10. Kurt Russell as ‘Stuntman Mike’ in Death Proof (2007)

“This car is 100 percent death proof. Only to get the benefit of it, you really need to be sitting in my seat.”

In 2007, the man who’s proven himself again and again with badass heroes such as Jack Burton, Snake Plissken, and R.J. MacReady added another memorable performance to his repertoire of awesome. This time, however, the character was on the opposite end of the spectrum. With an eye for sexy victims and a slew of supercharged muscle cars as murder weapons, Stuntman Mike McKay proved to be one perverted, downright vicious but fun-loving villain. Still, perhaps his best attribute was the ability to turn into a spastic, screaming p***y after getting hurt (an impromptu move of Russell’s that Quentin Tarantino loved so much he kept in the film), making Stuntman Mike one of the most memorable, and even lovable, mass-murderers in cinema.

9. Denis Leary as ‘Fallon’ in Judgment Night (1993)

“No, you can’t take my money. But you can take my money.”

In terms of killing-scope, Denis Leary’s gangster character in this underrated film isn’t as impressive as some. On a normal basis he only kills those who cross him, steal from him, etc., like any average drug dealer would. However, adding Emilio Estevez and his friends to the mix seems to bring out the worst in Leary, and we all know how angry he can get (*see No Cure for Cancer and National Lampoon’s Favorite Deadly Sins). Before the night of judgment is through, Fallon drowns one of his own gang-members, terrorizes the heroes and the whole hood, gives Jeremy Piven false hope before throwing him off a building, and he does it all giving awesome speeches and showing a stylish flair for the psychotic. Backed with an awesome soundtrack and House of Pain’s Everlast in his crew, this is definitely the performance that put Leary on the map of badassery and proved that he possessed a crafty range for outstanding villainy.

8. Alan Rickman as ‘Hans Gruber’ in Die Hard (1988)

“Do you really think you have a chance against us, Mr. Cowboy?”

It’s hard to totally abstain from using villains mentioned on AFI’s 100 Villains list, but exceptions have to be made when 101 Dalmatians comes before Die Hard. It rarely gets more suavely evil than Alan Rickman’s German criminal mastermind and original nemesis to Bruce Willis’s famous quadrilogy character. Hans Gruber has no qualms about terrorizing hostages, executing businessmen, and creating elaborate ruses and destruction all for the sake of some serious cash. Poised and classy but at times almost comical, there’s no doubt that Gruber and his glass-shooting, free-falling tendencies put all of John McClane’s other bad guys to shame. Hats off to you, Alan Rickman, for making vicious look as natural as landing the cover of GQ.

7. Kevin Spacey as ‘John Doe’ in Se7en (1995)

“Oh… He didn’t know.”

Nineteen-ninety-five was Kevin Spacey’s shining year for malevolent mischief. There was his convincing portrayal of Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects, which stole the show during the final sequence transformation into the infamous Keyser Soze (*SPOILER… too late…) But many people have forgotten that 1995 was also the year when Spacey bared the chilling spine of David Fincher’s Se7en, successfully putting a face and voice to the horrific perpetrator of the murders investigated by detectives Mills and Somerset. Though his spree only consisted of seven, John Doe nabs the credit for masterminding some of the most ghastly and methodical murders in mainstream film. The dark ambiance and grim presentation of the victims of the Seven Deadly Sins can all be attributed to the genius imagination of David Fincher, and so well done that you can almost smell the filth, but let’s not underestimate the very delicate nature of Spacey’s role. To fulfill the final reveal of a killer the audience has only seen through his shocking aftermath, and to fulfill it convincingly—now that is a performance. I mean, imagine if it had been Nicolas Cage (he was getting really big around that time).

6. Gary Oldman as ‘Norman Stansfield’ in Leon (The Professional) (1994)

“Bring me everyone. EVERRRYYYONNNNE!”

As the versatile Chameleon Crown Prince of Cinema Villainy, it’s almost impossible to single out one wicked Gary Oldman role over another. He brought vibrant new dimensions to played-out major roles (e.g. the Devil, Dracula) and memorable lasting power to supporting parts (e.g. Drexl in True Romance; Mason Verger in Hannibal). But it’s often when he works with Luc Besson that Oldman creates his most memorable baddies. Example A: Leon’s Norman Stansfield. As always, Oldman perfects the art of getting close to over-the-top but never quite crossing the barrier into ridiculous, mixing in the random outbursts and amazing quirks that transform a flat character into something special. A DEA agent who’s far beyond crooked, Stansfield can execute an entire family (women and children included) after popping a pill, cracking his spine, and expressing his Alex DeLarge-esque love for Beethoven. Add shooting the hero in the back to this equation and the product equals one of the most despicable, remorseless villains of all time.

5. Lance Henriksen as ‘Emil Fouchon’ in Hard Target (1993)

“I’ll fuck you, then I’ll eat you!”

