Favorite Villains

Hey everybody, welcome to my third blog post. In this post, I'm going to give a run down of my top 10 favorite movie villains. Now some of these characters come from other media, but today I'm going to just be focusing on the movie versions. I've always been more drawn to villains. The heroes in many movies can be, well, rather dull and irritating. They're sanctimonious and usually loved by all. The villains got to play by their own rules. They got the better costumes, the catchy villain songs, the most awesome lairs, and their henchmen were usually pretty cool too. That's enough backstory, roll with the villains! Warning: Spoilers.


10. Grand High Witch- To kick off our list, we're starting with the Grand High Witch played by Angelica Huston in the movie The Witches. The plot revolves around a young boy who stumbles upon a witch convention while he is on vacation. For his troubles, he gets transformed into a mouse by the Grand High Witch. The GHW is pretty fearsome throughout the movie. Her public form is that of a beautiful, aristocratic woman, but when in the privacy of her peers, her form is completely grotesque. Ancient, leathery skin, impossibly long fingers and nose, a hunchback, and wicked eyes. Her mastermind plan is to systematically eliminate all children by mixing the mouse potion into sweets. Her plan is undone when the GHW find herself transformed into a rat by eating soup contaminated with the potion. She is eventually pinned underneath a water glass and chopped up by a knife. I love the GHW because she's very straightforward in her motives, she just hates kids.

9. Viktor- Next on the list is Viktor from the Underworld franchise portrayed by Bill Nighy. At the beginning of the film, the audience is under the impression that Viktor is a saintly vampire elder, when is reality he's a manipulative tyrant. Over the course of the first movie, Viktor slowly shows his true colors. With the protagonist, Selene, awakening him from hibernation far ahead of schedule, it throws the entire coven into chaos. Despite Selene's unwavering loyalty to her lord, Viktor's heinous acts against Selene's family are finally revealed. Viktor is a racist obsessed with keeping the vampire bloodline pure from any Lycan influence, even previously having his daughter sentenced to death over it. Viktor meets his untimely end by having half of his head sliced cleanly off by Selene with his own sword. Viktor is a great villain because there's almost something there that the audience can sympathize with. Almost. He wants the vampires to stay on top, but he goes about it in every wrong way.

8. Winifred "Winnie" Sanderson- Next up is Winnie Sanderson from the comedy film Hocus Pocus played by Bette Midler. The premise of the movie is that after being dead for nearly 300 years, the wicked Sanderson sisters are accidentally resurrected by a group of unknowing teenagers. The witches' entire purpose in life is to suck the life out of children, literally. Winnie is the leader of the sisters and arguably the most powerful. Equipped with a mountain of red hair, buck teeth, long talons, and electrokinesis she makes for a formidable foe. She alternates between being a great source of comic relief and being quite deadly. Winnie's death is brought about by falling from her broomstick onto hollowed ground, turning to stone, and exploding. I feel for Winnie, really, I do. She just wants to stay young and active, nothing wrong with that. Not to mention, the poor woman is surrounded by idiots. If that's not enough to pity her I don't know what is.

7. Mystique- Mystique is the next villain on my list. Mystique is a character in the popular X-Men series. She is portrayed first by Rebecca Romijn and then by Jennifer Lawrence. Because Romijn's portrayal of the character is more villainous I'll be talking about that one. Mystique has the incredible power of shapeshifting, she can morph into anyone and even mimic their voice. She is also revealed to be very skilled in hand-to-hand combat and a brilliant strategist. The source of Mystique's villainy mostly stems from the fact that she simply opposes the X-Men. She, along with the rest of the Brotherhood of Mutants, believe that mutants are superior to humans and that they should become the dominant beings. Mystique participates in kidnapping, murder, and a failed plot to mutate many world leaders, among other things. Mystique ends up being shot with a dart containing a mutant cure and subsequently becomes that which she hates the most. Mystique is my favorite character in this series because she knows what she wants and she goes for it. She's cunning and resourceful, and she gets the job done. What more could you ask for?

