP
The Joker - BATMAN
Biff Tannen - BACK TO THE FUTURE
Unicron - THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE
Stripe - GREMLINS
Ivan Drago - ROCKY IV
Zygon - STARCHASER: THE LEGEND OF ORIN
Jareth - LABYRINTH
Posted by Brode (Member # 3732) on :
Hans Gruber in Die Hard is the best action villain of all time, in terms of smart action writing.
Posted by ERIC 31 (Member # 1793) on :
James Remar- Ganz in 48 Hours...total psychotic.
Posted by The Horned King (Member # 2691) on :
Tim Curry as Darkness or the devil in Legend. He was pretty scary as Pennywise the clown in It, too.
Posted by Jules (Member # 2627) on :
Johnny Lawrence- The Karate Kid
Posted by Riptide (Member # 457) on :
Nick Hauser-Tuff Turf Principal Rooney-Ferris Bueller's Day off
Posted by StevenHW (Member # 509) on :
Frank Booth (played by Dennis Hopper) - "Blue Velvet"
Posted by Aruba4me (Member # 6258) on :
Rick Masters (Willem DaFoe) in TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A.