10 Amazing Horror Villains That Made TV Shows Great
1. Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal)
The personification of evil itself, Hannibal Lecter stands as the finest horror villain to ever grace the small screen.
Played to absolute perfection by Mads Mikkelsen, Lecter is simultaneously charming and dangerous in equal measure; an unrivalled master of manipulation and psychological warfare who can run circles around everyone he meets.
Backing up his penchant for devious mind-games with a knowledge of hand-to-hand combat and a tendency to overpower his victims with brute force, Hannibal is, in many ways, the perfect killer. Those who dare to stand in his way are never left without an array of physical or mental scars, that's if they're lucky enough to survive in the first place.
Fans were glued to their screens each week as they mused upon what Hannibal's next move would be and who would perish by his hands. This was made all the more powerful by the show's delicious use of dramatic irony. We all knew that Hannibal was orchestrating all the events, but those around him remained clueless, completely drawn into his web of mind-games.
We all wanted to see him undone, but secretly, we all knew that no matter what happened, Hannibal was always going to win in the end.