Who's your most chilling movie villain?

[InceyWinceySpidy]

Something came up earlier on a quiz show and I was trying to explain (to DH who's never seen it) "Misery" and the hobbling scene. I happened to comment it was probably the most awful thing I've seen, cinematically. She plays such a calm yet menacing psychopath. And the shock of that particular scene is like nothing I'd seen before.

It got us talking about who plays the most bone chilling villain. Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men is quietly terrifying as well.

And then of course, the brilliant Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal. He plays him superbly, but did he frighten me more than the woman from Misery? Probably not.

Who's your most terrifying film villain, and why?

Joe Pesci in Goodfellas.

It was the first film I ever saw him in. Really took me a while to "get" him in comedy films after that!

Billy Nolan and Chris Hargensen in Carrie. That girl particularly gives zero fucks about her actions, the consequences of them or even acknowledges how wrong she is. That was top notch narcissism.

Not a film, but the husband in Bad Sisters is a wonderful villain - v believable in a normal situation

I agree. I can only think of him as that psycho in Goodfellas with his manic crazy laugh. If I ever see him in a comedy I expect him to flip and blow someone's brains out at any moment. I'd love to see what he is like in real life.

I haven't seen some of these mentioned here but I agree with a pp - think it has to Ramsey Bolton for me. Couldn't watch, just unremitting horror from that character.

Kiefer Sutherland in "An eye for an eye". Couldn't sleep after watching it. He had to have therapy after playing Doob as it affected him so much.

Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goethe in Schindler's List. Especially when he freaks out on Helen.

The Child Catcher “lollipops…”
Pennywise the clown
Hannibal Lecter

Max Cady (Robert de niro) in Cape Fear..

Ramsey Bolton in TV series. Complete & utter psychopath.

Kevin Spacey in Se7en because he wasn't a 'frothing at the mouth' villain. Quite the opposite.

Annie Wilkes (Misery) is a really good part to play (I did it in am dram - she chops his leg off in the hobbling scene). Apparently I scared the sound guy😄.

Daniel day Lewis, in gangs of New York.

Sadako, the Ring

I agree, plus Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goth in Schindler's List.

All the more terrifying as all that stuff really went on...

The T-100 from the original Terminator film. I saw it when I was waaay too young (thanks to a school friend’s older brother who showed it to us while their parents were out) and I was so disturbed by this thing that looked like a man, but was a relentless killing machine and couldn’t be stopped by the things that would usually bring down a human baddie.

Obviously, the character’s appearance in subsequent films where he’s a protective father-figure has lessened the impact, but the original was pure nightmare-fuel for 10 year old me.

Not a movie but Tony Soprano. I think he is chilling for many reasons but mainly because I find myself liking him at times - he can seem like an “normal” guy and that is bad as he is the cause of so much violence and evil.

Freddy Krueger

Many of the ones previously mentioned upthread, but also Heath Ledger's The Joker

NRFT so sorry if he's been mentioned before but mine is Mick from Wolf Creek.

The prison guard in The Green Mile
He's just so evil.

Walter White

Yes, definitely this ... but also Robert Mitchum in the original. So menacing.

Possibly also Ray Winstone in Nil by Mouth, although I've never managed to watch the whole thing

The character Christopher Waltz plays in Inglorious Basterds

David Tennant in Jessica Jones. Freaked me out completely. But Kathy Bates is always incredible.

It's not a movie but the character of Kilgrave in the first series of Jessica Jones. David Tennant makes him utterly terrifying.

John Jarratt in Wolf Creek