Villains09 Videos

There are villains we love, and villains we'd love to be -- at least fictionally, imaginatively within our own little dream worlds. These are worlds where we don't have to really kill anybody or do anything bad, but can just lather ourselves in their badassedness, especially as the time ticks down towards Halloween. For me, there's probably no villain I'd rather mimic than Kill Bill's Elle Driver, California Mountain Snake. I was mesmerized when Daryl Hannah whistled her way into the hospital in the sexiest and coolest white suit known to man, only to change into something as equally cool -- taking the nurse look so far that there's even that bright red cross adorning her white eye patch. Cool song, cool clothes, and cool fighting style. If Uma didn't do such a great job, I would've been rooting for Elle the whole time. Of course, every time I watch the scene after the jump, I always grumble about the fact that every costume store sells "sexy nurse" outfits, but no truly sexy nurse outfits. Sorry models, but your practically bare-arsed images on those skimpy little costumes are no match for head-to-toe white suits with red umbrellas, or form fitting and classic white nurses' uniforms. But one day... I'll sew one myself if I have to!Filed under: Fandom, Scenes We LoveContinue reading Villains We Love: Elle Driver Permalink | Email this | Comments

I usually don't like kids in the movies all that much. Maybe I'm missing that maternal gene, or maybe I'm just not that into the little rugrats. But suffice to say that I sometimes have a pretty dark view of children, and that's why I love The Bad Seed -- and I especially love little Rhoda Penmark. The Bad Seed was based on William March's novel about a murderous little girl who terrorizes her family and friends, and by the time it's all said and done, she comes up with relatively respectable body count. The 1956 film was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starred Patty McCormack as the pigtailed terror, and in spite of a tacked-on ending to satisfy the Hays code at the time, the film is still considered on of the penultimate 'creepy kid' flicks. But what set Rhoda apart is that usually when you have murderous kids, the moral caveat is usually that they are outside the 'normal run of things', leaving our heroes to dispatch the bad guy without any hand-wringing about harming children. So most films give you kids like Damian (the Antichrist himself) or those creepy little buggers from Village of The Damned who come from another planet -- but with Rhoda, there is no one to blame but her. Although in both the film and the original book, there is an argument that she is just the victim of her family tree, but that's not exactly the same as the supernatural kids in those other horror films. There is no excuse for why Rhoda is the way she is, and she reminds you that evil can come in all kinds of packages -- and that's why to this day, the sight of her skipping away with her braids swinging remains as one of my most beloved movie villain moments. After the jump; some of Rhoda's creepier moments and a tribute to her lasting inspiration to the macabre everywhere...Filed under: Classics, Horror, Thrillers, Fandom, Trailers and ClipsContinue reading Villains We Love: Rhoda Penmark, 'The Bad Seed' Permalink | Email this | Comments

It always amazes me how your perspective can change when you grow up with a movie, and sometimes the movie takes on a whole new meaning when you see it again with the eyes of an adult. When I was kid, I watched the 1980 cult classic Mommie Dearest and was terrified of Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford, the maniacal clean freak and abusive mom. But as an adult, I watch this movie, and it's pretty darn funny -- of course, that has a lot to do with watching the film with John Waters' commentary (and if you haven't heard it, I highly recommend picking up the Hollywood Royalty edition of Dearest on DVD). Dearest was based on the expos written by Crawford's daughter Christina in 1978, and the book dragged the Hollywood icon's reputation through the mud, and even inspired other celebrity tell-alls from other famous kids in the years to come. The film might have been a commercial success, but was savaged by critics upon release, and Dunaway even made claims that the film managed to ruin her career -- although Supergirl probably didn't help much either. In Frank Perry's over the top masterpiece, Dunaway was a dead ringer for Crawford, and she is as scary as any movie monster when she gets going on one of her rages -- while chewing the scenery to shreds. So whether it was walloping little Christina with a wire hanger, or chopping down trees with an ax in a ball gown, the lady is just straight out bonkers. But even though I'm not afraid of her anymore, she does remain as one of my favorite movie villains of all time. After the jump; Christina fights back and one of the many moments of unintentional comedy...Filed under: Drama, Fandom, Trailers and Clips, Scenes We LoveContinue reading Villains We Love: Joan Crawford 'Mommie Dearest' Permalink | Email this | Comments

