Some might say that a movie is only as good as its villain. Not all films have a villain—in fact, some of the best of all time don’t—, but when a filmmaker decides to tell a story with an antagonist, that antagonist better be truly intimidating, compelling, and memorable. Indeed, there are numerous baddies who can be counted amongthe best in film historyfor one reason or another.
On the other hand, there are villains who are just downright terrible. From supervillains like Nuclear Man fromSuperman IV: The Quest for Peaceto dramatic antagonists like Lisa fromThe Room, these are characters who fail at everything that a villain should be.They’re not formidable, their motivations make no sense or aren’t compelling, and by the time the credits roll, viewers have probably already forgotten all about them. A good villain has screen presence; a bad villain is more annoying for the audience than for the protagonist.
10Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds)
‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ (2009)
Back at the turn of the millennium, it wasX-Menthat birthed the superhero movie boom that has so strongly characterized the 21st century blockbuster landscape. Then, the franchise went on… and on… and on. And like all franchises that are overextended, bad films started to come out. The first truly abysmal one wasX-Men Origins: Wolverine, a prequel following Logan’s early years, his service in the special forces team Weapon X, and his transformation into the metal-lined mutant Wolverine.
One ofthe worst superhero movies ever made,X-Men: Originshas no heart, instead telling a chaotic and shallow story with nothing but noise. The worst thing about it, though, is its treatment of Deadpool. Nowadays, thanks toRyan Reynolds’s revitalization of the character, audiences are very familiar with the Merc With a Mouth, his fourth-wall breaks, his signature sense of humor, and his incapability to shut up. In one of the most baffling adaptations of any comic book character in history,X-Men Originstakes Deadpool, takes away his ability to speak, and makes him a brooding henchman that only poses a threat in the movie’s third act.The superhero genre is filled with terrible villains, but this is one of the most egregious.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
9General Hux (Domnhall Gleeson)
‘Star Wars’ Sequel Trilogy
Divisive though it may be among fans, theStar Warssequel trilogy was one of the biggest pop-cultural phenomenons of the 21st century, no question about it. Following the heroes of the Resistance fighting the burgeoning tyrannical First Order, the trilogy introduced a wide variety of villains.Some great, some mediocre, and some—like General Hux—absolutely terrible.
InEpisode VII — The Force Awakens, the character started out fine enough, as much of a fascist caricature as he admittedly was. Then, things got progressively worse until the character completely fell apart inEpisode IX — The Rise of Skywalker(one ofthe most insulting sequels of all time), becoming a pathetic comic relief plot device whose motivations made no logical sense. In a franchise as full of fantastic antagonists asStar Wars, this one sticks out like a sore thumb.
8Balem Abrasax (Eddie Redmayne)
‘Jupiter Ascending’ (2015)
Eddie Redmayneis a phenomenal actor, but eventhe greats fall from gracefrom time to time (most don’t do it on the very same year that they win a Best Lead Actor Oscar, but that’s beside the point). Redmayne received a Razzie for his performance inJupiter Ascending,theWachowskis’s sci-fi adventure about a woman who discovers her destiny as the heiress of intergalactic nobility. She must fight to protect Earth’s inhabitants from an ancient and destructive industry leveraging her newfound power.
Of course, it doesn’t help that Redmayne’s performance is so over-the-top and lacking in true intimidation, but the character overall isn’t the least bit effective as a villain.His motivations make no sense and his personality is a bit all over the place, making for an antagonist that’s not scary or compelling at all. And in this genre, that’s a deadly sin.
Jupiter Ascending
7Enchantress (Cara Delevingne)
Since its very start, the DCEU kept making misstep after misstep.Today, it’s remembered as one of the most tragic failures in the history of movie franchises. That’s largely due to films as terrible asDavid Ayer’sSuicide Squad. It’s the tale of the titular team, a group of some of the most dangerous incarcerated supervillains, who are recruited by a secret government agency as a task force that’s tasked with saving the world from the apocalypse.
Everything aboutSuicide Squadsucks, from the visuals, to the performances, to the writing, to the directing, to—of course—the characters. The main offender here is Enchantress, an entirely forgettable villain with no personality and a paper-thin backstory, anchored by an unfortunate performance byCara Delevingne. This is easily one ofthe worst superhero movies of the 2010s, and its lack of a strong antagonist doesn’t help its case, that’s for sure.
Suicide Squad
6Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow)
‘Superman IV: The Quest for Peace’ (1987)
It was arguably 1978’sSupermanthat became the first truly big superhero movie in history. From there, the genre only kept going up and up.Sadly, the franchise didn’t. There was one great sequel, then a less-than-good one, and thenSuperman IV: The Quest for Peace, perhaps one of the worst films ever made. In it, the world is on the brink of nuclear war. Superman then takes it upon himself to destroy all of the world’s nuclear weapons, but Lex Luthor creates Nuclear Man, a force strong enough to take down the Man of Steel.
