Psycho killer... Qu'est-ce que c'est? Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the scariest and most threatening psychopaths in film. Beware the spoilers!
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00:00Step out of the car, please, sir.
00:02What is that?
00:03I need you to step out of the car, sir.
00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the scariest and most threatening
00:10psychopaths in film.
00:11We'll be excluding superhuman slashers like Jason and Michael in an attempt to keep things
00:15more realistic.
00:16Also a few spoilers.
00:17I'm a man of my word.
00:23Number 20.
00:24Mr. Blonde.
00:25Reservoir Dogs.
00:26You kids shouldn't play so rough.
00:28Somebody's gonna start crying.
00:31Mr. Blonde.
00:32It seems like Mr. Blonde didn't even care about the money.
00:34He just wanted to kill some cops.
00:36Reservoir Dogs is a movie full of criminals, following a gang of thieves who just botched
00:39a robbery.
00:40Even these trained killers call Mr. Blonde an uncontrollable psycho.
00:43Psychopath ain't a professional.
00:45Can't work with a psychopath.
00:48Brilliantly played by Michael Madsen, Blonde kidnaps a cop, playfully dances while cutting
00:52off his ear, and attempts to burn him alive, even after the cop tells him that he has a
00:56child at home.
00:57He's utterly without empathy, and he performs extreme acts of violence with great personal
01:01enjoyment.
01:02When even hardened criminals are scared of you, you know you're a little unhinged.
01:05Number 19.
01:06Gordon Gekko.
01:07Wall Street.
01:08He could be a psychopath without killing anyone.
01:09In fact, the financial sector is full of them, with studies suggesting that a disproportionate
01:13number of business leaders display traits of clinical psychopathy.
01:16Gordon Gekko is a prime example of this type of person.
01:19According to him, greed is good, and that belief is on full display throughout Wall Street.
01:23Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.
01:28Greed is right.
01:30Greed works.
01:32According to FBI profilers on the Channel 4 documentary Psychopath Night, Gordon is
01:36one of the most realistic fictional psychopaths.
01:38He displays traits of superficial charm, manipulation, and a grandiose sense of self-worth, all of
01:43which are on the checklist of clinical psychopathy.
01:45He just wants money and power, and he'll screw over anyone to get it.
01:49Illusion has become real, and the more real it becomes, the more desperate they want it.
01:56Capitalism at its finest.
01:58Number 18.
01:59Alonzo Harris.
02:00Training Day.
02:01Alonzo Harris is the worst type of cop, the one who wields his power over society to manipulate
02:05and control.
02:06One of the scariest and most corrupt cops in cinema, Alonzo's psychopathy is horrifically
02:10portrayed by Denzel Washington, who earned an Oscar for his performance.
02:15Alonzo is in debt to the Russian mob, and he plans on killing new recruit Jake Hoyt
02:26to steal money and settle his account.
02:28Along the way, he commits a flurry of crimes, including domestic abuse, armed robbery, and
02:32multiple murders.
02:33He's a criminal with a badge, and he's constantly wielding it to his advantage.
02:37Number 17.
02:41Peter and Paul.
02:42Funny Games.
02:51Attracting great controversy for its violence, Funny Games is a provocative little film from
02:55director Michael Haneke.
02:57It asks its viewers to be complicit in the on-screen violence, which is carried out by
03:01two young psychopaths known only as Peter and Paul.
03:03These two break into the vacation home of George and Anna Schober, and proceed to enact
03:07the Funny Games, which aren't so funny after all.
03:19They keep the family hostage and subject them to sick forms of abuse before ultimately killing
03:23everyone.
03:24For no other reason than the sheer fun of it, they're psychopaths to a T. Uncaring,
03:28unsympathetic, and utterly unhinged.
03:30Number 16.
03:31Catherine Tramiel.
03:32Basic Instinct.
03:34A blind and often ignored second film, Catherine Tramiel is officially diagnosed as a psychopath
03:38by Dr. Michael Glass.
03:40She displays narcissistic traits, a godlike omnipotence, and a risk addiction that has
03:44her seeking out danger solely for the thrill of it.
03:46Did you kill Mr. Boss, Ms. Tramiel?
03:48I'd have to be pretty stupid to write a book about killing and then kill somebody the way
03:52I described it in my book.
03:53I'd be announcing myself as the killer.
03:56I'm not stupid.
03:57Played by 90s sex symbol Sharon Stone, Catherine is the perfect femme fatale.
04:02Gorgeous but dangerous.
04:04Catherine is not only a prolific serial killer, but a highly skilled manipulator who incriminates
04:07others for her crimes and constantly works to exploit a police detective.
