15 Movie Villains Who Are The Embodiment Of Evil (2024)

Cinema is a great medium for telling important, relatable, and entertaining stories that cover a range of tropes and themes, such as the hero's journey. From expansive franchises to cult classics, cinema has produced a range of compelling, dynamic, and tenacious heroes. However, every great hero needs an equally formidable villain, one who represents the opposing qualities of what makes a hero. Though some films have morally complex and nuanced foes, others have unambiguously evil threats.

Movie villains serve as a way to create contrast for their heroes and can take them to the edge of their moral philosophies, showing that even in their darkest hour they remain on the side of good. Some villains are much more evil than others, and some are practically the embodiment of an irredeemable, classically evil threat. These characters are among the best-received bad guys on film, and that only becomes truer as they embrace their love of pure, true evil.

Updated on May 6th, 2024 by Fawzia Khan: Movies are incomplete without their antagonists, but some can be truly very evil. Their actions and words are malevolent beyond imagination, inducing a visceral reaction in audiences. This list has been updated with even more such movie villains.

15 Dolores Umbridge Jumped from One Evil To Another

Dolores Umbridge was a horrifying character in Harry Potter, and her evil kept going deeper and deeper as her arc progressed. At first simpering sweet, her demeanor hid a very bitter and angry woman, who thought it was okay to physically hurt children, and drug them with Veritaserum to make them tell her the truth.

Even as she was ousted from Hogwarts by its own students, Umbridge did not cease her atrocities. In the Ministry of Magic, she headed the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, which unfairly prosecuted people with Muggle relations. The punishments were severe, and Umbridge seemed to enjoy them thoroughly. She was an obvious sad*st.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

PG-13

Fantasy

Family

With their warning about Lord Voldemort's return scoffed at, Harry and Dumbledore are targeted by the Wizard authorities as an authoritarian bureaucrat slowly seizes power at Hogwarts.

Director

David Yates

Release Date

July 11, 2007

Studio

Warner Bros.

Cast

Daniel Radcliffe , Emma Watson , Rupert Grint , Michael Gambon , Alan Rickman , Ralph Fiennes , Helena Bonham Carter , Robbie Coltrane , Richard Griffiths , Fiona Shaw , David Thewlis , Gary Oldman , Jason Isaacs

Runtime

138 minutes

Tagline

The Rebellion Begins

Main Genre

Adventure

Sequel(s)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

14 Cruella de Vil Wanted to Kill Puppies For a Coat

Even if 101 Dalmatians may have got low ratings, Cruella de Vil left an indelible mark on audiences. The fashion designer was very much the embodiment of evil, as she couldn't spare even puppies for her nefarious sartorial ventures. Glenn Close's portrayed Cruella's singleminded pursuit of the puppies chillingly well.

While Disney's Cruella undid some of this formidable villain's terror, Close's Cruella remains one of the most terrifying villains of all time. She could go to any lengths to create her fur coat, the murder of 101 puppies was a laughing matter to Cruella. Her personality also made a shiver run down audience's spines.

101 Dalmatians (1996)

Adventure

Comedy

When a litter of Dalmatian puppies are abducted by the minions of Cruella De Vil, the owners must find them before she uses them for a diabolical fashion statement.

Director

Stephen Herek

Release Date

November 27, 1996

Cast

Glenn Close , Jeff Daniels , Joely Richardson

Runtime

103 minutes

13 Marla Grayson Didn't Care For Age or Respect

Rosamund Pike's Marla Grayson was a particularly gifted grifter, using her perfect appearance and persuasion to con well-meaning old people of their life's savings. Marla's con was a devious one -- she would appoint herself guardian of several aged people, claiming that they need the assistance to be able to live their lives well. She would then get them sent to assisted living, deliberately rendered helpless as she would sell their apartments and belongings.

Marla was heartless -- she even targeted an old woman who had built her wealth by herself and lived peacefully all alone. The destruction of these people's lives meant nothing to Marla. All that mattered to her was her own interest, and her ending was quite well-deserved.

I Care A Lot

R

Drama

Comedy

Crime

Director

J Blakeson

Release Date

February 19, 2019

Cast

Rosamund Pike , Peter Dinklage , Eiza Gonzalez , Dianne Wiest

Runtime

118 minutes

Main Genre

Drama

12 Amy Dunne Was Absolutely Lethal

Another morally corrupt character played by Rosamund Pike, Amy started off as a sympathetic character, missing and possibly murdered by her husband. Soon enough, audiences got a taste of reality, where Amy had orchestrated her own disappearance, framed her husband for it, and even planned her own death just to make sure that Nick went down with her.