I cannot possibly think of villains without thinking of Lena Olin's Mona De Marco. While the trailer for Romeo is Bleeding suggests that the film is nothing more than a ridiculous camp fest, her portrayal of the sadistic Russian hitwoman is mesmerizing and scary. With ease, she oozes every aspect of evil. She can be the stoic, gravelly voiced baddie who bides her time, waiting for the perfect moment -- her eyes not missing a thing. She can be the seductress, using her beauty to easily prey on Jack's (Gary Oldman) continually wandering eye. She can be the villain who never gets killed -- not swayed by a shot to the arm, or other wounds that challenge her. But her most memorable evil -- her most villainous aspect -- is her adoration of real, intimate, bodily violence. She's not some bad gal with firepower. Her violence is within her, her weapons being the things lying around, or her own body. And she loves to give pain. She doesn't just smile -- violence makes her happy. Take the scene after the jump (strong language warning!): She starts to choke Jack, and as he struggles for air, she laughs -- not just a giggle, but an eruption of pure, seemingly sexual, delight -- the throaty laugh, eyes closed, back arched. When Jack finally breaks free, her panting body looks post-coital, not post-choking. He hurts her. She keeps fighting. She chokes him with her legs, and then frees herself. It's almost absurd, but not in the carefully crafted fictional way -- it seems just crazy enough to be true, like Peter Medak pulled a real villain off the streets to play Mona. In one package, she's the femme fatale and the tough-as-nails baddie.Filed under: Fandom, Trailers and ClipsContinue reading Villains We Love: Romeo is Bleeding Permalink | Email this | Comments

A good villain is memorable, and impressive, and scary as hell. But bring back the same villain over and over, give him lousy dialogue and have him repeatedly defeated by worthless opponents, and that villain becomes nothing more than an ineffectual bully who doesn't know when to give up. He's like that big, hairy guy down the street who scared the crap out of you when you were a kid, but who now has a pot belly, three obnoxious kids, and a Trans Am on blocks in his front yard. It makes it hard to remember why you ever found him frightening in the first place -- you'd feel sorry for him, but you just don't care enough to bother. Like these five: Dr. Evil Remember how cool Dr. Evil was in the first Austin Powers movie? Very few villains have fallen as far or as fast as Mike Myers' homage to Bondian baddies. Sure, he was a little out of touch with the current global economy, and his relationship with his son, Scott, was a tad strained, but he had a super-cool secret lair inside a volcano island, and a spaceship, and a clone sidekick, and lasers. Despite his flaws, Dr. Evil had all the earmarks of a world-class villain. But by Myers' third, tired outing, Dr. Evil (along with every other joke in Myers' playbook) was used up -- so much so, that Myers brought in yet another villain, Goldmember, and he played that guy, too. It takes a lot of talent to stretch yourself that thin and get away with it -- I mean, sure, Alec Guinness played eight characters in Kind Hearts and Coronets, but he's freakin' Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Force is considerably weaker in Myers, and maybe if he'd been happy playing a few less characters, he'd have been able to come up with a better script ... one that didn't require the once-impressive Dr. Evil to spell his name "D to the rizzo, E to the vizzo, I to the lizzo." Bleh.Filed under: Fandom, ListsContinue reading Five Villains Who've Worn Out Their Welcome Permalink | Email this | Comments

I'll always remember David Fincher's Se7en for a few different reasons (I even had to write an essay once about the opening credits) but the number one reason this film sticks in my brain is John Doe. Now usually when it comes to on-screen villains, you tend to remember the big personalities. In the words of Buffy, "strait up, black hat, tied to the train tracks, soon my electro-ray will destroy Metropolis," types. But as scary as the big bad wolf can be, sometimes the evil you never see coming is the one that becomes the stuff of nightmares. In Fincher's thriller about a serial killer with a penchant for Dante and the wrath of god, we don't even get to see the bad guy until about half way through the movie. But when Doe (played to perfection by Kevin Spacey) calmly walks into the police station to hand himself over, you know that this is not your run of the mill psycho. Recently I took a look at some movie villains that manage to win you over with a little charm and charisma, and Doe definitely isn't one of those guys. He's the kind of guy you would cross the street to avoid, but only if you got to know him -- and that's what makes him scary, he is completely average. Instead of letting the audience get used to the idea of him, we only see his handiwork (as gruesome as it may be), and just like Mills (Brad Pitt) and Somerset (Morgan Freeman), we are just witnesses to the aftermath. After the jump; Why Doe still scares the crap out of me, and his horrible plan is made complete...Filed under: Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Fandom, Brad Pitt, Trailers and ClipsContinue reading Villains We Love: John Doe in 'Se7en' Permalink | Email this | Comments