One great measure of any true villain is weighed in his/her willingness to throw anyone under the bus, or to the snakes, or in between himself/herself and a bullet, or even simply on the ground. While many of the other villains on this list demonstrate the ability to kill their own men or allies, none do it with so much perfect seething hatred as Lance Henriksen as Emil Fouchon. His subtextual man-love for right-hand man Arnold Vosloo somehow makes him even more ruthless, and it seems there’s nothing the pair enjoy more than letting wealthy clients hunt bums at top dollar or killing the bums themselves. You almost get the sense that they sit around in matching robes on their days off from murdering, reading the paper, sipping international coffees. However, when the hunt is on, Emil is all business, and when Jean-Claude Van Damme interferes with business, it becomes personal. Does it get much more badass than a man who uses a gun that only holds one bullet, knowing one is all he needs? He doesn’t even take the shot if he doesn’t know he has it, because, damn it, he’s a business man first and those bullets aren’t cheap.

4. Robert Mitchum as ‘Harry Powell’ in The Night of the Hunter (1955)

“I can hear you whisperin’, children, so I know you’re down there. I can feel myself gettin’ awful mad.”

Arguably the most widely acknowledged and influential film on this list, Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter was the terrifying answer to a year in cinema when monsters were weakly presented as either giant tarantulas or Abbott and Costello jokes. With a preestablished body count and a murderous mission beset by God, Rev. Harry Powell strikes fear into the hearts of moviegoers from the first glimpse. This terror only intensifies as the omniscient audience watches Powell infiltrate the children’s home, slit their mother’s throat (in one of the most masterful murder scenes of all time), and pursue them tirelessly along the Ohio River in his search for their father’s stolen fortune. If you’ve never seen it before, Mitchum’s performance in The Night of the Hunter is one of the most effective reminders that appearances are always deceiving and true evil often lies behind the guise of a good man.

3. Jonathan Pryce as ‘Mr. Dark’ in Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

“I can turn your years back for you to, let’s say, 30? Speak. Oh, you’ve missed it. Going… It’s gone. Thirty-one?”

Yes, even Walt Disney can produce some truly wicked characters (and even a few who aren’t animated cats). Any villain with ties to William Shakespeare, EC Comics, and Ray Bradbury has to be pure evil. Though Bradbury based the character of Mr. Dark off an actual carnival performer named Mr. Electrico, imagining this personification being played by anyone other than an intensely creepy Jonathan Pryce would somehow lessen the appeal. As the demonic proprietor of the soul-stealing circus, Pryce never skips a beat in preying upon both children and the innocence of youth in general. Something Wicked This Way Comes may be an all-ages horror movie, but it’s these limitations that help, not hinder, the seriously sinister nature of Mr. Dark. Just as in Jaws and Halloween, Mr. Dark is more about what you don’t see but know could happen than about any blatant, gratuitous carnage. And when it comes to both carnivals and horror, what you don’t see is what should make you truly wary.

2. David Cronenberg as ‘Dr. Decker’ in Nightbreed (1990)

“No, I’m death…Plain and simple.”

Scheming psychiatrist by day, disguised serial slaughterer by night. If this had been a “top 10” list of masked killers, Dr. Decker would have been given the no. 1 spot, no question. On a withered, fleshy grey texture lies two blank, button eyes, a zipper mouth, and a chilling lack of expression that never alters as he slashes his way through an unsuspecting family. And underneath this haunting façade is director/auteur David Cronenberg (in his best acting role), whose soft delivery and eery restraint create a character ambiance that is exactly what the doctor ordered. Simply put, Dr. Decker can’t get much better. But masked or not, it would be a true crime not to give Clive Barker’s creation the infamous recognition he deserves. Only the most terrifying and psychotic human can contrast and battle the dwellers of Midian, successfully leaving the audience to ponder the true definition of “monster.”

1. Clancy Brown as ‘The Kurgan’ in Highlander (1986)

“I have something to say! It’s better to burn out than to fade away!”

It doesn’t get much more badass, villainous and dismissively overlooked. Killing the hero (the first time). Abusing prostitutes. Living as an immortal. Making lewd gestures at nuns. Sword fighting. Delivering great one-liners. Raping the woman of a man he just decapitated. And most of this done while listening to Queen. Clancy Brown’s portrayal of the Kurgan is hard to top when it comes to villainy. In fact, the Kurgan is such an amazing antagonist that we should start using him to measure other rogues (e.g. “Nurse Ratched is total seven on the Kurgan Scale!” or “I’d say Biff Tannen is about 100 degrees Kurgan”). As a warrior who used to toss babies to hungry dogs, the Kurgan survives the centuries by killing other immortals for the sake of receiving “the prize.” To receive the ultimate Quickening, however, means the Kurgan must face Connor MacLeod in combat once more. After all, just like the top spot on this list, there can be only one!

Honorable mentions:

• Most Overlooked Cameo Villain: Christopher Walken as ‘Vincenzo Coccotti’ in True Romance (1993)

• Most Overlooked Villain in a Western: Gene Hackman as ‘John Herod’ in The Quick and the Dead (1995)

• Most Overlooked Villain in a Comic Book Adaptation: Michael Wincott as ‘Top Dollar’ in The Crow (1994)

• Most Overlooked Animated Villain: Alec Baldwin as ‘Leonardo Leonardo’ in Clerks: The Cartoon (2000)

• Most Overlooked Blaxploitation Villain: Julius Carry as ‘Sho’nuff’ in Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon (1985)