12 Fearsome Movie Villains Who Didn't Actually Kill Anyone

They don't come much more brutal and sadistic than Nurse Ratched, who actually dishes out punishments to her patients that are worse than death. Louise Fletcher deservedly won an Oscar for her pitch perfect performance, bringing to life the seemingly pleasant persona that hides her manipulative and vindictive ways.

While the fact that Nurse Ratched rules with an iron fist is not in itself a character flaw, it's her staggering lack of empathy and desire to have control and order at any cost that makes her so hard to like. Fletcher portrays Ratched as a calm and collected personality who gets joy from other's suffering, each action and speech deliberate choices so she can get her own way.

It is this calm and composed manner that Ratched exhibits that makes her so fearsome, a seemingly unflappable person who is more than happy to use her knowledge of her patients against them. Ratched most definitely receives a challenge from Jack Nicholson's charismatic criminal McMurphy, but even he proves no match for her in the end.

One could make a case that she was a product of her time, enforcing rules and structure because she genuinely believes this is best for her patients. But her final actions display her callousness, her quietly worded threat to a rebelling patient enough to have him cowering and eventually commit suicide. It's a horrifying event for everyone, except for Nurse Ratched, who feels it best they all just carry on with their day. Now that is evil.