Top 10 Underrated Movie Villains

We know what some of you are thinking, but no she is not Judge Dredd’s mother. In fact, Madeline Madrigal is the ruthless leader of her own drug gang. How ruthless is she? Well, she has her own unique way of sending her victims to their doom. She won’t decapitate you or make you drink bleach, oh no. Instead, she forces you to inhale a drug called Slow-Mo, which makes you feel the world around you is moving in well…. slow motion. Then she tears the skin straight off your body - yikes! If there's anyone who still thinks a woman can't be a terrifying villain, they've clearly never met Ma Ma.

There is no reason anyone should be afraid of going to a museum, unless you are visiting Henry Jarrod’s House of Wax museum, that is. He may seem like a great artist at first, but try visiting his museum after hours if you want to learn what he’s all about. Jarrod’s “art” consists of human corpses that he in fact covers in wax, and makes them look as if they are happy mannequins in a shopping mall window. What’s worse is that Jarrod’s OWN face is made up of wax to hide his burned flesh underneath. This guy gives creepy old men a bad name.

The best part about this role is that a funny man we all know and love portrayed it: Jim Carrey. Carrey may have never read any of the “A Series of Unfortunate Events” novels before this, but he went so far as to shave his head bald so makeup application would be easier to play the mysterious baddie. Count Olaf, meanwhile, is twisted, conniving, and a sly fox with many tricks up his sleeve. Trying to swindle the Baudelaire kids out of their fortune, Olaf shows himself to be a master of disguise and is really innovative when it comes to getting what he desires, all of which lands him here.

You know that one person that dislikes you and does WHATEVER it takes to get on your nerves? That’s who our hero Max has to deal with when it comes to Wez. Although he is a subordinate to the even more crazed leader Lord Humungus, Wez proves that he is deranged and bloodthirsty enough to play by his own rules. Watching him and Max battle is like watching someone’s evil conscience fight the good conscience. The drive to fight, the spirit of survival, and the killer instinct in these two are so similar, it’s hard to think of one without thinking of the other.

If you want to learn how to always be one step ahead of your enemies, then take lessons from Walter Finch. When trying to get the suspicion of committing a murder off his back, Finch - played by Robin Williams - constantly has to avoid the authorities, specifically Al Pacino’s Will Dormer. Although Finch may look like an innocent man that would never harm anyone, you’d be surprised what this man is capable of. He evades Dormer in a heart-racing foot chase, and ends up getting into a climactic shootout with him afterward. You have to give him props though; he does what’s necessary to avoid jail time.

Once in awhile, you’ll find that there are superhero movie villains that are actually likable. Ozymandias fits right along in that category with many fans of the neo-noir film adaptation of the comic-book series arguing that he commits evil for good reasons. His plan is to unite the United States with the Soviet Union in peace, but for this to happen he has to go to extremes, let’s say [kill millions to save billions]. Tricking the entire world into thinking you’re a positive and courageous leader is something any fellow villain would be proud of. This man is criminally underrated.

You may think about the previous entries and ask yourself “how is an animated villain on this list?” Well, Yzma was so impressively portrayed that Eartha Kitt earned two Emmy awards for voicing the character in the subsequent TV series based on the film. Anyhoo, Yzma was Kuzco’s advisor, but was fired for pretending to be the Empress whenever Kuzco was away. To get back at her former boss, Yzma tries to poison him… well that’s certainly one way to get back at someone who put food on your table! She’s witty, has a yearning for power, and is actually very amusing - you know, evil ways aside and all.

This man is the perfect example of why you should not pick on people who wear glasses, because you will regret it. Clarence Boddicker is the main reason why Robocop even exists, seeing as how he and his gang unleashed a barrage of bullets on Detroit policeman Alex Murphy. Boddicker is a narcissistic and ruthless man who takes pleasure in seeing others pleading for their lives. He also feels that he is invincible and that absolutely no one can hurt them. Think twice before you double-cross this villain, because he will gladly take your life away and have lots of fun while doing it... dumbass.

Has anyone’s heart ever been so cold? During Mr. Davian’s journey to receive an object that he plans to sell for millions of dollars, he lets nothing and no one stop him. No types of interrogation skills work on this guy, as he doesn’t even budge when Ethan threatens to throw him out of an airplane unless he reveals the object’s location. One of the most heart pounding scenes in the film is when Davian makes Ethan believe that he killed his wife by shooting a woman in cold blood directly in front of him. Heartless, but magnificently so.

Before we tell you the most underrated movie villain, here are a few honorable mentions:
Mitch Learly
“In the Line of Fire” (1993)
Scorpio
“Dirty Harry” (1971)
Mrs. Tweedy
“Chicken Run” (2000)
Eric Qualen
“Cliffhanger” (1993)
Steve
“The Italian Job” (2003)

For a film to win three Academy Awards, you know it must have had some fantastic characters. One of those characters is Captain Vidal, the stepfather to the main character Ofelia. Vidal takes pride in his job of hunting republican rebels, and shows absolutely no mercy for his targets. Torture and murder are just two of this man’s hobbies. Vidal shows even more how gruesome he is with what he does to Ofelia at the end of the film. He ultimately meets his demise, but while alive, he proved that he was the Devil on Earth.

Do you agree with our list? Which movie villain do you think doesn’t get enough praise? For more villainous top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.