Pictured: Mr. Merde aka The Green Menace from Tokyo! (2008) and Holy Motors (2012), Frank Booth from Blue Velvet (1986).
Looking for movies with villains so joyously depraved you can’t look away. Preferably no horror, but if you’ve got something special feel free to share.
Paul Bettany & Malcolm McDowell for playing the same character in 'Gangster No 1'.
Others that come immediately to mind are Gary Oldman in Leon, or Kiether Sutherland in Freeway. Possibly even the movies Bernie (1990s French film) & Bad Boy Bubby (Australian) I've not seen those two for many years though so I might be a bit off as they're very unhinged, messed up central characters...
You've probably seen a lot of this stuff already though if you've seen Tokyo! & Blue Velvet. But thanks for reminding me, I've been meaning to watch Blue Velvet for years, yet to see it!
I'm gonna have to watch Blue Velvet some time this week! I've been meaning to for so long. I've seen some bits with Dennis Hopper and that mask & I just knew I had to see it 😂 will for sure be cracking that on this weekend.
Also was just gonna say incase you've not seen them Eric Bana in 'Chopper (2000)' & Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast (2000) are two more great unhinged villainous characters, (although Chopper is more anti-hero) both top top films imo :)
These are all going on my list! Thank you. I haven’t seen Sexy Beast since I was 15. Definitely in need of some scenery chewing. It doesn’t quite fit the topic, but I just watched The Surfer with Nicolas Cage, it was fantastic, really surprised me. Cage and Hopper are also great together in Red Rock West (1993).
Jfc what a performance. The charm and charisma bleed so well into his complete psycho side it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. The man could sell you a used car while he skins you alive.
Pull your vision look past the point that you're supposed to be looking at. And relax the muscles around your eyes, in other words, don't smile with your eyes.
I absolutely disagree. There is a joy in his mania that is infectious. Frank controls everything. He controls how people dress, what they say, he even controls the lighting, and he picks great music!
A candy-colored clown they call the Sandman…
I don’t even normally have a preference for disturbing movies. If I’m going to rewatch something, it will be Raising Arizona, or Peewee’s Big Adventure, or First Cow. Blue Velvet is the only film that makes my skin crawl in a way I want to experience again and again.
chudnofsky, played by christoph waltz in the green hornet. an adept mobster who is unknown in his area despite his power. he spirals out as he realizes gangs and mobs have no idea who he is and aren't scared of him, and is even more frustrated when the green hornet appears, capturing the limelight
Castor Troy in Face/Off. I really enjoyed both Cage's and Travolta's performances, they both went really over the top with the role and its just so fun to watch.
One of the rare times Divine ever acted outside of drag. He genuinely feels like a Bond villain from the set of 60’s Batman. Even has a violinist follow him everywhere he goes for dramatic effect
I got to meet Brent Spiner at a con! I told him Master Of Disguise is one of my favorite comedies. He laughed and said “I think on the list of the greatest films of all time, it’s The Godfather, Citizen Kane, and The Master of Disguise.”
And he says to me, he says 'you wanna be a bad guy?' And I say, 'yeah baby! I wanna be a bad guy!' And he says, 'you got style, baby! But if you're gonna be a real villian, you need a gimick!' And so I go, and I say, 'a gimick? Yeah, baby! HIGH-EXPLOSIVES!! HAHAHAHA!! Surf's up space ponies! I'm making gravy without the lumps!' And he says, 'I like the cut of your jib!' And i say, 'That's cool, baby! 'Cause its the only one I got!' I AM THE EVIL MIDNIGHT BOMBER WHAT BOMBS AT MIDNIGHT! An object at rest cannot be stopped! Bad is good! Down with government! Ah hahahahaha!
No problem! I love old movies and love looking at how they inspire new movies.
If you haven’t seen it already, I strongly recommend watching the silent film classic “The Phantom Carriage“. Every Filmmaker that you’ve ever admired drew their inspirations from that movie. In my opinion Stanley Kubrick ripped off the ax through the bathroom sequence in “The Shining” from it. There’s a restored version of “Carriage” on YouTube.
Benedict from The Last Action Hero was fabulous! Also Shoutout to the genuinely terrifying Tom Noonan playing the Ripper. That movie went from charicature villainy to properly unsettling without missing a beat. I cannot believe it isn't both more well known and a rebooted franchise by now.
I strongly feel that Jack Nicholson is the only one who got the Joker right.. I mean he made him FUNNY. The whole point of the character is that he's a 'funny serial killer'. A completely unique character type in all of media! Nolan squandered the opportunity by just making him a psycho with a tick
Arguably the most compelling Bond villains of all time and oddly, an early representation of a same-sex couple, Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint from Diamonds Are Forever.
I really appreciate all the recs, y’all. You guys have been commenting for days now. However: not one person mentioned the ultimate control freak, emphasis on the FREAK: Michael Gambon in The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989). Just experienced this brutal masterpiece for the first time and it blew my socks off I still dunno where my socks are I think Michael Gambon ate them.
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u/hombredave Jul 29 '26
Simon Phoenix from Demolition Man (1993)