04:11It's a sheer power grab, and it all works as Catherine gets away with everything.
04:15I suppose you still think I kill people too, right?
04:19No.
04:23Liar.
04:24Number 15.
04:25Hans Beckert.
04:26M.
04:27Enormously influential in the crime genre, Fritz Lang's M is one of the earliest examples
04:30of procedural drama.
04:32It follows Karl Lohmann, a police inspector who hunts a dangerous serial killer.
04:36This serial killer is Hans Beckert, who targets young victims and kidnaps them off the street.
04:51Peter Lorre is magnificent in the role, and he was typecast as a villain for years afterward.
04:56So terrifying is his portrayal of an unhinged and violent man.
04:59Hans Beckert is one of the earliest examples of a movie psychopath, yet he remains one
05:03of the scariest.
05:11Number 14.
05:12Henry.
05:13Henry, portrait of a serial killer.
05:14We go from one serial killer to another, only this one is loosely based in reality.
05:18Michael Rooker plays the titular Henry, a nomadic killer who targets people with his
05:22partner in crime, Otis.
05:24While the character was very loosely based on Henry Lee Lucas, most of the movie's events
05:28are fictional or heavily exaggerated.
05:30Say that again.
05:32I'd like to kill somebody.
05:34Must mean you go for a ride, Otis.
05:37It was the subject of enormous controversy at the time and was even given an X rating
05:40for its graphic violence.
05:42It remains controversial to this day, even in a time when movie violence has become more
05:46extreme.
05:47That's largely due to the gritty realism of the film, depicting Henry's horrific crimes
05:50in a very convincing and uncinematic fashion.
05:53Tell her you're sorry.
05:54Okay.
05:55I'm sorry.
05:56Now, tell her you won't do it again.
05:59I won't.
06:00I swear, Becky.
06:01I swear I won't.
06:02Number 13.
06:03Colonel Walter Kurtz, Apocalypse Now.
06:05Kurtz is only in the movie for about twenty minutes, and most of that time is spent shrouded
06:09in shadow.
06:10Yet he remains one of cinema's most iconic villains thanks to his brutal actions, psychotic
06:14philosophizing, and, of course, the mesmerizing performance of Marlon Brando.
06:17You're an errand boy, sent by grocery clerks.
06:26To collect a bill.
06:28Having gone rogue from the military, Kurtz is now operating a cult in the jungles of
06:32Vietnam and acting as a godlike warlord to his violent followers.
06:36He orders these followers to commit heinous acts of violence without any regard for human
06:40suffering, and he believes himself to be above conventional morality.
06:43And that's to say nothing of the sadistic displays of his dismembered victims.
06:47Just hearing this guy speak for one minute tells you all you need to know.
06:51Horror and moral terror are your friends.
06:56If they are not, then they are enemies to be feared.
07:01Number 12.
07:02The Strangers.
07:03The Strangers.
07:04Following a brutal night of violence and home intrusion, the traumatized Kristen McKay asks
07:07her assailants why they targeted her.
07:09They give one terrifying but succinct answer.
07:11Because you were home.
07:13These three strangers stalk Kristen and James for no other reason than their own sick enjoyment,
07:17and that includes breaking into their home and attempting to kill them.
07:20The movie was inspired by the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders of 1969, which were also largely inspired
07:26and led by one of the most notable psychopaths of our time.
07:29As Billy from Scream would say, it's a lot scarier when there's no motive.
07:32See, it's a lot scarier when there's no motive, Sid.
07:36Number 11.
07:37Tommy Udo, Kiss of Death.
07:38The world of cinema is full of sadistic gangsters, but few are as deranged as Tommy Udo.
07:42The main antagonist of Kiss of Death, Tommy's a malicious drug lord who's wildly unpredictable
07:47and insanely intelligent.
07:49Both traits combine to make him a cunning psychopath, as he kills his victims without
07:52remorse and then covers them up with his experienced know-how.
07:55You think a squealer can get away from me?
07:58Huh?
07:59You know what I do to squealers?
08:03His most infamous scene where he gleefully pushes a disabled woman down a flight of stairs
08:07perfectly encapsulates his sadism.
08:09He doesn't care who he hurts, and he'll hurt you just to make himself laugh.
08:12Then of course, he'll cover it all up.
08:14There was a squirt says he seen me bending over Larry Young right after he was plugged.
08:20Then he says he ain't sure it was me he seen.
08:2410.
08:25Max Cady, Cape Fear
08:26Robert De Niro often plays antiheroes, but he veers into full-on villain territory with
08:30Max Cady, giving a typically fantastic performance and receiving his sixth Oscar nomination.
