Often a film is more marked by its villain than its protagonist hero. Over the years, villains of all kinds have been seen on a movie screen. With plots that seek to explore the complex psychology of many of these characters, we follow trajectories always with an air of perplexity that often surprises us. Doing a quick exercise to think about the first 10 villains that came to my mind when I think about this topic, below is a list with 10 films with unforgettable villains:

The Silence of the Lambs – Villain: Hannibal Lecter

Based on the book of the same name published in 1988 by Thomas Harris, in the early 1990s, a film that would remain in the memory of many moviegoers was released: The Silence of the Lambs. In it we see a tension-filled duel between a highly narcissistic, violent, cannibalistic doctor and an FBI agent who needs his help to find a killer. For those who haven’t watched it yet, it’s on Prime Video.

Star Wars Saga – Villain: Darth Vader

In this case, it’s even more than one movie! This is one of the most iconic villains in the history of the pop universe and the magical world of cinema. Throughout all the films of the glorious saga created by George Lucas we are going to see several clippings at different times in the trajectory of this impactful character.

The Dragon’s Flight – Villain: Colt

Tiger Claw, Dragon Tail, Hook, Strong Slash. Set in Rome in the early 1970s, The Dragon’s Flightthe penultimate feature film of the action star’s career Bruce Lee who acts, scripts and directs in this project, is a comedy film disguised as action that marks the debut of Chuck Norris in theaters (the first and only time the unbeatable action movie actor played a villain in theaters). At the box office alone, the film earned about 130 million dollars worldwide, a resounding numerical sum for the time.

Hard to kill – Villain: Hans Gruber

One of the biggest (if not the biggest) success of the unforgettable career Bruce Willisin Hard to kill we follow a policeman who, after ending up at the japanese company’s Christmas party where his wife works, needs to save the day when terrorists invade the place. This movie has a spectacular villain played by the fantastic Alan Rickman. Many don’t know but the film is based on a 1970 novel by the writer Roderick Thorp called Nothing Lasts Forever.

Batman the dark knight – Villain: Joker

In July 2008, a long-awaited movie by all movie fans finally arrived in theaters around the world. Directed by the great Christopher Nolan, Batman the dark knight is the great confrontation between this version of Batman and the most iconic version of his greatest adversary, the Joker (played by the fantastic Heath Ledger). An unforgettable film.

Avengers: Endgame – Villain: Thanos

Final chapter of a sequence of films that once and for all transformed the direction of the world film industry, in Avengers: Endgame we are witnesses to the emblematic outcome of our dear heroes in the fight to save humanity against the cruel Thanos.

Cape of Fear – Villain: Max Cady

Another double between two movie geniuses, Martin Scorsese and Robert de Niro, Cape of Fear presents us the story of an ex-convict, psychopath Max Cady who, after spending more than a decade in prison, gets his freedom and goes after his ex-lawyer who withheld evidence that could ease his sentence. The project is based on the novel The Executionerswriter by John D. MacDonald in the late 50’s and is also a remake of the movie circle of fear directed by J. Lee Thompson.

crazy obsession – Villain: Annie Wilkes

The confrontation between immobile reason and pulsating madness. One of the great films of the 90s, crazy obsession It has become a movie classic over time. It’s not for less, an intriguing story that says a lot about personalities and the state of the human psyche that ends up being in its constant climax a great duel between reason and madness. based on the work Misery from the writer Stephen King and directed by Rob Reiner, the project is a shocking thriller. For his role in the film, Kathy Bates won his first and only Oscar.

Ben-Hur (1959) – Villain: Messala

One of the greatest classics of cinema reached cinemas around the world in 1959 (it premiered in Brazil in 1960) with more than 200 minutes of projection. Remake of a feature film released in 1925 and based on the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ written by Lew Wallace, this project that cost a huge fortune by the standards of the time tells the story of Ben-Hur who, after a disagreement and then an accident without intention, ends up being condemned by his best friend Messala, chief of the Romans in the city, and starts to live as a slave. Time passes and Ben-Hur survives, given the chance to exact revenge.

It- The Thing (2017) – Villain: Pennywise

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not the absence of fear. Based on a nearly 1,000-page eponymous classic by the genius writer Stephen King (said to be his longest book), It – The Thing (2017) is a horror film filled with drama and adventure that conquers the viewer throughout the 135 minutes of projection. The project is a great journey towards the unknown and metaphorized world of the fears we have inside us. In this first clipping, the characters are still pre-teens and face Pennywise. In the second film, as adults, they will meet the monster that always returns every 27 years and haunts a place.