Top 100 Scenes from Our Top 100 Villains

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the best scenes that represent the villainy of our Top 100 Movie Villains of All Time. Do you agree with these picks? Let us know in the comments below!

#100: Killing Casey
Ghostface, “Scream’ (1996)
What better way to introduce us to Ghostface than have him stalking Casey, killing her while she’s on the phone with her terrified mother, then hanging her corpse in the front yard? It’s one of the most iconic openings in horror movie history.

#99: “I’m Gonna Cut Your Heart Out with a Spoon!”
The Sheriff of Nottingham, “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’ (1991)
Only Alan Rickman can deliver a line like that with such panache and terror.

#98: Sending Chris to the Sunken Place
The Armitage Family, “Get Out” (2017)
Thanks to some terrifying imagery and a dark accompanying soundtrack, the Sunken Place instantly became one of the most famous visuals in horror - not to mention a metaphor for systemic oppression and loss of agency. Missy Armitage represents her family’s evil.

#97: Syndrome’s Monologue
Syndrome, “The Incredibles” (2004)
Syndrome’s plan is not only quite clever, but it gave us one of the most famous lines in the history of animation.

#96: The Arm Reload
August Walker, “Mission Impossible - Fallout” (2018)
Nothing screams “Mission: Impossible” quite like Henry Cavill reloading his arms and preparing to fight. The visual was instantly famous and widely memed on social media.

#95: Inhaling the Gas
Frank Booth,”Blue Velvet” (1986)
David Lynch has come up with some incredible visuals throughout his legendary career, but nothing is scarier than watching Dennis Hopper inhale that mystery gas.

#94: Taking the Kid Down
John Kreese, “The Karate Kid” (1984)
There are hands-on teachers, and then there is John Kreese, who takes a boy to the ground, threatens him with punches, and yells in his face.

#93: The Reveal
Esther, “Orphan” (2009)
The adopted daughter of Kate and John is revealed to be a 33-year-old serial killer suffering living with a rare hormonal disorder. It’s a brilliant twist and it throws the events of the film into a new light.

#92: Threatening Bender
Richard Vernon, “The Breakfast Club” (1985)
The very symbol of conformity and authority finally drops the hardened Principal facade and outwardly threatens Bender with violence. Any Principal who calls his students “gutless turds” is not cool in our books.

#91: Preventing Escape
Mrs. Carmody, “The Mist” (2007)
The religious fanatic prevents the heroes from escaping and showcases both the dangers and consequences of fanaticism. Of course, she gets a bullet in the head for her efforts, courtesy of the meek Ollie Weeks.

#90: The Dumpster Confrontation
Lotso, “Toy Story 3” (2010)
The giant bear and his gang of baddies confront Woody outside of Sunnyside, which is perhaps the best evidence of his dictatorial nature.

#89: Calling Jack
Howard Payne, “Speed” (1994)
The domestic terrorist blows up a city bus then has the gall to phone a SWAT officer and taunt him with the prospect of another bomb. Howard Payne is evil incarnate.

#88: Becoming Mr. Glass
Elijah Price, “Unbreakable” (2000)
Elijah is revealed to be the man behind the accidents and officially becomes the supervillain Mr. Glass. It’s yet another wonderful Shyamalan twist, and Samuel L. Jackson gives a reliably terrific performance.

#87: Rhyming with Shooter
Shooter McGavin, “Happy Gilmore” (1996)
It doesn’t take long for Happy to grow tired of Shooter, and after he’s threatened at the bar, he violently confronts the golfer with a broken beer bottle. It’s nice to see the cowardly nature of Shooter McGavin so quickly exposed.

#86: The Bad
Angel Eyes, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (1966)
When you refer to one of your characters as “The Bad,” you better capitalize on that promise. Luckily, Sergio Leone does just that, with Angel Eyes shooting a man in cold blood as he lies in bed.

