Top 10 Thriller Movie Villains

Thriller Movie Villains

I've already counted down the best horror movie villains, but now we turn to the thriller genre. A different type of villain is needed to thrive in this genre, they need to be sadistic yet intelligent, but most of all they need to provide heart-pounding moments that make for edge of your seat viewing. Without further ado let's begin, and yes there may be spoilers, so don't say you haven't been warned. See I even underlined it for you:

#10 The Blair Witch (The Blair Witch Project)

Coming from what was a revolutionary film more than anything else, it was definitely ambitious in redefining the horror genre but in the end just fell a bit flat. The film was definitely helped by the antagonist who may or may not exist, The Blair Witch is never seen by the viewer, at least that was the big climax, or anticlimax in the minds of some, and so it's amazing that a hypothetical could carry that much stage presence, and that is why it makes my list. Although I can't help but feel this was the film that lead to about 5000 crappy rip offs of found footage horror movies, but you can't moan at the villain for that.

#9 Roy Batty (Blade Runner)

The antagonist of the fantastic Blade Runner. Roy Batty is the head of the replicants, a group of genetically engineered organic robots that look like the average human of 2019 Los Angeles. The only difference is they have superhuman strength and superhuman intelligence, making him quite a match for Harrison Ford, and it sure as hell makes for a great film.

#8 Annie Wilks (Misery)

There's certainly one thing I can say about Annie Wilks, she isn't quite all there. Her obsession with her favorite romantic author Paul Sheldon leads to some heinous torture scenes at the hands of this deranged women, and all because her favorite character gets killed off at the end of the books. This of course leads to the infamous sledgehammer scene so Paul Sheldon can't escape and the only person that does discover him is quickly put out of his misery with a double barreled shotgun, what a charming person, and also quite mental, and that's why she makes my list. Nowadays you can find her being portrayed by Stewie Griffin in a recent parody of the film.

#7 John Doe (Se7en)

The antagonist of the gripping thriller Se7en, a film which is overshadowed by the annoying title, which is a shame as it's actually rather good. Kevin Spacey plays probably his best role to date as this psychopathic killer. The story behind John Doe is that he murders people to try and teach people about the seven deadly sins from the bible, hence the title. Doe is seen committing five of these murders but thankfully saves the last two for a fantastic conclusion that really does make this film. For sheer genius, through his brutal and calculating mind, John Doe easily makes the list, but it's going to get a lot worse than just mere serial killers.

#6 Jaws (Jaws)

Probably the most iconic 'villain' of any film ever, and probably the only villain that requires a bigger boat to stop. This man eating shark plagues the residents of the fictional resort of Amity Island and even brings with him his own theme music. It is probably the most famous score in the history of cinema and definitely helped secure the film, and this villain, a place in the history books. This villain differs from the rest as it hovers around the idea of humanities fear of the unknown, that unknown being the ocean and what lies beneath it. In this case it happens to be a Great White Shark, and nothing has quite had the same impact since.

#5 Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest)

This lady makes Annie Wilks look like Mother Teresa, and gets my vote for the most evil women in cinema. This cold and heartless nurse runs the Salem State Hospital with an iron fist, those under her spell are mentally ill criminals who she enjoys torturing, and depriving them of any human rights. She shows that absolutes power corrupts a person and no matter who the person is, she can fuck them up.

#4 The Alien Queen (Alien)

Because a normal xenomorph wasn't scary enough. The xenomorph species of alien that was introduced in the original film only turned out to be drones to this larger, more intelligent female. Society in xenomoprhs works in a hive system, similar to ants, and as you would expect this queen is slightly bigger than the average xenomorph, that slightly being around 20ft. Although this alien is powerful enough to defeat power loaders, it is unfortunately not strong enough to defeat cargo bay doors, however that doesn't stop it from creeping the hell out of me and finishing strongly on this list.

#3 Norman Bates (Psycho)

We all go a little mad sometimes, but maybe in this case a little too far. Norman Bates is the first on this list to be modeled off of notorious serial killer Ed Gein, of who he shares many likenesses with, such as having an unnaturally close bond to his own mother, even preserving her corpse. Of course the viewer is unaware of this at the time as Hitchcock brilliantly portrays Bates as an innocent and lonely young boy, which is exactly why the ending packed such a punch, and is still widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. A brilliant villain from an unexpected source.

#2 Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of The Lambs)

The second of the Ed Gein inspired maniacs, and in my opinion the worst. The Bear Grylls of the serial killer world, this deranged individual likes to enjoy his victims with some faver beans and a nice Chianti. While he's had many appearances over the years nothing will ever come close to the brilliance of Anthony Hopkins in 'Silence of The Lambs' who expertly pulled off the doctor's intelligence and cunning. Nothing is quite as striking as when we first see Hannibal for the first time, it's an image that never really leaves you, a striking moment in cinema, and a chilling and gruesome villain.

#1 Jack Torrance (The Shining)

The combination of Jack Nicholson and Stanley Kubrick is a match made in heaven, well maybe not for the haunted overlook hotel of which Jack manages, the hotel that slowly turns him into a madman. Jack is a budding playwright who thinks the hotel will finally give him the time he needs for his new play. This doesn't really work as he ends up trying to kill his family and cook before eventually meeting his demise in an icy hedge maze. He is quite simply a brilliant character, and brilliantly portrayed by Jack Nicholson, the film really is absolutely amazing.