Why recast the relatively small role of a doctor in a thriller? Michael Mann's Manhunter was an excellent thriller, featuring Brian Cox in a small role as the imprisoned, chillingly cold cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecktor. When the time came to adapt another one of Thomas Harris' bestsellers, Jonathan Demme went in a different direction, casting Anthony Hopkins as the good doctor. The character's family name was restored (Lecter, not Lecktor) and a whole new set of tics and tricks were placed on display. Hopkins may have been the only actor alive who could have hammed it up to such extreme levels and yet, somehow, made Lector creepy rather than campy, unnerving rather than unbelievable. For his memorable efforts in The Silence of the Lambs, Hopkins won an Academy Award. Recasting villains is a tricky business. Everyone needs to love, identify with, and cheer the hero or heroine, but if the villain doesn't provide the requisite level of opposition, the picture runs the risk of becoming unbalanced, leaving a gaping hole that cannot be filled in with special effects. And if an actor has established the character in the public's mind, it's difficult for anyone else to measure up. So Dylan Walsh has an advantage in The Stepfather, which opens tomorrow. Terry O'Quinn originated the title role in the 1987 original, and was a truly memorable monster. Yet the film is not steeped in the public consciousness to a high degree, and O'Quinn has become much better known from playing John Locke in Lost. Walsh's fame, such as it is, comes from the lesser-seen TV series Nip/Tuck. Walsh has a shot of creating his own distinct brand of villain.Filed under: Drama, Horror, Critical Thought, FandomContinue reading Villains: The Highs and Lows of Recasting Permalink | Email this | Comments

One of the most chilling bad guys I've ever seen on film is in a soft-core sex flick -- a Russ Meyer movie, even. If you think of Meyer only as the director who featured supremely large-chested women in his films, you probably haven't seen his 1975 film Supervixens. Sure, there are plenty of voluptuous females in the movie, and some comedy moments, but there's also Charles Napier, and his character is truly villainous. Supervixens is about an ordinary guy, Clint, who's married to the title character, a bad-tempered tease who is brutally murdered by an even nastier cop, Harry Sledge (Napier). Clint -- who is honestly the least memorable part of the movie -- flees town to avoid Sledge, and ends up encountering all kinds of delightful women whose names begin with "Super," like Supersoul, SuperCherry, and SuperHaji. His soulmate, though, is the amazing SuperAngel, played by the same actress as SuperVixen, Shari Eubank. Just as Clint is ready to settle down to a happy ending with SuperAngel, Harry Sledge returns.Filed under: Fandom, Trailers and ClipsContinue reading Villains We Love: Harry Sledge, 'Supervixens' Permalink | Email this | Comments

As you might remember from last week, I've decided to delve into the complicated and convoluted pasts of the Marvel and DC villains we may (or may not!) be seeing in the superhero years to come. Last week, we tackled Loki and his uncanny abilities, and this week we're going broad -- we're going to meet the green and pointy people known as the Skrulls. Speculation is rampant that these will be the big baddies in The Avengers, as they're one of the few things that could unite a Nordic god, an alcoholic playboy, a thawed-out WWII hero, and the unpredictable Hulk. (Whether Hulk will actually be an Avenger, or just someone they're forced to fight, remains to be seen. I'm convinced there's still time to add Wasp or Ant Man, and though we'd see The Avengers delayed a bit longer, I like to look at the half-full glass on these things.) The Skrulls are certainly the threat that could unite our disparate heroes. They've played Marvel continuity for years, though not always to the best effect. They're mean. They're ugly. They can shape-shift. All they really want to do is conquer Earth and subjugate us like they have with so many other planets. But they forgot to factor in that we have a planet full of bitching superheroes, and their best laid plans fall apart again and again. They can't even win if they impersonate our heroes, as witnessed by the recent Secret Invasion crossover. Filed under: Comic/Superhero/Geek, The Geek BeatContinue reading The Geek Beat: The Scary Skrulls Permalink | Email this | Comments

We can't go through a month of villain themery on Cinematical without gushing over Maleficent. But since there's much to talk about, I wanted to give her more than a brief ode via "Villains We Love." She's one of the biggies when it comes to villainesses, so naturally, she should have a week's reign on Girls on Film. Maleficent first appeared after the stirring of a strong wind and dramatic music. From a green fog she emerged, a loyal crow at her side, but she didn't just delve into evil in Disney's Sleeping Beauty. She looked around her, at a celebration including royalty, nobility, and gentry. She saw her fairy foes, and asked where her invite was. Naturally, there wasn't one for the weird and powerful faery, so she decides on a curse: Before the sun sets on the princess' sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. Devilish and evil, yes, but also layered with enough mystery and what-ifs to make her dynamic well beyond the world of family films.Filed under: Animation, Fandom, Girls on FilmContinue reading Girls on Film: Maleficent's Reign Permalink | Email this | Comments