#85: Liar’s Dice
Davy Jones, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (2006)
Davy challenges Will and Bill to a game of Liar’s Dice. It’s a brilliant example of tension, lighting, music, makeup, and CGI coming together to craft an unforgettable sequence.

#84: Bees Coming Out of His Mouth
Candyman, “Candyman” (1992)
Even amidst all the slicing, dicing, and buckets of blood, the grossest thing in this film is watching bees pour from Candyman’s open mouth.

#83: Killing Frank
Colin Sullivan, “The Departed” (2006)
We figured that Frank Costello was going to die, but we didn’t think it would come at the hands (or fingers) of his own protege! Still, hearing Matt Damon panic swearing will never not be funny.

#82: The Police Station Shootout
The Terminator, “The Terminator” (1984)
We often forget just how terrifying the first “Terminator” is, and nothing represents that terror more than The Terminator slaughtering a bunch of police officers.

#81: Fighting Mowgli
Shere Khan, “The Jungle Book” (1967)
Disney is no stranger to scary climaxes. Perhaps the freakiest of all sees a ferocious tiger attempting to eat a young boy and making animalistic noises that will have any child sleeping with the lights on.

#80: The Blood Test Reveal
The Thing, “The Thing” (1982)
The titular monster is responsible for all sorts of grotesque imagery. But the scariest moment of all comes via jump scare, when a small puddle of blood comes alive and shoots out of the vial with a high-pitched screech.

#79: The Rooftop Fight
Gozer, “Ghostbusters” (1984)
Nothing screams the 1980s quite like watching the Ghostbusters fighting Gozer and her demonic dogs on the top of the building.

#78: Fighting Inigo
Count Tyrone Rugen, “The Princess Bride” (1987)
Despite being a comedy, “The Princess Bride” contains one of the all-time best sword fights between Count Rugen and Inigo Montoya. The payoff is more than worth the repeated buildup.

#77: The Pigtail Hammer Throw
Agatha Trunchbull, “Matilda” (1996)
If you want to establish a character as cruel and monstrous, having them grab a child by the hair and throwing them over a fence is a good way to do it!

#76: The Dip
Judge Doom, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988)
‘80s kids movies went really hard. Case in point - Judge Doom dropping the shoe in The Dip and watching it squirm as it slowly melts to death.

#75: Stuff
Miranda Priestly, “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006)
Miranda schools Andy on the fashion industry and the importance of appearance. The scene is fantastically written and performed, leading to Meryl Streep’s fourteenth Oscar nomination.

#74: The Gingerbread Man
Lord Farquaad, “Shrek” (2001)
Despite being memed far and wide, “Shrek” is…actually kinda dark. Heck, the first scene involving Lord Farquaad sees him waterboarding the Gingerbread Man and taunting him with his own severed legs.

#73: The Highway Pileup
Death, “Final Destination 2” (2003)
Well, thanks “Final Destination 2.” We’ll never comfortably drive behind a log truck again after seeing this.

#72: The Reveal
The Invisible Man, “The Invisible Man” (1933)
The titular character takes his bandages off and reveals…nothing underneath. Even to this day, the scene is highly effective, and it must have been absolutely mind blowing back in 1933.

#71: Getting Shot
Harry & Marv, “Home Alone” (1990)
It’s not Christmas until we see Joe Pesci getting shot in the BBs with a BB gun.

#70: Challenging T’Challa
Killmonger, “Black Panther” (2018)
Michael B. Jordan gives the performance of his career, perfectly straddling the line between traumatized child and vengeful adult.

#69: The Fight with Dutch
Predator, “Predator” (1987)
There are macho movies, and then there’s watching a shirtless Arnold Schwarzenegger covered in mud and fighting an alien. We will never not get chills watching the Predator size up Dutch and finally take off his mask.