However, when she felt her affection return for her husband, Amy made it look like her ex-boyfriend had kidnapped and assaulted her, when all he did was give her shelter. Amy eventually killed him, and made a triumphant return to her husband, blackmailing him to stay with her. She cared little for free will, and made people do her bidding by arm-twisting them.

Gone Girl

R

Mystery

Thriller

With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.

Director

David Fincher

Release Date

October 3, 2014

Studio

20th Century Fox

Cast

Ben Affleck , Rosamund Pike , Neil Patrick Harris , Tyler Perry

Writers

Gillian Flynn

Runtime

2 Hours 29 Minutes

Main Genre

Drama

Producer

Ceán Chaffin, Joshua Donen, Arnon Milchan, Reese Witherspoon

Production Company

Twentieth Century Fox, New Regency Productions, TSG Entertainment, Pacific Standard

11 Norman Bates Was Seriously Disturbed

Meek and quiet at first glance, Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates hid his mother's corpse in his home and her personality in the recesses of his mind. Both a victim and a villain, Norman had had an emotionally turbulent childhood because of his abusive mother. Eventually, he killed her and her lover, and made it look like a suicide.

Norman's second personality, that of his mother, came out when he felt threatened or angry. He killed with impunity, even attacking the private detective who came to look for Marion. Eventually, Mother took over Norman's entire being, turning him into the mean-spirited woman who had ruined his life.

Psycho

R

Horror

Mystery

Thriller

A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.

Director

Alfred Hitchco*ck

Release Date

September 8, 1960

Cast

Anthony Perkins , Janet Leigh , Vera Miles , John Gavin , Martin Balsam

Writers

Joseph Stefano , Robert Bloch

Runtime

1 hour 49 minutes

Main Genre

Horror

Production Company

Shamley Productions

10 Joker Represents Malevolent Chaos

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The world of DC Comics has many great villains, whose motivations are broad, but Batman's arch-nemesis, Joker, stands out as one of the franchise's most iconic foes. Though the Clown Prince of Crime has been interpreted by many actors, all with their unique take on the villain, Heath Ledger's portrayal in The Dark Knight remains the most compelling.

In The Dark Knight, Joker appears in Gotham looking to take over the criminal underworld, wage a war on Batman, and break Gotham's spirit. Throughout the entire film, it's made clear that Joker represents a chaotic version of evil, one motivated, as Alfred says, by wanting to watch the world burn. After murdering prominent Gotham leaders, Joker's deranged plan takes a dark turn when he tries to force two ships, one full of prisoners and the other civilians, to choose between blowing up the other.

The Dark Knight

PG-13

Superhero

Action

Crime

Drama

10

10

When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.

Release Date

July 18, 2008

Director

Christopher Nolan

Cast

Christian Bale , Heath Ledger , Gary Oldman , Aaron Eckhart , Maggie Gyllenhaal , Michael Caine , Morgan Freeman

Runtime

152 minutes

Main Genre

superheroes

Writers

Jonathan Nolan , Christopher Nolan , David S. Goyer , Bob Kane

Production Company

Warner Bros Pictures; DC Comics, Legendary Entertainment, Syncopy

9 Michael Myers Is Horror's Boogeyman

In 1978, John Carpenter's Halloween introduced the world to Michael Myers, a serial killer who breaks out of his confinement and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield. Since his '78 night of murder, Michael has become symbolic of a force-of-nature style of evil, one seemingly indestructible. No matter how many times Michael is shot, stabbed, burned, or run over, he always seems to get back up and keep coming.

Having appeared in more than a dozen movies, Michael Myers has been established as one of the slasher genre's most formidable villains. Some movies, such as The Curse of Michael Myers, have tied the villain to dark magic as he's influenced by the power of a cult.

Halloween

Halloween is an American slasher franchise that centers on the serial killer Michael Myers and the terror he inflicts on the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois.

Created by

John Carpenter , Debra Hill

First Film

Halloween (1978)

Latest Film

Halloween Ends

Cast

Jamie Lee Curtis , George P. Wilbur , Andi Matichak , Donald Pleasence

Character(s)

Michael Myers

8 Judge Doom Is A Literal Cartoonish Villain

Despite the existence of movies like Space Jam, Who Framed Roger Rabbit remains the definitive movie based on the clash of reality and the cartoon world. Following the private eye of Eddie Valiant in his partnership with the anxious Roger Rabbit, he is charged with saving the very toons he hates from the wrath of Judge Doom.

Judge Doom, along with his band of cartoon hyena henchmen, pursues cartoons outside Toontown, plunging those he finds into "the dip," a vat of acid that dissolves cartoons. In the movie, Doom was written to quite literally be the pinnacle of cartoon villainy and was revealed at the end to be the very cartoon villain who framed Roger Rabbit — as well as having killed Eddie's brother.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

PG

Animation

Adventure

Comedy

Crime

A toon-hating detective is a cartoon rabbit's only hope to prove his innocence when he is accused of murder.

