15 Chilling Movie Villains That Are Harrowing To Watch

Thanks to Heath Ledger's death and the general love of The Dark Knight, there's a huge amount of hype attached to the Joker, but even if you take away all the hype, this villain really is just as good as die-hard fans claim he is.

The Joker has no clear motivation or backstory, so it was a character who could've gone horribly wrong. Ironically, this lack of explanation proves to be one of the character's greatest strengths, since this enigmatic, mysterious quality makes him even more disturbing. As a nearly unstoppable super-villain, a cruel sadist and a masterful psychological manipulator who ultimately wins, he's a villain who inspires a genuine sense of terror and made TDK the most intense superhero film of all time.

A depraved, genuinely mad psychopath who wields an appalling amount of power over everyone, the Joker is a terrifying force of nature who, with his insane demeanor, creative kills and complete disregard for human life, feels like he came out of a horror film, not a Hollywood blockbuster.

The Joker is, most of all, a sad reminder of how good an actor Heath Ledger was.