#68: Greed Is Good
Gordon Gekko, “Wall Street” (1987)
Michael Douglas won the Oscar for playing the selfish Gordon Gekko, whose famous “greed is good” speech represents the worst of Wall Street - and the very embodiment of avarice.

#67: Won’t Be Ignored
Alex Forrest, “Fatal Attraction” (1987)
“Fatal Attraction” is one of the all-time great stalker dramas, and Glenn Close is magnificent as the deranged Alex Forrest. “I’m not going to be ignored” are not words you want to hear from someone, let alone a stalker, and Close delivers the line with supreme menace.

#66: Knocking on George’s Head
Biff Tannen, “Back to the Future” (1985)
It’s amazing how a simple knock on the head can become a cultural phenomenon. Regardless, we are still quoting this scene forty years later.

#65: Not His Tempo
Terence Fletcher, “Whiplash” (2014)
A masterfully written, edited, and acted scene that culminates in the unforgettable image of a thrown chair. J.K. Simmons deserved every square inch of that Oscar trophy.

#64: Breaking Batman’s Back
Bane, “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012)
Tom Hardy’s villain is Batman’s biggest physical threat, and he proves it by lifting him over his shoulders and snapping his back against his knee. The snap is shocking, and the entire fight is both wonderfully choreographed and magnificently shot.

#63: Laughing in the Theater
Max Cady, “Cape Fear” (1991)
We all know how annoying a bad theater experience can be. Max Cady brings it to the extreme, smoking in front of Sam’s family and laughing obnoxiously at the movie.

#62: Killing Mace Windu
Palpatine, “Star Wars: Episode III -Revenge of the Sith” (2005)
The prequel series has received all sorts of criticism, but one of the best new additions was Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu. Unfortunately, he is tragically dispatched by Palpatine, making us all hate the Emperor that much more.

#61: Coming Alive
Chucky, “Child’s Play” (1988)
The living doll finally breaks character by kicking, screaming, biting, and using some rather unkind Chucky-isms. It’s a perfect blend of comedy and horror - just like the series itself.

#60: Shooting the Guards
Koba, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (2014)
Having developed a hatred for humans, Koba playfully dances in front of some guards and then shoots them both in cold blood. The scene contains some masterful uses of VFX and motion capture, and hearing those gunshots signals the start of a war.

#59: Poor Unfortunate Souls
Ursula, “The Little Mermaid” (1989)
Disney always aces the villain songs. Few go as hard as “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” a rousing Broadway number in which Ursula gleefully sings about her trapped victims. It’s a banger.

#58: Harry’s Punishment
Dolores Umbridge, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” (2007)
Despite her candy-colored appearance, Dolores Umbridge gives Voldemort a run for his money in the villain department. One only needs to watch Harry’s depraved punishment for proof. Even he can’t help but give her an unbelieving stare.

#57: Calvin Snaps
Calvin J. Candie, “Django Unchained” (2012)
As if owning human beings wasn’t bad enough, Calvin then gives a racist tirade, hacks up a skull, holds the heroes at gunpoint, and rubs blood all over the face of poor Hildi. So much for Southern hospitality.

#56: Attacking the Parade
The Green Goblin, “Spider-Man” (2002)
The first “Spider-Man” movie goes incredibly hard, with the Green Goblin committing an act of domestic terrorism by blowing up a parade and killing innocent people. That’s messed up, and dang if Willem Dafoe doesn’t sell it.

#55: The Tears in Rain Monologue
Roy Batty, “Blade Runner” (1982)
Regarded as one of the best monologues in movie history, Roy Batty goes out in a surprisingly sympathetic manner. The words are beautiful, the acting is terrific, and the accompanying score ties it all together. Sci-fi doesn’t get better than this.

#54: Becoming the Evil Witch
The Queen, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937)
The beautiful Queen makes herself a potion and turns into an old hag. With her large eyes, pointed chin, and hooked, warted nose, the Evil Witch has one of the most famous faces in the history of film.

