From the chilling to the downright freaky – do you agree these could be the Top Five Movie Villains of all Time?

Evil masterminds, violent convicts, calculating killers… We’ve seen them all, jumping out of our seats but we just can’t get enough of them. I mean take Thanos from Guardians of the Galaxy, or Dr. Hanniball lecture and his relationship with Clarice.

They have us screaming at the TV and jumping in out of our seats, yet there’s a little bit in saide us that sometimes feels for them, wondering what happened to make them this way – they take us in with their charismatic ways.

So, we suggest our big bad baddies, but who’s baddest of them all? We’ve trawled film history and surveyed, and we present to you ‘our top five movie villians’ – do you agree? Who’d be on your list…?

We’re not looking for the predictable ‘monsters’ bunch…

Top 5 Movie Villains

Darth Vader (the mind master of Star Wars)

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Darth Vader born as Anakin Skywalker, a primary antagonist in the original trilogy and a primary protagonist in the prequel. Star Wars creator George Lucas referred to the first (original) films as “the tragedy of Darth Vader”.

We discovered only in the re-boot that Anakin was originally a slave on Tatooine, a Jedi prophesied to bring balance to the Force. Lured to the ‘dark side’ by Palpatine becoming a Sith Lord. After a lightsaber battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi he is severely burnt and dismembered, thus transformed into a ‘cyborg’ Vader. Serving the Galactic Empire as its chief enforcer he redeems himself by saving his son, Luke Skywalker, killing Palpatine, sacrificing his own life. Those who follow will remember he is also ‘the secret husband of Padmé Amidala, father of Princess Leia, and grandfather of Kylo Ren’ phew!

The character has been played/voiced by many incredible actors including David Prowse, James Earl Jones (voiced him in the original trilogy), Sebastian Shaw, Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen.

Darth Vader has become one of the most iconic villains in popular culture, listed among the greatest villains and fictional characters EVER.

WARNING: Strong Language

Dr. Hannibal Lector (The Silence Of The Lambs)

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Dr. Hannibal Lecter a respected Baltimore forensic psychiatrist, as well of course, as a cannibalistic serial killer. After being caught and incarcerated for his crimes, he consults with the FBI (Clarice Starling) to assist in finding other serial killers.

Lecter was introduced to us in the 1981 thriller novel Red Dragon. The novel and its sequel, The Silence of the Lambs, feature Lecter as one of the primary antagonists. In the third novel, Hannibal, Lecter becomes a protagonist. His role as the antihero occurs in the fourth novel, Hannibal Rising, which explores his childhood and development into a serial killer.

Anthony Hopkins won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the character in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). He would reprise the role in Hannibal in 2001 and in a second adaptation of Red Dragon (2002).

In 2003, Hannibal Lecter (as portrayed by Hopkins) was chosen by the American Film Institute as the greatest villain in American cinema. In June 2010, Entertainment Weekly named him one of the “100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years”.

Hannibal’s most evil moment must be when he bites off Sgt Pembry’s nose and wears his face to escape FBI captivity in an ambulance?

The Joker (Batman)

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The Joker, a supervillain created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson who first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book Batman (April 25, 1940), published by DC Comics.

The Joker, a criminal mastermind – a psychopath with a warped, sadistic sense of humour; the character, a goofy prankster in the late 50s, before returning to his darker roots in the early 70s. Batman’s nemesis, the Joker plays key to the superhero’s stories regularly. The character (one version) being born by falling into a tank of chemical waste, the disfigurement driving him insane. The Joker is considered by critics to be Batman’s perfect adversary – having no superhuman abilities, The Joker instead uses his expertise in chemical engineering to develop poisonous or lethal concoctions and thematic weaponry.

One of the most iconic characters in popular culture, the Joker has been listed among the greatest comic book villains and fictional characters ever created.