Release Date

June 22, 1988

Director

Robert Zemeckis

Cast

Bob Hoskins , Christopher Lloyd , Charles Fleischer , Joanna Cassidy

Runtime

1 hour 44 minutes

7 Freddy Kreuger Is Horror's Most Over-The-Top Villain

As one of the major figures of the slasher genre, Freddy Krueger is best known for his power to prey on his victims by entering their dreams. Although he doesn't exist in reality, the harm and violence he inflicts in people's dreams come real in reality, ranging from gruesome wounds to controlling their bodies.

Freddy Krueger is, without a doubt, horror's darkest, most irredeemable villain, something cemented by his murder of children when he was a regular man. Damned to the dream world, Krueger exacts vengeance upon the children of the vigilantes who killed him, and revels in their pain, using creative methods to torture and murder the teens of Springwood.

A Nightmare On Elm Street

R

Horror

Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.

Release Date

November 16, 1984

Director

Wes Craven

Cast

Heather Langenkamp , Johnny Depp , Robert Englund , John Saxon

Runtime

91 minutes

Main Genre

Horror

Writers

Wes Craven

Studio

Warner Bros.

6 Voldemort Is So Evil People Dare Not Speak His Name

Based on the book series by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter tells the story of Harry, a young boy who discovers that he's a wizard, and is sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn to hone his magic. While there, Harry befriends fellow magic-users Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who help him overcome a series of trials, challenges, and threats. The main villain of the movie, the dark lord Voldemort, is an evil wizard so feared that people dare not speak his name.

Voldemort is revealed to be a corrupted wizard himself, Tom Riddle, who succumbed to the dark arts and became an unstoppable force of evil. Kept alive by binding his soul to magical artifacts, Horcruxes, Voldemort can stay alive against all odds. After murdering Harry's parents when he was a baby, the dark lord returns during Harry's adolescence — when he wages a war on the wizarding world.

Harry Potter

The Harry Potter franchise follows the adventure of a young boy introduced a whole new world of magic, mayhem and darkness. Traversing the obstacles in his path, young Harry's rise to heroics pits him against Lord Voldemort, one of the most dangerous wizards in the world and all his minions.

Created by

J.K. Rowling

First Film

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Latest Film

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2

Upcoming TV Shows

Harry Potter

Cast

Daniel Radcliffe , Rupert Grint , Emma Watson , Maggie Smith , Alan Rickman , Helena Bonham Carter , Ralph Fiennes , Michael Gambon

Where to watch

HBO Max

Spin-offs (Movies)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald , Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Character(s)

Harry Potter , Voldemort

Video Game(s)

Hogwarts Legacy , LEGO Harry Potter Collection , Harry Potter: Wizards Unite , Harry Potter: Puzzles and Spells , Harry Potter: Magic Awakened , Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets , Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 , Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

5 Malebolgia Rules Hell With An Iron Fist

In 1992, comic book veteran Todd McFarlane released his Image Comics antihero, Spawn. The dark, supernatural hero became one of the decade's best-selling characters as readers watched him fight the treacherous lord of Hell, Malebolgia, in a bid to get his old life back.

Malebolgia isn't Satan himself, but he isn't far from it either. The Lord of Hell has a long history of cruelty and betrayal, tricking many damned souls into becoming his Hellspawns. A creature of sin, terror, and harvesting the souls of humanity, Malebolgia is the epitome of vile evil in the world of Spawn.

Spawn

superheroes

An elite mercenary is killed, but comes back from Hell as a reluctant soldier of the Devil.

Release Date

August 1, 1997

Director

Mark A.Z. Dippé

Cast

Michael Jai White , Martin Sheen , John Leguizamo

Runtime

96 minutes

Writers

Mark A.Z. Dippé , Alan B. McElroy

Story By

4 Pennywise The Dancing Clown Terrorized The Town Of Derry

Stephen King's It (also known as It Chapter One) takes place in the small town of Derry, where the creature It, under the disguise of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, steals the town's children. When a group of friends known as the Loser's Club discovers the truth, they try and save the town from Pennywise in a story that spans some twenty years.

Pennywise is fear incarnate, a creature whose true form is closer to a spider-like Lovecraftian nightmare, who fell to Earth from space and consumes children. The creature is one of King's most terrifying creations, and preys on the worst fears of his victims before finally killing them.

It Chapter One

R

Thriller

In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.