#53: Getting the Mask
Jason Voorhees, “Friday the 13th Part III” (1982)
Jason kills Shelly off screen, takes his hockey mask, and proceeds to shoot Vera in the eye with a speargun. It is wickedly violent, but also an iconic moment in horror history. With that, the Jason we all know and love was born.

#52: Revealing the Plan
Lex Luthor, “Superman” (1978)
Gene Hackman was a masterful actor, and he sells the heck out of this villain monologue. The idea of hitting the San Andreas Fault with nuclear bombs, sending California into the water, and becoming the landowner of the new west coast is pure comic book bonkers. In all the best ways, of course.

#51: Revealing the Twist
Lee Woo-jin, “Oldboy” (2003)
Whatever sympathy we felt for Lee Woo-jin is instantly evaporated when we learn that he brainwashed Oh Dae-su into sleeping with his own daughter. It’s a horrific, if brilliantly executed, plot twist that is all sorts of messed up.

#50: Attacking Tokyo
Godzilla, “Godzilla” (1954)
The titular monster wreaks havoc on Tokyo, killing many and setting a new precedent for visual effects in monster movies. Even to this day, the Tokyo sequences have an unbelievable power to scare, startle, and disturb.

#49: Killing Apollo
Ivan Drago, “Rocky IV” (1985)
As if beating Apollo Creed to death wasn’t malicious enough, Ivan rubs salt in the wound and displays no pity or commiseration for the deed. As Rocky gives Ivan the death glare, we’re glaring right along with him.

#48: The Rat Monologue
Raoul Silva, “Skyfall” (2012)
There are Bond villain introductions, and then there’s Silva’s first scene. We are left totally enraptured as Javier Bardem delivers an exceptional ninety second monologue about cannibal rats - and, not so subtly, his personal relationship with MI6.

#47: Prison Escape
Magneto, “X2” (2003)
The complex and multifaceted Magneto proves just how dangerous he can be in this terrifying prison escape. Thanks to an excellent Ian McKellen, some haunting music, and convincing special effects, this scene expertly showcases the dark side of the beloved character.

#46: Shooting Ofelia
Captain Vidal, “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006)
Writer/director Guillermo del Toro crafted one of the most vile and unsympathetic characters of the 21st century in Captain Vidal. Just when we thought his depravity couldn’t sink to lower depths, he shoots and kills his own stepdaughter.

#45: Tina’s Nightmare
Freddy Krueger, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984)
Wes Craven had to establish the supernatural forces of Freddy Krueger, and he did that expertly with Tina’s nightmare. Freddy performs a number of unspeakable horrors throughout the sequence before brutally slashing Tina to death with his claws. This is horror filmmaking at its most imaginative.

#44: Throwing the Burn Book
Regina George, “Mean Girls” (2004)
Rachel McAdams plays the perfect mean girl and frames Cady, Karen, and Gretchen by distributing copies of the Burn Book throughout the school. Regina lives to incite chaos, belittle others, and hold dominion over the school, and those traits are best exemplified through this incredibly selfish decision.

#43: Bill’s Monologue
Bill the Butcher, “Gangs of New York” (2002)
Daniel Day-Lewis sure knows how to command attention, and he delivers one of the finest monologues of his career via Bill the Butcher. He is utterly magnetic, displaying Bill’s psychopathy, rage, and love in five haunting minutes.

#42: Praying for Carrie
Margaret White, “Carrie” (1976)
Stephen King and Brian De Palma did a very tricky thing in making us sympathize with a killer. They did so by giving us glimpses into Carrie’s dreadful home life, which includes getting physically assaulted and locked in a closet. In many ways, Margaret is even scarier than Carrie.

#41: His Introduction
Immortan Joe, “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015)
There are few villain introductions better than that of Immortan Joe. His physical appearance immediately draws suspicion and horror, and his act of pumping the water is a chilling symbol of the control he harbors over the desperate citizenry.

