13. Noah Cross - Chinatown
Played By: John Huston Chinatown is a bitter, cynical film that essentially says life isn't fair and the big guy with all the money and power always wins. In Chinatown, that big guy is Noah Cross who has committed endless atrocities who at the end escapes the grasp of the law - the audience and protagonist Jack Gittes, learn the hard way that you can't always win. The atrocities in question include incestuous rape, murder and stealing the water supply of Los Angeles. His actions set the movie in motion and John Huston's great performance makes Cross more repulsive in every scene. The evil baron is a pure monster, but his screen time is minimal. That does prevent his suffocating grip on the characters from loosening as he dictates the events of the movie with calculated menace before the true demon is unveiled. The ending to Chinatown still remains a sucker-punch no matter how many times it is viewed as this completely reprehensible stays free to dictate his power.
12. Keyser Soze - The Usual Suspects
Played By: Kevin Spacey Keyser Soze may not even exist, by the end of The Usual Suspects we're still not sure who or what he is, but it seems logical that Kevin Spacey's Verbal Kint was really Soze in disguise. He's a mythical man of great stature and the mere mention of his name sends tremors down the backs of the sternest of men. It's the role that won Kevin Spacey an Oscar and made him a star and his quiet unassuming demeanour makes the reveal that bit more unsettling. Soze sits in Sergeant Rabin's chair mocking the audience's stupidity and they don't even know it - you don't doubt a word the quiet, nervous man says but it's all a ploy that fashions one of the greatest twists in movie history. The mere mention of Keyser Soze to his enemies reveals a great fear but to movie fans, they will smirk and acknowledge one of the greatest villains of cinema.
11. Darth Vader - Star Wars
Played By: David Prowse Before the prequel trilogy ruined the mythology, Darth Vader was a booming giant, clad in black with a reign of terror that was unparalleled. Like many of the movie villains on this list, Vader is a tyrant with no concept of remorse or mercy - he did after all try and kill his twin children. The Sith enforcer is a faceless man who knows of no emotion which is what makes him that bit more terrifying - especially to the younger audience. Vader is something you cannot identify with because you just don't know what it/he is. He has no face, no body and towers above all of man with his incredible height. Vader, ultimately, did find redemption, at grave sacrifice to himself - proving that he is not wholly evil.