10 Terrifying Characters In Non-Horror Movies

The real monster at the heart of Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 masterpiece is greed, that unstoppable force that turns a family man turned entrepreneur into an unhinged, murderous hermit. In one of the highlights of a truly impeccable CV, Daniel Day Lewis channels the very essence of greed through the wild and wiry frame of Daniel Plainview.

An awe inspiring, all consuming performance, Daniel Plainview is a man who cannot help but want more. He seems to derive no joy from life, confessing late in the film that he hates most people. He struggles to bond with his son, he seems to have no romantic interests whatsoever. And yet his only urge is to take over the town of Little Boston, to line his pockets, to suck the essence out of the earth itself. Day Lewis expertly dials up the mania as Plainview loses every connection he has to the sane, human world, leading up to the film’s bold and bonkers finale.

There Will Be Blood is a tricky film to categorise, but the man at its centre can only be described as a monster. He may look unassuming, even goofy, with his bushy moustache and bandy walk, but Daniel Plainview would just as soon swallow you whole as shake your hand.