08:35Max is a truly detestable human being, having been put in prison for assault.
08:39Now free, he's stalking his own defense lawyer, who hid evidence on the grounds of morality
08:43and justice.
08:44You were my lawyer!
08:45You were my lawyer!
08:46That report could have saved me 14 years!
08:51Max embodies the psychopath's chilling blend of intelligence and amorality, not to mention
08:55an unyielding desire for violence.
08:57Whether it's insidious psychological warfare, sick jokes, manipulation, or just outright
09:01murder, he will enact his revenge through any means necessary.
09:05Forget about that restraining order, Counselor!
09:08You're well within 500 yards!
09:119.
09:12Frank Booth, Blue Velvet
09:13David Lynch has conceived some of the scariest scenes and characters in cinema, and Frank
09:17Booth is his masterpiece.
09:19Considered one of the best villains in movie history, Frank is a mentally ill drug dealer
09:22who exhibits a split personality after huffing an unknown gas.
09:26Oh, you're from the neighborhood?
09:30Yeah.
09:31You're a neighbor?
09:34Well, what's your name, neighbor?
09:38He's also completely obsessed with sex and goes to some seriously deranged places to
09:42get it.
09:43His sheer dominance over others through fear and manipulation illustrates a profound detachment
09:47from societal norms, and he challenges our sense of security and comfort in American
09:51suburbia.
09:52Monsters exist everywhere, and that's part of what makes Frank Booth so persistently
09:56terrifying.
09:57You're like me.
09:588.
09:59Alex DeLarge, A Clockwork Orange
10:00The main question at the heart of A Clockwork Orange is whether we can mix amorality and
10:04whether it's the right thing to do.
10:06The subject, both literally and figuratively, is Alex DeLarge, a young psychopath who engages
10:10in the old ultraviolence in a futuristic Britain.
10:13I bet you've got little, say, pitiful, portable picnic players.
10:17Come with uncle and hear all proper.
10:20Hear angel trumpets and devil trombones.
10:23You are invited.
10:25Alex and his droogs run rampant through the decayed country, committing wanton acts of
10:29violence and harming others for their own malicious pleasure.
10:32Enter the minister of the interior who hopes to cure Alex of his psychopathy, and subjects
10:36him to the infamous Ludovico technique.
10:38He's perfect.
10:39I want his record sent to me.
10:41This vicious young hoodlum will be transformed out of all recognition.
10:45Alex is one of cinema's scariest psychopaths, a young man who takes great pleasure in his
10:49mental and physical inflictions and sings merry tunes while doing so.
10:537.
10:54John Doe, Seven
10:55I tried to play husband.
10:56I tried to taste the life of a simple man.
11:01It didn't work out.
11:03Serial killers are scary.
11:05Smart serial killers are even scarier.
11:06We don't even know what to call a smart serial killer who themes his kills around the Bible.
11:10That's exactly what John Doe does, modeling his murders after the seven deadly sins.
11:15Naturally, this type of behavior exhibits a high degree of psychopathy.
11:18Not only the killings themselves, but also the intricate planning that is required in
11:21conceiving the themes and ideas.
11:23John also harbors an unwarranted superiority complex, believing that he's cleansing society
11:28and bringing attention to the sin that is inherent in the world.
11:31Of course, he doesn't see the irony.
11:33You tell me.
11:34You tell me.
11:35That's not true.
11:36You tell me.
11:37You tell me.
11:38I've become vengeance, too.
11:39Ah, she's all right.
11:40You tell me.
11:41I've become wrath.
11:426.
11:43Patrick Bateman, American Psycho
11:44It's all right there in the title.
11:45Patrick Bateman is American, and he's certainly a psycho.
11:47This dark satire circles back to our comments about Wall Street and how the financial sector
11:51harbors a disproportionate number of clinical psychopaths.
11:54Because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity and the importance of friends.
11:58It's also a personal statement about the band itself.
12:02Hey, Paul!
12:04Patrick is a Wall Street yuppie who's exceedingly greedy, and also completely deranged, being
12:08a serial killer who targets women and keeps their body parts as sick trophies.
12:12His superficial charm and high-functioning facade mask a deep-seated sadism, making us
12:17question the true nature behind the masks that people wear every day.
12:20I don't find this funny anymore.
12:21It never was supposed to be.
12:24Why isn't it possible?
12:25It's just not.
12:26Why not, you stupid bastard?
12:29He's a shell of a person, masking his lack of soul with money, clothes, and robotic music
12:33The pleasures of conformity, indeed.
12:35Number 5.
12:36The Joker.
12:37The Dark Knight.
12:38You know what they say.