Though they don’t give particularly great performances here,Christopher Reeveas Superman andGene Hackmanas Lex were always a delight, there’s no denying that. Outside of them, though,Superman IVhas no redeeming qualities. Certainly not its villain, who was created for the movie instead of originating from the comics. His powers are silly, his costume looks cheap, his origin story is dumb, and he has no screen presence. There are many things thatSuperman IVmesses up, and this is one of the worst.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
5Macavity (Idris Elba)
‘Cats’ (2019)
The infamousCats, directed by Oscars darlingTom Hooperand based on the Broadway cult classic of the same title, reached the rare achievement of being introduced into the pantheon of the worst movies ever made right as it came out. It doesn’t have much of a story; it’s just a musical dramedy where a tribe of cats must decide yearly which one of them will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life.
As a result of those horrible visual effects and lackluster character design,Idris Elba’s Macavity is, at the very least, nightmare fuel.
Catsis one ofthe worst fantasy movies of the 2010s, full of nightmare-inducing visual effects, atrociously crafted musical numbers, terrible performances by renowned actors, and characters as uninteresting as they are creepy-looking. As a result of those horrible visual effects and lackluster character design,Idris Elba’s Macavity is, at the very least, nightmare fuel. The issue is that that probably wasn’t intentional. The villain somehow manages to be both forgettable and infuriatingly poorly written. He does nothing of substance, he only shows up occasionally to make audiences uncomfortable at his being naked (why is he naked?!), and he doesn’t give Elba, one of the greatest actors of his generation, anything interesting to do.
Watch on Netflix
4Professor Radisson (Kevin Sorbo)
There are plenty of good faith-based movies. Then, there’sGod’s Not Dead. This atrociously silly drama is about a college philosophy professor whose curriculum is challenged by his new student, Josh, who—unlike him—believes that God exists. People who haven’t seen the movie ought not be fooled, though.This isn’t a philosophically complex religious dissertation encapsulated in celluloid, but a stupidly designed melodramafull of theatrics that amount to nothing.
The film’s main problem, really—the thing that makes it one ofthe worst faith-based moviesof its time—is the villain,Kevin Sorbo’s Professor Radisson. The actor’s embarassing performance doesn’t help, but to be fair, most problems with the character lie in the script. Since the writers had no idea how universities work, what philosophy is, or what atheists believe, Radisson is a bland caricature with motivations and actions that make absolutely zero sense, in a film made by people who have clearly never exchanged words with anyone who’s not Christian.
God’s Not Dead
3Lisa (Juliette Danielle)
‘The Room’ (2003)
To those who love so-bad-they’re-good movies,Tommy Wiseau’sThe Roomshould need no introduction. It’s a modern tragedy where a likable San Francisco banker whose work is highly confidential has his seemingly perfect life turned upside down when his deceitful bride-to-be embarks on a dangerous affair with his best friend.
The Roomis one ofthe most beloved bad movies ever; a fan favorite of the midnight cult circuit and an absolutely hilarious disaster that everyone should go out of their way to experience in a theater at least once in their lives. One of its most hysterical elements is the purely evil Lisa,a demonic femme fatale with a nasty neck twitch whose favorite phrase is “I don’t want to talk about it.“Of course, like every other character in the movie, her character makes absolutely zero sense and never behaves in any way that real humans ever behave in. That’s what makes her such a bad villain—and exactly what makes her so hilarious.
The Roomis currently not available to stream, rent, or purchase in the U.S.
2Terl (John Travolta)
‘Battlefield Earth’ (2000)
The infamousBattlefield Earth, based on a novel by Scientology founderL. Ron Hubbard, is famously derided as one of the worst movies of not just the 21st century, but of all time. It’s set in the year 3000 A.D., the Earth having been lost to the alien race of the Psychlos. Humanity has been enslaved, but the tyrants are unaware that their subjects are planning to ignite the rebellion of a lifetime.
Some movies are so bad that they’re irresistibly fun.Battlefield Earthis just bad. There are all sorts of reasons why thisdisastrous space operais so hated, and the character of Terl is a big one. Played byJohn Travoltain one of his worst-ever performances,the character’s sole purpose is to spout lazy expositionand stand there as directorRoger Christianframes him in the ugliest Dutch angles he can conceive of.
Battlefield Earth
1Vengeance the Shark
‘Jaws: The Revenge’ (1987)
Another one of the worst movies ever made,Jaws: The Revengeis undeniably proof that some horror franchises just shouldn’t have ever happened. The fourth installment in the series begun bySteven Spielberg’s seminal summer blockbusterJaws, it follows Chief Brody’s widow, who believes that her family is being deliberately targeted by another shark in search of revenge.
The Revengeis one ofthe worst-written horror movies of all time, starting from the fact that its villain, a literal shark, is motivated by revenge. This shark isn’t supposed to be supernaturally intelligent in any way. It’s just an actual, real shark who somehow acquired the human ability of holding a grudge.The Revenge’s Vengeance the Shark is a disgrace toJaws’s Bruce the Shark and theJawsname in general. The shark looks dreadfully cheap,and the way its “character” is written is so dumbfoundingly stupid that it’s hard to focus on the plot. Not that there’s much of it, anyway, but still: Vengeance is probably the worst villain in the history of movies.
