by Michelle Strozykowski

Created on: April 16, 2008

Some villains exude a charisma that outright earns them fans of their own. Others, are so frighteningly disturbing they perpetually hover on the periphery of nightmares and waking dreams. Freddy Kreuger, for instance, would fall in the latter category. Villains can also be quite comical, such as the dastardly Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon, but more often they present as a formidable adversary to the hero. The following list attempts to assemble some of the most memorable turns from villainous foes in the fantasy genre.

Darth Vader
The iconic movie villain Darth Vader is a complex character. Throughout Star Wars he is nothing short of evil personified, and yet somehow the young Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker senses that goodness remains buried deep inside him. Vader's helmet, which masks his face and produces a deep, scary voice (brilliantly realized by actor James Earl Jones), his reconstructed cybernetic body and his flowing black cloak serve to emphasize Obi Wan's observation... "He's more machine now than man; twisted and evil".

David from The Lost Boys
Keifer Sutherland melted many a teenage girl's heart with his darkly hypnotic performance as vampire David. Mysterious and frightening, yet engaging and irresistibly seductive, David made a very memorable villain.

Bartleby and Loki from Dogma
The fallen angels Bartleby and Loki wreak a trail of gory havoc in their attempts to cheat their way back into Heaven. But the thing that really makes this villainous duo memorable is that their downtrodden existence also evokes sympathy and understanding. They are not presented as evil, just unlucky, which makes it even more of a fright when they start spilling blood.

Krank from The City of Lost Children
The epic, futuristic fantasy The City of Lost Children was a Jeunet and Caro production, 4 years in the making. It had lavish sets, amazing special effects and incredibly bizarre characters - the repulsive but piteous Krank being the weirdest. Krank is unable to dream, so he kidnaps children in order to steal their dreams instead. Hidden away on his isolated oil rig, his plans backfire as the traumatized children all suffer nightmares. Krank is a very misguided villain. It's not hard to imagine feeling sorry for Krank, if only his plans weren't so revoltingly abhorrent.

Agent Smith from The Matrix
The insipid Agent Smith is everywhere in the Matrix, presenting a constant threat. Hugo Weaving's performance is a masterclass in subtle villainous behavior. He manages to make the

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>