12:39Some men just want to watch the world burn.
12:42Alfred was right on the money with that, summing up the Joker and his entire philosophy with
12:46less than ten words.
12:48Many wonderful actors have played the Joker throughout the years, each giving the character
12:51a unique and original twist.
12:53But most people will agree that Heath Ledger's iteration is the best of them all, a perfect
12:56encapsulation of his twisted morality, sick playfulness, and fierce intelligence.
13:00You have nothing, nothing to threaten me with.
13:10The Joker lives for chaos, relishing in anarchy and throwing Gotham City into complete disarray.
13:14It's always fascinating when the villain is the smartest character in the room, and that
13:18might just be the case with the Joker.
13:19See, madness, as you know, is like gravity.
13:25All it takes is a little push.
13:29Number 4.
13:30Wilkes, Misery.
13:31Stephen King loves him as Supernatural Monster, but he has also crafted some all-time human
13:35villains as well, like Annie Wilkes, the deranged antagonist of Misery.
13:39How could you?
13:42She can't be dead.
13:45Misery Chastain cannot be dead.
13:47Annie holds author Paul Sheldon hostage, demanding that he rewrite the ending to a series of
13:51Misery novels.
13:52Annie's not only enraged when she discovers that Misery dies, but she ties Paul to the
13:56bed, keeps him imprisoned in the house, and even breaks his ankles to ensure that he stays
14:00good.
14:01By exaggerating Annie's actions, King seems to be commenting on the often malicious nature
14:04of fans, their harsh demands on creators, and their penchant for anger when things don't
14:08go their way.
14:09Luckily, most fans aren't total psychopaths.
14:11I just want to tell you I'm your number one fan.
14:16That's very sweet of you.
14:17Number 3.
14:18Anton Chigurh, No Country for Old Men.
14:20Llewellyn Moss steals a briefcase full of drug money, and Anton Chigurh is tasked with
14:24killing him and getting it back.
14:25So begins an odyssey of violence, with Chigurh disposing of anyone and everyone who gets
14:29in his way.
14:301958.
14:31It's been traveling 22 years to get here, and now it's here, and it's either heads
14:37or tails.
14:38Unlike other psychos on this list, Anton isn't much of a people pleaser, and he has no charming
14:42veneer to hide behind.
14:43He's just an empty robot sticking to the job, murdering people with reckless abandon, and
14:47remaining completely detached while doing so.
14:50According to a study published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, Chigurh is the most
14:53realistic depiction of a psychopath in the history of film.
14:56He seems so supernatural, yet he's only human.
14:59And that's what makes him so darn scary.
15:01You know how this is gonna turn out, don't you?
15:05Nope.
15:06I think you do.
15:08Number 2.
15:09Norman Bates, Psycho.
15:11Only one psychopath has a movie named after their disorder, and that's Norman Bates.
15:15The proprietor of the Bates Motel has a calm demeanor and boyish good looks, both of which
15:18mask a torrent of disturbed behavior.
15:21She just goes a little mad sometimes.
15:26We all go a little mad sometimes.
15:31Haven't you?
15:33He initially gets along well with Marion Crane, inviting her for dinner and showcasing a very
15:37jovial and polite personality, and then he stabs her to death in the shower.
15:40His boy-next-door persona is a major trait of psychopathy, challenging our ability to
15:44discern genuine normalcy from dangerous pathology and manipulation.
15:48Norman is the most dangerous type of psycho, one who charms you with his wit and smile
15:52right before slashing your throat.
15:54I hope they are watching.
15:56They'll see.
15:57They'll see and they'll know, and they'll say, why she wouldn't even harm a fly.
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16:20Number 1.
16:21Hannibal Lecter, The Silence of the Lambs.
16:23The first time that Clarice meets Hannibal Lecter, he tells her that he once killed an
16:26innocent man, cut him open, and ate his liver with a glass of wine.
16:30That tells you all you need to know about Hannibal Lecter.
16:32A census taker once tried to test me.
16:35I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.
16:41He's the quintessential psychopath, blending a very high degree of intelligence, superficial
16:45charm, and a complete lack of empathy.
16:47While his helping of Clarice may seem benevolent, he only does it because he gets something
16:50in return.
16:51He's an unsettling juxtaposition, a cultured man and a complete monster who cuts through
16:55his victims both figuratively and literally.
16:58Serial killer, cannibal, and brilliant strategist, Hannibal is the scariest psycho of them all.
17:03I do wish we could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner.
17:10Bye.
17:11Which of these characters scares you the most?
17:13Let us know in the comments below.
17:15Did you know I'm utterly insane?
17:17Did you enjoy this video?
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