#40: The Church Massacre
The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, “Kill Bill: Volume 2” (2004)
Quentin Tarantino is known for his love of movie violence and has garnered enormous criticism for it. But even he decided to keep the church massacre off-screen, so grisly and atrocious it would be. The sound of the squad shooting the wedding-goers is plenty.

#39: Fighting Peter Pan
Captain Hook, “Peter Pan” (1953)
One of the most exciting climaxes in the Disney canon comes via Captain Hook fighting Peter Pan to the presumed death. That massive hook and sword is enough to elicit nightmares in younger viewers.

#38: The Face Reveal
Ernst Stavro Blofeld, “You Only Live Twice” (1967)
Serving as the main antagonist of the James Bond franchise, Ernst Stavro Blofeld appeared in two movies before his famous face reveal in “You Only Live Twice.” And what a reveal it is, with his bald head and trademark scar making one of the most famous visages in movie history.

#37: The Interrogation
Catherine Tramell, “Basic Instinct” (1992)
The ‘90s are defined by multiple things. Sharon Stone sitting in that chair, smoking a cigarette, and doing you know what is certainly one of them.

#36: Committing Patricide
Commodus, “Gladiator” (2000)
Marcus Aurelius passes over his own son Commodus and proclaims his desire for Maximus to rule. Commodus is none too pleased with this decision and smothers his father to death in his own arms. What a fantastic introduction to his psychotic and power-hungry character.

#35: Rise to Power
Li'l Zé, “City of God” (2002)
“City of God” is a grungy glimpse into the Brazilian underworld, led by the sociopathic Li'l Zé. In this brutal montage, we see that murder was in his heart from a young age and watch as he grows into a local dictator.

#34: Turning into a Dragon
Maleficent, “Sleeping Beauty” (1959)
The evil fairy stops messing around and turns into a fire-breathing dragon to defeat Prince Phillip. Now this is the stuff that fairy tales are made of.

#33: Quoting Moby Dick
Khan Noonien Singh, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” (1982)
Is there a cooler way to go out than quoting from “Moby Dick?” Maybe, but Khan makes it look really cool.

#32: Talking to Himself
Gollum, “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002)
This mesmerizing sequence showcases the moral duality of Gollum-slash-Smeagol and the endless talent of Andy Serkis, and is a technical showcase for the revolutionary use of motion capture. We could watch Gollum talk to himself all day.

#31: The Chestburster
The Xenomorphs, “Alien” (1979)
Of all the aliens we see throughout this franchise, it’s the baby who scares us the most. That probably has something to do with it eating itself through poor Kane’s stomach.

#30: Losing the Limp
Keyser Söze, “The Usual Suspects” (1995)
In 1995, there was nothing more shocking than seeing Verbal Kint lose the limp, flex his hand, and coolly light up a cigarette. It’s one of the most iconic endings in movie history - not to mention one of the medium’s greatest plot twists.

#29: Shooting Prisoners from the Balcony
Amon Göth, “Schindler’s List” (1993)
SS officer Amon Göth shoots prisoners from his balcony for sport - a terrifying event that is tragically based in reality. It starkly illustrates the dehumanizing horror of the Holocaust, not to mention the arbitrary cruelty of one of its leading supporters.

#28: The Crucifix
Pazuzu, “The Exorcist” (1973)
Combining visceral blasphemy and extreme physical violence, we watch in utter terror as Regan MacNeil, under the influence of Pazuzu, does the unspeakable with a crucifix. This is still shocking - we can only imagine how distressing it was in 1973.

#27: The Box
John Doe, “Seven” (1995)
Movies don’t get much bleaker than this, with John Doe killing David’s pregnant wife, sticking her head in a box, and taunting David with it, leading to a likely stint in a mental health hospital. John Doe wins, and it is absolutely gut-wrenching to witness.