Iincarnations include; the 1960s Batman television series played by Cesar Romero and in films by Jack Nicholson (Batman, 1989), Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight, 2008), and Joaquin Phoenix (Joker 2019); Ledger and Phoenix ‘deservedly’ each earned an Academy Award for their portrayals. Mark Hamill, Troy Baker, and many others have provided the character’s voice.

Norman Bates (Psycho)

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Norman Bates was portrayed by Anthony Perkins in the 1960 version of Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock. He was also portrayed by Vince Vaughn in the ’98 version of Psycho, and by Freddie Highmore in the hit TV series Bates Motel (2013-17).

After Norman’s father died, he and his mother lived alone “as if there was no one else in the world” until Norman reached adolescence, when his mother met Joe Considine and planned to marry. Considine convinced Norman to open a motel. Driven over the edge with jealousy, he murdered both with strychnine, staging it as murder–suicide, it looked like Norma had killed her fiancé, then herself. After hospitalization for shock, he developed dissociative identity disorder, assuming his mother’s personality to repress his awareness of her death and to escape the incredible guilt he felt. Inheriting his mother’s house (keeping her body in the cellar), and the family motel in the tiny town of Fairvale, California.

Unlike the franchise produced by Universal Studios, Norman is not the principal antagonist in Bloch’s subsequent novels, he is succeeded by a selection of copycat killers, assuming Norman’s identity after his death (Psycho II, 1982).

There’s an assumption the character was inspired by the Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein. Bloch revealed however he had already started writing Psycho when he first became aware of Gein, he was surprised “how closely the imaginary character I’d created resembled the real Ed Gein both in overt act and apparent motivation.”, now that’s scary!

Norman Bates is ranked as the second-greatest villain on the American Film Institute’s list of the top 100 film heroes and villains, behind Hannibal Lecter and before Darth Vader. His line “A boy’s best friend is his mother” also ranks as number 56 on the institute’s list of the 100 greatest movie quotes. In 2008, Norman Bates was selected by Empire Magazine as one of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters. Bates also ranked number 4 on Premiere magazine’s list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

General Zod (Superman I & II, Man Of Steel)

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“Kneel before Zod!” General Zod, a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly with Superman.

As a Kryptonian, Zod exhibits the same powers and abilities as Superman and is consequently viewed as one of his greatest enemies alongside Lex Luthor. Zod is one of Superman’s oldest nemeses.

Zod first appears in a flashback to Krypton where he, Ursa and Non (who’s mute) are sentenced by Jor-El (Superman’s biological father) to isolation in the Phantom Zone. Eventually freed the trio plan to find Son of Jor-El (Superman) and takeover Earth. They meet escaped criminal mastermind (self-titled, were not sure?) Lex Luthor, who guides them to the Daily Planet to introduce them to Lois Lane (Superman’s ‘Girldfriend’). He is defeated when Superman lures Zod and his two companions to the Fortress of Solitude and tricks them into a chamber designed to remove Kryptonian powers.

Total Film ranked Zod #32 on their Top 50 Greatest Villains of All-Time list in 2007. Pop-culture website IGN.com ranked General Zod as #30 on their list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains.

Blackpool Grand

Take a look at what’s on at Blackpool Grand Theatre this Autumn / Winter 20/21

Blackpool Grand set out a COVID-Community Communication Programme (CCCP) during the Coronavirus pandemic. Our aims were simple, to CONNECT, COMFORT and UPLIFT. We would Connect people by offering tutorials on communication tools like Zoom and conduct community face-to-face meetings (book readings, youth groups and more). Comfort through stories of heritage, memories and storytelling, and to Uplift visitors spirits through laughter and exercise. Please do enjoy and if you can afford to donate please do.

The information in this story is accurate as of the publication date. While we are attempting to keep our content as up-to-date as possible, the situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic continues to develop rapidly, so it’s possible that some information and recommendations may have changed since publishing. For any concerns and latest advice around COVID-19, visit the World Health Organisation. If you’re in the UK, the National Health Service can also provide useful information and support, while US users can contact the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.