10 More Horror Movie Villains With Absolutely No Motive

Gaspar Noé is not known for holding back, often shoving the worst of humanity into the foreground of his films and bathing it in neon light. And yet, a deep dive on his antagonists paints a different picture, as they often arrive on the screen fully formed while simultaneously holding back the details that make them tick.

Such is the case in Climax, Noé's 2018 chamber piece, in which a French dance troupe is snowed in at their rehearsal space and decides to party the night away. Unfortunately, one of their number (of a whopping 24 named characters) spikes the punch with LSD and soon the obsessions, miseries and excesses of all are laid bare. Siblings have sex, children are electrocuted and few survive the night unscathed.

But it's not until the film's conclusion that we discover who was behind it all: a dancer aptly named Psyché (Thea Carla Schøtt). Her overall lack of presence throughout the film - often seen dancing on the sidelines, but rarely in the centre of the action - makes her a highly unusual villain, exerting neither will nor motive on proceedings. She is content to ignite the chaos and watch while everyone comes undone. Why? We'll never know.