Movie bad guys are normally merely an obstacle for our hero to overcome in order to save the day. They are presented as such abhorrently evil characters that we are supposed to be repulsed and further align ourselves with the protagonist. Call it clever casting or brilliant writing but every so often comes a bad guy of such cunning evil and charm that they become the more memorable part of a film.

Viewing Die Hard again recently further solidified the brilliance of Alan Rickman in that film. Not only is he smarter than Bruce Willis’ McClane but in hindsight his performance is what made the film. The failure of subsequent Die Hard films is in part due to the lack of a character of Hans Gruber’s calibre.

We have compiled a top ten list of the most memorable bad guys on film. Although hated and despised they were instrumental in making the films they were in modern classics.

10. John Doe in Se7en (1995)
Although only in the film for the last ten minutes his evil genius in staging such an elaborate and violent crime makes him a truly memorable bad guy.





9. Roy Batty in Blade Runner (1982)
Perhaps the only bad guy that has one of the most memorable final lines of dialogue in cinema history.





8. T-1000 in T2 (1991)
The T-1000 added a level of intensity missing from Arnold’s Terminator. This guy just doesn’t give up.





7. Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men (2007)
More then his chilling cold heartedness is the unfortunate haircut that makes him a memorably fierce bad guy. Would you tell him he could do with a trim?





6. Jack Torrance in The Shining
Nicholson’s over the top performance is what makes his transition into madness a terrifyingly entertaining one.





5. Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th Series
This leviathan of a bad guy was an unstoppable killing force with no apparent motive but a flair for impaling teenagers. Fans will debate this but he is at his evil best in Part 2.





4. Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988)
Hans Gruber was one of the smartest bad guys in film history. His wit was only surpassed by his cold calculating malevolence.





3. Freddy Kruger in Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
The films were basically there for Freddy to dispose a series of unsuspecting teenagers in their sleep. Freddy’s constant attempts at humour throughout his rage fuelled carnage made him sinfully evil and one of the more memorable bad guys.





2. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Basing his performance on HAL from 2001 Anthony Hopkins presented a character of such evil that the film seems to become less interesting when he is not there. Unfortunate attempts to revive the character aside, the coldness of Dr. Lecter has sent chills up many a viewers spine.





1. Darth Vader in Star Wars & Empire Strikes Back (1997)
The greatest bad guy of them all that made being evil look incredibly tempting. Cloaked in the darkest of blacks and voiced to perfection by James Earl Jones he is by far the more interesting character of the saga. I’ve only included Episode IV and V as subsequent entries in the mythic saga have removed the mystery and danger from the character. I hate you Jake Lloyd.




- Story by Sebastian Cordoba