#26: Eating Georgie
Pennywise, “It” (2017)
A masterclass in terror, this scene combines a child’s innocent naivety with the sudden and violent reveal of the clown’s malevolent nature. Bill Skarsgård is magnificent, and young Jackson Robert Scott does an excellent job in selling the pain and terror.

#25: The Burly Brawl
Agent Smith, “The Matrix Reloaded” (2003)
One Agent Smith is creepy enough. Never mind countless Agent Smiths who endlessly replicate and attack Neo like a swarm of fire ants. Even the hero at the height of his God-like powers finds it too overwhelming and dips.

#24: Her Introduction
Cruella De Vil, “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” (1961)
Disney villains have impeccable introductions, including Cruella De Vil, who enters the house in a haze of yellow smoke wearing a large mink fur coat and demanding puppies so she can kill them. They say first impressions are everything, and we learn everything about Cruella in this brief but effective encounter.

#23: Revealing Himself
Jigsaw, “Saw” (2004)
Everyone remembers the first time they saw Jigsaw rising from the floor, peeling off his makeup, and taunting Adam with the lost key. With the eerie visual, accompanying score, and terrifying implications, this ending is simply unforgettable.

#22: King Kong
Alonzo Harris, “Training Day” (2001)
Denzel Washington won the Oscar for playing Alonzo Harris, and his talent is best exemplified in this electrifying monologue. It’s a powerful display of Alonzo’s arrogance and dominance, encapsulating his naive belief that he is untouchable within the corrupt world that he navigates.

#21: Shooting Takagi
Hans Gruber, “Die Hard” (1988)
It’s an age-old trope - the villain holds someone at gunpoint and demands that they provide a vital piece of information. We know it’s all bravado and that they won’t actually shoot them, because then they won’t get the information. Well, Hans defies the trope and actually kills Takagi, causing both John and the audience to gape in utter disbelief.

#20: Sacrificing Himself
Doctor Octopus, “Spider-Man 2” (2004)
Doc Ock has one heck of a character arc, going from sweet and ambitious scientist to psychotic villain to redemptive antihero. By destroying his experiment and saving the city, he fully redeems himself in the eyes of Peter and the audience.

#19: Chasing Laurie
Michael Myers, “Halloween” (1978)
We don’t care how simple it is, the image of Michael slowly walking towards Laurie remains incredibly effective. It’s like a waking nightmare, the unstoppable manifestation of death slowly inching towards the trapped and helpless victim.

#18: “Long Live the King”
Scar, “The Lion King” (1994)
Can we get a class action lawsuit going or something? Because we’re pretty sure Disney traumatized an entire generation by having Scar throw Mufasa off that cliff.

#17: Going Through the Bars
The T-1000, “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991)
The unstoppable liquid Terminator doesn’t let simple metal bars get in his way. This eye-popping sequence is not only a brilliant technical showpiece, but a perfect representation of the insurmountable challenge that the machine poses for the heroes.

#16: The Gas Station Coin Flip
Anton Chigurh, “No Country for Old Men” (2007)
This villain has been named the most realistic psychopath in film, as evidenced by the famous and enormously effective coin flip sequence. It leaves both the audience and the proprietor in a state of absolute dread, with life-or-death stakes being carried out by a simple piece of metal.

#15: Hobbling
Annie Wilkes, “Miserey” (1990)
Look, we can handle all sorts of violence, blood, and gore in movies. But you better believe we’re covering our eyes once Annie gets that plank out.

#14: The Opening Attack
Jaws, “Jaws” (1975)
Some movies tap into primal fears, and “Jaws” is undeniably one of them. The opening scene’s combination of suspenseful build-up, iconic score, and sudden outburst of violence plays on our innate fear of what lies beneath the surface of the ocean.

#13: Provoking Billy
Nurse Ratched, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975)
By provoking Billy into committing an unspeakable act, Ratched finally exposes her manipulative control and emotional brutality, which she often wields under the guise of therapy. Her cold exploitation of his deepest fears is something truly terrifying to behold, and it pops his brief stint of confidence like a balloon.

