20 Greatest 90s Movie Villains

9. The Silence Of The Lambs - Buffalo Bill

Time now to discuss one of the most underrated villains of the '90s, which is ironic since he comes from one of that decade's most beloved films. Just why is Buffalo Bill so underappreciated?

Maybe it's because he's overshadowed by a certain other character in the same movie, or maybe it's due to the lingering accusations that the character's presentation is transphobic, but regardless, few characters are more overdue their laurels. Buffalo Bill is a psychologically fascinating and brilliantly effed-up serial killer who's harrowing to watch every second he's on-screen, thanks in no small part to quite arguably the most underappreciated horror performance of all time. 

Ted Levine should've been nominated for an Oscar for his outstanding turn as Buffalo Bill, which was a masterful excursion into the grotesque in every possible way. It was an incredibly soft Best Supporting Actor field that year, so why on earth was he snubbed? Perhaps Academy voters were simply so frightened by Levine that they tried to scrub it from their memories? Well, if so, that's yet another testament to how great Levine really was, but his snubbing will never not be maddening. 

As for the accusations of transphobia, valid criticisms have been made, and Levine himself regrets how the character was handled. Buffalo Bill would be done differently now, without question, but taken on his own terms as a product of his time, Buffalo Bill is still one of cinema's most captivating and purely frightening serial killers.