6. Poison Ivy- Poison Ivy is a recurring villain in the life of Batman. The main movie that she is present in is Batman and Robin where she is brought to life by Uma Thurman. Poison Ivy is one the top eco-terrorists in the world. She uses a variety of botanical substances to commit crimes, usually aimed at protecting plant life. Armed with poison lips and pheromones, she is one of Batman's most deadly enemies. Poison Ivy is ultimately thwarted in a plot she hatched with fellow villain Mr. Freeze in an attempt to take over the world. In a duel with Batgirl, Poison Ivy is kicked into a large floral throne and trapped. She is later imprisoned at Arkham Asylum. Poison Ivy is the ultimate femme fatale and I love that about her. What man wouldn't risk death to kiss those poison lips?

5. White Witch- The White Witch is the main villain in the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Tilda Swinton breathes life into this villainess. The WW is a sorceress that has taken over Narnia and plunged it into an eternal winter. The Witch's wand is her most powerful weapon. With it she has the ability to turn beings into pure stone. Despite from being highly adept at magic, the WW is also shown to be highly skilled in combat, shown by her expert dueling in swordfights. The White Witch dies when Aslan attacks her during battle. Tilda Swinton's portrayal of the WW was fantastic to me. She's got those wicked looking eyes that stare straight into your soul and make you cringe.

4. Dracula- There have been so many incarnations of Dracula that it's really difficult to pick just one. In this case, I'll just chose the one that started it all, Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula. Dracula is the perfect villain. He's suave, sophisticated, and rich. Not to mention, he's a total lady killer (I'm sorry, it was too good to pass up). Dracula is fond of preying on young, innocent girls and either turning them into vampires or simply killing them. By the end of the film, Dracula has almost completely turned the young Mina into one of the undead. Dracula is finally stopped when Van Helsing impales him with a wooden stake. Dracula is the ultimate bachelor: he goes out every night, paints the town red, and always brings home a different woman. He's kind of my role model.

3. Elle Driver- Elle Driver is an assassin in the popular Kill Bill series, she is portrayed by actress Daryl Hannah. Elle Driver is a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. Elle is ruthless, cold, cunning, and has no morals or scruples. She participates in the merciless slaughter of the entire wedding party at the Bride's nuptial ceremony. What makes Elle such a great villain is that she has no redeeming qualities, she is rotten to the core. Her skills include mastery of martial arts, proficiency with a samuraiai sword,  and sarcasm. Not to mention, she rocks a completely wicked looking eyepatch. When the Bride and Elle finally square off, the Bride rips out Elle's remaining good eye, rendering her completely blind. It is unknown if Elle may have actually survived, but since she was completely blinded while locked in a trailer housing one of the world's deadliest snakes in the middle of nowhere, her odds aren't looking too good. But hey, I'm rooting that she escaped somehow.

2. Bellatrix Lestrange- Where do I even begin here? Bellatrix Lestrange is a recurring villain in the incredibly successful Harry Potter series. Helena Bonham Carter plays this deliciously deranged villainess. Bellatrix is the top Death Eater, second-in-command to Voldemort himself. Equipped with her wand, she's almost unstoppable. She's been seen to subdue three wizards within a matter of seconds and her dueling skills are legendary. Bellatrix is fond of playing with her victims before finally killing them. Whether torturing them with a curse, or taunting them with memories of victims she has previously murdered. Bellatrix comes to a tragic end when she is killed in a duel with Molly Weasley.

1. Maleficent- Bam! The end of the list! Maleficent is the top villain on my list because, well, she's a complete badass. Now, to clear things up, I'm talking about the old school, animated version of the villain voiced by the amazing Eleanor Audley in Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Maleficent is a dark fairy of incredible power. She is even the self-proclaimed "Mistress of All Evil". It's kind of hard to top that one on an evil resume. Her powers include, but certainly aren't limited to: teleporting, casting curses and spells, shooting electric blasts from her staff, conjuring thorn walls, and transforming herself into a dragon. Maleficent is sadly killed when she and Prince Phillip are battling. Phillip, with the help of the three good (meddlesome) fairies, throws his sword into Maleficent which causes her to fall from a cliff and die. Maleficent has always been my favorite villain. She's got a staff, a pet to do her bidding, and a tremendous chip on her shoulder. She casts a vicious curse all because she wasn't invited to a christening, talk about holding a grudge. Not to mention, her voice is so deadly and enchanting that you can't help but like her.

There you have it, my top 10 favorite movie villains. Hope y'all enjoyed my list. If you have anything you'd like to comment, add, or a question to ask, be sure to drop me a comment or send me a message. See y'all next time!