Hannibal Lecter and Hans Gruber?
They’re the movie villains who get the recognition they deserve.
But what about this lot?
It boils down to one thing: showmanship.
Whether it is in terms of appearance, personality, or action, characters like these hog the spotlight.
When they are onscreen, you cannot take your eyes off them.
In forming this list, I found that I was gravitating toward characters who lacked this kind of showmanship.
Maybe the title of this article should have been understated.
Theyre the kind of people you would not expect.
The kind you would overlook.
Lets illuminate them, shall we?
None was more successful than his role in this surprisingly bleak and nasty film noir.
Watch Born to Kill on Amazon
24.
Harry Sledge, Supervixens (Russ Meyer, 1975)
Primarily well known forFaster, Pussycat!
Kill!Russ Meyer is famous (or infamous) for hisLooney Toonsexploitation features of the 60s.
For an inanimate object, Spielberg manages to get a lot of personality out of this machine.
Watch Duel on Amazon
22.
The Aliens, They Live (John Carpenter, 1988)
Whats the threat?
We all sell out every day.
Might as well be on the winning team.
Though they have brainwashed the populace and boast futuristic technology, their chief weapon is human greed.
read more: John Carpenter Teases They Live Reboot
If anyone stands against them, they can be bought.
A satirical takedown of Reagans America, the aliens inThey Liveare basically intergalactic super-capitalists.
Watch They Live on Amazon
21.
Miles Quaritch fulfils these principles to a tee.
Quaritch just wants to wipe out an entire species.
He does all this while on fire.
Watch Avatar on Amazon
20.
In an age of hard bodied heroes and villains, Milo stands out like a sore thumb.
Trading quips and bullets with equal ease, he proves to be the equal of Willis disgraced secret agent.
Watch The Last Boy Scout on Amazon
19.
Mr. Joshua starts out as an evil doppelganger to Mel Gibsons tortured super cop Martin Riggs.
If Joshuas going to get caught, it might as well be for something truly horrific.
Watch Lethal Weapon on Amazon
18.
Lacking any gimmicks or physical idiosyncrasies, Necros is just very, very good at his job.
Combining brawn and brains, Necros is the most imposing antagonist the series has produced since the 60s.
Watch The Living Daylights on Amazon
17.
Always playing both sides for his own gain, he is a combination of James Bond and Richard III.
Watch Clear and Present Danger on Amazon
16.
Watch The Raid on Amazon
15.
Watch Day of the Jackal on Amazon
14.
A homo sapien twin to mutant villain Magneto, Stryker is obsessed with saving his own species.
And Stryker remains the one X-Villain who came the closest to wiping the X-Men out once and for all.
Not bad for a human.
Watch X2 on Amazon
13.
Combining brains and brawn, he is the rare antagonist who poses a genuine threat to the secret agent.
Savalas Blofeld also retains one distinction no one else has managed: he wins.
Watch On Her Majestys Secret Service on Amazon
12. read more Mission: Impossible 7 Whats Next for the Franchise?
Watch Mission: Impossible III on Amazon
11.
See also:why you should watch Michael Manns Manhunter
Watch Manhunter on Amazon
10.
With his cadaverous face beneath a monk-like hood, he resembles a vampire.
Watch Frenzy on Amazon
8.
Yet, Street Thunder is arguably the most frightening.
They resemble zombies more than human beings.
Watch Assault on Precinct 13 on Amazon
7. read more: Dirty Harrys Scorpio The Most Overloooked Screen Villain?
A complete contrast to Eastwoods minimalism, Robinsons elevated presence makes him a worthy foe for the former cowboy.
He is a force of nature that only Harry can stop.
See also:Dirty Harrys Scorpio the most overlooked screen villain?
Watch Dirty Harry on Amazon
6.
Watch The Boston Strangler on Amazon
5.
Indeed, there is something genuinely unsettling about Roat from the first moment he steps into frame.
Even when his accomplices betray him, Roat has already made contingency plans to remove them.
Watch Wait Until Dark on Amazon
4.
Watch The Train on Amazon
3.
A pity, since her gleefully malevolent performance in the icy noirAngelFacesuggests she could have been a contender.
However, like everything else in Premingers film, this cliche is quickly undermined.
Simmons embodies Diane as an immature child-woman, with little control over her own actions.
She loses her mind and has to have everyone else dig her way out of jail time.
A perverse, unpredictable re-write of a genre archetype, and a great showcase for the underrated Jean Simmons.
Especially when slow-witted Tim Evans and his young family arrive on his doorstep looking for a flat.
Watch 10 Rillington Place on Amazon
1.
But beneath this exterior lurks a calculating killer who is currently on the run from the police.
He is just another regular guy you would pass on the street.