Release Date

September 5, 2017

Director

Andy Muschietti

Cast

Sophia Lillis , Jaeden Lieberher , Jeremy Ray Taylor , FInn Wolfhard , Wyatt Oleff , Chosen Jacobs , Jack Dylan Grazer , Bill Skarsgard

Runtime

2 hours 15 minutes

Main Genre

Horror

3 Darkseid Is A Force Of Destruction In The DCU

Since Jack Kirby created his New Gods mythos in 1971, Darkseid has existed as the looming shadow over the DCU. Bent on finding his coveted Anti-Life Equation, a power that would allow him to enslave the minds of living beings, Darkseid has waged war on Earth and its heroes many times, with a strong rivalry with Superman. In Zack Snyder's Justice League, the villain finally made his live-action debut.

Darkseid has virtually no redeeming qualities, and has dedicated his existence to conquering the free will of life throughout the universe, something he has even achieved in the comics. Through his rivalry with Highfather of New Genesis, Darkseid is a blunt metaphor for Satan himself, ruling over the hellscape that is the firey planet of Apokolips.

Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)

R

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

8

10

Determined to ensure that Superman's ultimate sacrifice wasn't in vain, Bruce Wayne recruits a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions.

Release Date

March 18, 2021

Director

Zack Snyder

Cast

Ben Affleck , Amy Adams , Henry Cavill , Gal Gadot , Ray Fisher , Jason Momoa , Ezra Miller , Willem Dafoe , Jeremy Irons , Jesse Eisenberg , Diane Lane , Connie Nielsen

Runtime

242 minutes

Main Genre

Superhero

Writers

Chris Terrio , Zack Snyder , Will Beall

Franchise

The Justice League

Production Company

Warner Bros. Pictures

Budget

$70 million

Where to watch

HBO Max

2 Sauron Is Middle-Earth's Greatest Foe

During the Fourth Age of Middle-Earth, the world of men was plunged into the War of the Ring as the dark lord Sauron grew his armies and the Fellowship of the Ring sought to destroy the One Ring. Though Sauron began as a servant of the Valar, he was later corrupted and joined the evil being Melkor (also known as Morgoth). In the movies, Sauron exists in the form of the Great Eye, a flaming eyeball atop a fortress that sees everything in his lands and beyond.

Sauron is one of the greatest threats ever to have threatened the races of Middle-Earth, and his corrupting influence was enough to destroy entire kingdoms. In their quest to destroy the One Ring, Frodo and the rest of the Fellowship face his minions, from the Nazgul Ring Wraiths to hordes of Orcs. Though the villain didn't have a physical form for most of the trilogy, there was never a moment of doubt that he was evil incarnate.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a series of epic fantasy adventure films and television series based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The films follow the adventures of humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits and more in Middle-earth.

Created by

J.R.R. Tolkien

First Film

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Latest Film

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

First TV Show

The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power

Latest TV Show

The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power

First Episode Air Date

September 1, 2022

Cast

Elijah Wood , Viggo Mortensen , Orlando Bloom , Sean Astin , Billy Boyd , Dominic Monaghan , Sean Bean , Ian McKellen , Andy Serkis , Hugo Weaving , Liv Tyler , Miranda Otto , Cate Blanchett , John Rhys-Davies , Martin Freeman , Morfydd Clark , Ismael Cruz Cordova , Charlie Vickers , Richard Armitage

Character(s)

Gollum , Sauron

1 Darth Sidious / Emperor Palpatine Is Cinema's Most Successful Dictator

The Star Wars universe is home to some of the most compelling characters in fiction, ranging from the classic hero's journey undertaken by Luke Skywalker to the deep internal conflict of Anakin. While there have been some great spin-off projects, the core Skywalker Saga followed multiple generations of Jedi facing the threat of the galaxy's greatest Sith Lord: Darth Sidious.

Beginning as the seemingly innocent Senator from Naboo, Sheev Palpatine, Sidious was able to manipulate the Republic and its conflict, the Clone Wars so that he could seize power and become a dictator. No character in the history of cinema has enjoyed being evil as much as Sidious, who represents true, megalomania and evil. From his cackling laughter, as he destroys democracy to his unforgiving tyranny, Sidious is unrivaled in his embrace of pure evil.

Star Wars

The original trilogy depictsthe heroic development of Luke Skywalker as a Jedi and his fight against Palpatine's Galactic Empire alongside his sister, Leia. The prequels tell the tragic backstory of their father, Anakin, who is corrupted by Palpatine and becomes Darth Vader.

Created by

George Lucas

First Film

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

Latest Film

Star Wars: Episode XI - The Rise of Skywalker

First TV Show

Star Wars: The Mandalorian

Latest TV Show

Ahsoka

Character(s)

Luke Skywalker , Han Solo , Princess Leia Organa , Din Djarin , Yoda , Grogu , Darth Vader , Emperor Palpatine , Rey Skywalker