Originally posted circa 2006

One night I woke up screaming. Then I poured myself a nice cup of Twinings, applied my immaculate tweed dressing gown with matching slippers and composed this list.

Norman Stansfield – Leon

I have no idea how Stansfield got the way he is, but he’s a nasty piece of work. He’s also funny, but most of all, really rather scary.

Francis Begbie – Trainspotting

I love Begbie. He’s a complete nutcase and reminds me vividly of someone I knew at school. A mean-spirited bully, Begbie isn’t an all-powerful villain, but enjoys being a psychopath, so I had to put him in this list.

Castor Troy – Face/Off

Although Nicholas Cage has made some dodgy decisions since what I consider to be near-perfect action romps of the mid-nineties (Wickerman remake, why?!) I do love his character in Face/off for being truly insane. This way I can also throw Travolta into the fray, who plays an equally eager and disturbed version of the character.

Mr Hands – Dark City

One of my favourite films, Richard O’Brien’s idiosyncratic alien is both unsettling and bloody brilliant. He pulled off the role with such gusto that the rest of the alien section of the cast were made to mimic his mannerisms.

Dr Jonathon Crane/Scarecrow – Batman Begins

I felt a bit sorry for Cillian Murphy when the reviews said that he was scarier without the mask, but either way, he provides a refreshing change from a lot of on-screen villains. Cold and calm without the mask and scary as hell with it, the Scarecrow is the perfect host and ambassador of Arkham Asylum. Crane is all about mind-games, for physically he’s a weakling.

Boba Fett – Star Wars

Like many before me, I caught the bug that is Boba Fett. He looks cool but says very little. He has one of the coolest helmets ever, a jetpack, tons of other gadgets, a really cool space ship with a sinister name – Slave 1 and he gets eaten by a giant sand monster. Instant love.

Blair Witch/Elly Kedward – The Blair Witch Project

I think one of the most powerful tools (or indeed weapons) a person can wield is the power of suggestion, so I’m not afraid to admit that the Blair Witch scares the hell out of me without ever showing her face on-screen. The Blair Witch Project scares me to death even if I watch it with sun pouring through the windows. Go on, laugh!

Doc Ock – Spiderman 2

Perfectly cast, Molina is chilling as Doctor Octopus. He’s still human when his arms take control of him and the scene with Peter and his wife prior to his descent into madness is touching. He has some great action sequences too, and cool lines like ‘Or I’ll peel the flesh off her bones,’ which he manages to make sound so frank.

John Doe – Seven

It’s taken me a few watches to actually get for some reason, but now I can appreciate Seven and its lead villain. I love the way he explains how he puked over a guy who wasn’t really happy about it. Genius!

Billy Loomis – Scream

Thi is a pretty clever film really, especially for the big red herring near the beginning. If only the police kept Loomis locked up, but then Scream wouldn’t be half as much fun. He turns out to be really quite insane and quotes films like Psycho. A lovely chap.

Hannibal Lector – Silence of the Lambs

I’ll never forget the first time we followed Starling in to see Mr. Lector. I could appreciate Manhunter (especially the In A Gadda Da Vida Iron Butterfly track during the Tooth Faerie’s gunning down cops scene) but I much prefer Hopkins as Hannibal. The books by Thomas Harris are bloody good (pun intended) too.

The Pale Man

One of the most unique, frightening monsters I’ve seen in a film for a long time. This one made me feel happy inside. An emaciated child-eating pink freak with eyes in his hands, who could ask for a better abomination?

Leatherface

Everyone’s favourite smiling, snorting, chainsaw wielding psychopath. If they aren’t considering Leatherface plush dolls that have pull chords with cutting/screaming sounds yet then I don’t know what they’re playing at.

I may well add to this the next time I wake up screaming as I’m sure those wonderfully malignant rogues I’ve listed are merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to on-screen villains. Or perhaps I’ll just get me some chocolate instead.