Entertainment Weekly just listed its 50 favorite movie villains. You know, the bad guys that we love to hate. But, they also got hammered for leaving some fan favorites out. Who made their top 50 list? (Warning, if you haven’t seen all these movies, there may be some spoilers mentioned)
Of course, Star Wars nemesis Darth Vader was on the list. Trying to kill your own son (Luke Skywalker) and daughter (Princess Leia) certainly qualifies you to head straight to the top of the villain list. Voiced by actor James Earl Jones, Darth Vader is an iconic villain that will probably frighten our grandchildren.
What would a villain list be without one of my personal favorites, Dr. Hannibal Lecter? Anthony Hopkins did such a good job with this character in Silence of the Lambs that Dr. Lecter was named the #1 villain by AFI (the American Film Institute) on its list as well. I love the way Anthony made his character civil and with good manners, so that you almost liked him, even though he could tear out your liver and eat it with some fava beans and a nice chianti. Also getting a nod from EW was Ted Levine who played the character Buffalo Bill in the movie. He did such a good job that every time my husband or I see him in another movie, we tend to quote lines from Silence of the Lambs such as “It rubs the lotion on its skin” and “Was she a great big fat person?” done in his deep bass voice, of course.
Okay, off my Anthony Hopkins kick and back to the villains. Also named in the top 50 was Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Now you must know that I went through a few years where almost all I wanted to watch was horror movies. Not the torturous junk they are putting out today, but good old-fashioned “Jason chasing you around the field with a pitch fork” kind of horror. But, even during that period, I wouldn’t watch the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. So while I can respect the villainous nature of Leatherface, I can only say that his character scares me from what I have heard and from what my mind can conjure up.
Be sure to stay tuned to this blog – there are plenty more movie villains to talk about!