#12: The Opening Attack
Sauron, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001)
“The Lord of the Rings” portrays Sauron as an unspeakable menace to the world of Middle-earth. There’s no better way to show it than having him clad in demonic armor and batting soldiers around like simple ragdolls.

#11: All Work & No Play
Jack Torrance, “The Shining” (1980)
It’s amazing how a simple visual can reveal so much about Jack’s descent into madness. This moment not only shatters Wendy’s denial about her husband’s deteriorating mental state, but also fills the audience with dread by visually confirming that Jack has been crazy for a long, long time.

#10: The Snap
Thanos, “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)
We had faith that the MCU would pay off a decade’s worth of build-up, but we didn’t know it would exceed all our wildest expectations. The snap delivers a shocking and emotionally charged climax to the franchise, subverting genre expectations by allowing the villain to succeed in his catastrophic plan and killing off many beloved characters - albeit temporarily.

#9: “I’m Afraid I Can’t Do That”
HAL 9000, “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
This malevolent computer is the personification of our collective fears of AI dominance. This famous scene reveals that HAL has its own agenda and is capable of defying human command, tapping into our deep-seated fears of losing control and allowing technology to overrun us.

#8: Dropping the Act
Hans Landa, “Inglourious Basterds” (2009)
Quentin Tarantino crafted one of the greatest villains in cinematic history, a monster of a man who often dons a mask and plays polite for the sake of appearances. But thanks to some extraordinary (and Oscar-winning) acting from Christoph Waltz, we watch the mask fall as Landa reveals the monster within.

#7: Fighting Dumbledore
Voldemort, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” (2007)
After five movies’ worth of build-up, we are finally given a glimpse into the incredible powers of Voldemort. His duel with Dumbledore is sensational, with both trading magnificent displays of magic.

#6: The Shower
Norman Bates, “Psycho” (1960)
Hitchcock shatters the audience’s sense of safety by having Marion’s death occur in a private space. The kill is highly effective due to its masterful use of quick cuts, iconic musical accompaniment, and the unexpected nature of the attack, contributing to one of the most iconic scenes in cinematic history.

#5: “I’ll Get You My Pretty!”
The Wicked Witch of the West, “The Wizard of Oz” (1939)
Margaret Hamilton’s iconic portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West personifies the archetypal villain with a menacing tone and threatening demeanor. Her high-pitched screech is iconic, and this famous line wouldn’t be the same without it.

#4: “A Nice Chianti”
Hannibal Lecter, “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991)
Audiences are left both repelled and fascinated by Hannibal Lecter when he admits to eating someone’s liver with a glass of wine. Anthony Hopkins’ measured delivery, paired with his macabre description of cannibalism, creates a deeply unsettling atmosphere that underscores Lecter’s monstrous nature - and that hissing noise is truly something else.

#3: Welcoming Renfield
Dracula, “Dracula” (1931)
Bela Lugosi immediately entered the annals of horror history in just a few simple seconds. He exudes an eerie charm and hypnotic charisma that immediately sets the tone for his character’s otherworldly nature, and his iconic accent would be copied for decades to come.

#2: The Pencil Trick
The Joker, The Dark Knight” (2008)
The villain’s chaotic nature is established in mere seconds when he sends a pencil straight through a henchman’s eye socket. The act solidifies the Joker as a formidable and terrifying antagonist, prone to sudden outbursts of extreme violence and macabre creativity.

#1: “I Am Your Father”
Darth Vader, “Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back” (1980)
We don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that George Lucas crafted the greatest plot twist in movie history. The famous reveal fundamentally alters the dynamic of the entire “Star Wars” saga, shattering our preconceived notions about good and evil, adding to Darth Vader’s complexity, and deeping his personal connection to Luke. It’s amazing what five simple words can do.