As you already know, October is Villain Month here at Cinematical. Since we're reveling in all things evil and villainous, I thought I'd share a little tidbit from Movieline and get our creative juices pumping. At the end of an interview with actor Peter Sarsgaard, the site asked about franchises and comic book sequels. His response: Yeah, I've faced situations where I thought, "This is gonna be a lot of time for not very much reward," or "The rewards in this are purely financial." It's OK for that to be the reason to do something, but then I start to look at time, and I go, "Oh, but it's three years of my life." If I were just to do something for money, I would make sure that it didn't take an enormous amount of time out of my life. So, yeah. No comic book villains for me. That certainly makes sense -- why grab a purely money-making movie if it's going to cost you a number of years and some more worthwhile projects? Then again, not every comic book movie is bad. There are the piles of dreck, but there are also flicks like The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 2. Let's not be completely reductive, Peter! Furthermore, your lovely wife was a great addition to TDK, so I would've thought you'd be cooler with the idea. Naturally, now I'm wondering if there is a comic villain he'd be just perfect for. Is there one that's ripe for Sarsgaard? Will his comic distaste rob us of a great villainous performance?Filed under: Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek Permalink | Email this | Comments

I grew up loving all things Superman, but even as a lad of 13 I could tell that the villain in Superman IV -- Nuclear Man, created when Supes threw all the world's nuclear weapons into the sun -- was dumb. He had no personality. He didn't even have a name. "Nuclear Man" is what the closing credits called him, but no one in the film ever calls him anything. Rule No. 1 of being a supervillain: You must have a name. I cannot imagine any exceptions to that rule. So Nuclear Man is probably my vote for the lamest villain in a superhero movie, but it's hardly a slam-dunk. He has a lot of competition. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campy Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin is legendary. At the opposite end of the muscles scale, there's whiny Venom (Topher Grace) in Spider-Man 3 and emo-goth Blackheart (Wes Bentley) in Ghost Rider. And don't forget Faye Dunaway in Supergirl, Sharon Stone in Catwoman, and the completely useless Gambit (Taylor Kitsch) in the completely useless X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Or the ineffectual but well dressed Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan) in Daredevil. We could go on forever, but we had to narrow it down for the poll. Now we seek your input. Who's the worst villain in a superhero movie? One of the choices below, or someone else? Feel free to explain your choices in the comments. View Poll Filed under: Polls Permalink | Email this | Comments

If you pressed me to pick my favorite slasher, I would pick the one who wears a cravat and sponsors a recycling program. He may not be as physically terrorizing as Jason, Freddy, or Michael Myers, but Sweeney is just as ruthless. Once he decides that revenge is best served in a hot crust, no one is safe from his blade. Perhaps he's not as creative with his kills as Jason or Freddy is, but he's a lot more poetic. Few slashers are both a serial killer and a Byronic hero, and few horror movies feature a hero who moans over his lost daughter as he opens another jugular. The blend of the romantic and the horrific is what makes Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street such a delicious story. At its twisted center, the story is all about love. Sweeney is motivated by the loss of his wife and child, Mrs. Lovett assists him because she's always loved him, Judge Turpin is twisted by love and lust for Johanna, and the tender romance of Johanna and Anthony helps bring it all to an even bloodier denouement. Combine its Gothic romance with its cheery tunes (cannibalism, rape, child abuse, alcoholism, and insanity have never been so catchy!) and historical / social commentary, and you have a pretty demented little tale. Am I the only one who watches it, and hopes every single time that once Sweeney dispatches Judge Turpin to his gravy, he and Mrs. Lovett will flee London, make a new life together and enjoy lifelong success running a meat pie shop by the sea? I know he and Mrs. Lovett deserved their ugly ends, but Sweeney's seems especially bitter. He may have put a lot of innocent men into pies, but did he deserve such a personal twist of the razor? I think even the Greek playwrights would find that one cold. Filed under: Horror, Music & Musicals, Fandom, Johnny Depp, Scenes We LoveContinue reading Villains We Love: Sweeney Todd Permalink | Email this | Comments