13 Movie Protagonists You're Desperate To See Lose

Another Lou now, this one is arguably even worse than Jake Gyllenhaal's psychopathic voyeur. And that is saying something. 

In The Killer Inside Me, Lou Ford (Casey Affleck, who gives a stronger performance than the movie deserved) is a Deputy Sheriff in Texas who is secretly the stuff that nightmares are made of. He's a ferocious and sadistic serial killer who commits many harrowing acts of violence throughout this 2010 crime film - a repugnant and sickening work you'll probably wish you never watched. 

In particular, the scene in which he batters Joyce (Jessica Alba) to a pulp ranks among the nastiest scenes of the 2010s. Still, at least she survives - most of the others Ford encounters throughout the film, including his own fiancee (Kate Hudson), aren't so lucky. He's also, in flashback, shown assaulting a little girl as a teenager, so this guy is basically the lowest of the low, the essence of wanton, heartless evil. 

Some serial killer movies do manage to create a little bit of sympathy for their characters by emphasizing just how broken and lost they are, but there's none of that with The Killer Inside Me. This is a film that suffers from its disinterest in its characters, and Ford is simply a very uncomfortable character to watch. 

He does die at the end, although the satisfaction of an on-screen and brutal death - which he gave to most of his victims - is denied in this case.